The Hare and The Tortoise Revisited

Once upon a time, there was a Hare. She was powered by a noisy 6 cylinder engine and wore an untidy look of bright red. Her arrogance reflected in the fact that she had B.E.S.T. printed on it in bold. She thought she'll give two Tortoises a lift home. "What can these two slow coaches do? They will never reach home in time had it not been for me. I am faster and more energetic than the two of them put together."

The Tortoises had had a tiring day in office and in no mood for a show of strength. So they decided to jump on the little crammed space remaining on the otherwise spacious Hare, who told them it is only a matter of minutes before she gets them home. But little did she know what great obstacle lay in her way, the dreaded monster called Traffic.

He had broken the morale of many like her before, but this Hare of ours was not the one to give in. She continued the grand show of high-handedness. The Tortoises were tired after a long day at work, and the last thing they needed was a delay. They told each other "Rather than waiting on this slow Hare, we should get off and walk our way home steadily. At least we will escape the eye of the monster thanks to our inconspicuous presence."

Over-hearing their conversation, the infuriated Hare told them to never set a foot on her again. She said they were being extremely doltish to overestimate their ability to beat the Hare to her destination. The were creatures of great self-respect and would not stand any ignominy. They were determined to prove their point.

They started walking to their destination, the progress was slow, but at least there was progress. The Hare had not been able to get out of the clutches of Traffic for the past 15 minutes, thereby increasing the gap between itself and its spirited competitors. The Tortoises walked and walked, with music on their tPODs  and a thirst for moral victory on their side. 

But soon, they saw the Hare waving at them as he brushed by with great speed. How foolish was she to have thought he could have won so easily. The T-Monster was not that easy to get away from. The Hare's hubris had further strengthened his resolve to not let her live in peace. A little further off, he caught up with her again with greater vengeance. 

The Hare thought that the Tortoises must have given up considering how soon she had made up the distance that separated them. She decided to buy her time till the monster tired. But to her surprise, even before Traffic showed signs of fatigue, the two Tortoises showed up in the horizon. Nothing had changed in their walk - the speed, the confidence, the energy looked unchanged. 

She made one desperate attempt to break free but it was too late, for the persistence of the Tortoises had paid. They reached the destination far before her and left her with an embarrassing defeat. Everyone praised the Tortoises for their courage and grit. The Tortoises told everyone "If we walk more often, we not only let the monster of Traffic rest in peace and give our body some exercise, but we also get the opportunity to teach such egotists a lesson." Well they had to put up a courageous face in front of the crowds, but only they knew how tired they were and how much their legs ached sans the sport shoes!

Moral Of the Story: Slow and steady wins the race, only when there is traffic.  

Warning: All characters in this story are completely real. Any resemblance to people living or dead is not coincidental and surely intended.

Comments

Labyrinthine said…
That is some determination tortoise!:P.The proud,over-confident,fast and energetic hare deserved that defeat!you must have burnt a lot of calories!;)but sad you didn't wear sport shoes!
Nice satire.
Vishesh said…
lol,true :) slow and steady,is an ancient virtue-fit for the history books and moral science classes :) After Rome wasn't built in a day but can be destroyed in a matter of seconds :)

Popular Posts