Aesop's Fables
Moral:
Slow and Steady
Wins the Race

Aesop's Moral:
Slow and Steady Wins the Race

Other ways of saying it:
Persistence wins out.
You can rest when you're done.
Don't be over-confident.
Keep on keepin' on!

Aesop's Fable:

A Hare one day ridiculed the short legs and slow pace of the Tortoise, who replied, laughing: “You might be fast, but I will beat you in a race.”

The Hare thought this was ridiculous and accepted the challenge.

Both the Tortoise and the Hare agreed to let the Fox decide where the race should begin and end and what course it should follow.

On the day of the race both the Tortoise and the Hare started together. The Tortoise never for a moment stopped, but went on with a slow and steady pace straight to the end of the course.

The Hare took a rest beside the racecourse and fell fast asleep.

When he finally woke up and resumed racing to the end, he saw that the Tortoise had already finished...and was now napping happily and comfortably.

Comment: The Tortoise and the Hare may be Aesop's most famous fable, and "Slow but steady" his most famous moral.

I've often heard a version told that has the hare challenging the tortoise, but note that Aesop's intent was that the challenge is Tortoise's, resulting from Hare's contemptuous taunts.

Note also that Tortoise expects to win!

Taken from Hare's point of view, the fable's message is a warning against over-confidence.

Slow and steady wins the race.

Jean De La Fontaine tells a more modern, rhyming version of this fable.

How to use Aesop's Fables.

More stories with morals.

Storytelling to improve behavior.

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