The Tortoise and the Hare: An adaptation of a West African folktale
1“I bet I can beat you in a race,” Tortoise told Hare. Hare laughed. “You cannot beat me,” she said.
2“Yes, I can. I dare you to race me.” Hare agreed and then laughed some more. They chose a date and time for the race. They planned to race along a path in the forest.
The day of the race arrived and several animals came to watch. The race began and Hare whizzed by, eager to win and end the race. Tortoise had many cousins who looked just like him. One was at the starting line. The others were waiting at different places along the path. Tortoise was hiding in a bush near the finish line.
3As Hare turned a corner, she saw one of Tortoise’s cousins ahead of her. She thought that this was Tortoise. “How did you get ahead of me?” Hare asked.
4“I walk slowly, but I run very fast—so fast that you did not see me pass by,” replied Tortoise’s cousin.
5Hare ran even faster. As she turned another corner, she once again saw one of Tortoise’s cousins ahead of her. Once again, she thought this was Tortoise. “How did you get ahead of me this time?” Hare asked.
6“I ran so fast that you did not see me pass by,” replied the cousin.
This kept on happening until Hare reached the finish line. Tortoise had already crossed it. Tortoise had won the race.
The Tortoise and the Hare: An adaption of a Greek fable by Aesop
1Once upon a time, a hare saw a tortoise in the forest. As usual, the tortoise moved very slowly. “I could have run to the other side of the lake by now,” bragged the hare.
2”You think so?” asked the tortoise. “Let’s race.”
3The hare laughed but agreed to race. When the race began, the hare ran so fast that he was out of sight within a few minutes. When the hare was about halfway to the finish line, he decided to take a nap in the warm sunshine. “That tortoise will never beat me,” he said and fell asleep. But the tortoise walked steadily on and on.
4Hare slept longer than he had planned. When he woke, he did not see tortoise anywhere, so he decided that he had better dash to the finish line. However, when he reached the finish line, he was shocked to see that the tortoise had already crossed it. The tortoise had won the race.
Which statement BEST describes the similarities or differences between the themes of these two stories?
A Neither of the stories are written to emphasize a moral lesson that you can learn.
B One story emphasizes being clever to win a contest: the other stresses being patient.
C Both of the stories have the same theme; you have to trick people to win a contest.
D Both of these stories have the same theme; winning or losing really doesn't matter.