Shadowwyn Moor Scorpius

"Well, there is one fairly popular and old one, dealing with the turtle's ground-dwelling cousin tortoise. They are thought to be the slowest animals in the world, but he managed to beat a hare in a race," Wraen was glad to be offered a topic, because with Esma being so closed off, there was a real danger that their conversation would cease and both would be left in an awkward silence. 

"The hare was a fast creature - could outrun anyone and even now - if you have attempted to hunt one down, you know that they are not as easy to catch as one might think," she told. "He was very proud of his skill and tended to boast about it lavishly. Until one day a tortoise was fed up with the fellow and challenged him for a race," she paused, giving Esma time to imagine the scene. 

"The hare was confident of him winning the slow animal, but was not a person to shy away from a challenge. They agreed on a distance and took off. The hare ran as fast as he could, leaving the tortoise in cloud of dust and far behind. Just before the established finish line the hare stopped, looked back and decided that there was still plenty of time for him and lied down for a nap.

In the meanwhile the tortoise kept going, making one step after another, never stopped or felt discouraged and in the end he passed the sleeping hare at the finish line and won the race," Wraen finished. "The moral of the story is that you should not listen to those, who boast too much, and feel discouraged by them. Instead keep on your own track, do it in your own time and as you see fit and keep your eyes on the goal. And you will get there in the end."

Aesop's fable "The Tortoise and the Hare"