The Tortoise and the Hare, Again

You know the race between the hare and the tortoise: the hare slept, and the tortoise won. But the story did not end there.

The hare was ashamed, and he thought. A week later he went to the tortoise: "One more race. This time I won't sleep." The tortoise agreed. The race began; the hare ran like the wind, never stopped, crossed the finish line. He waited an hour for the tortoise to arrive. The hare won. "Speed wins," he said.

This time the tortoise thought. "One more race," he said, "but I'll choose the route." The hare agreed. The route crossed a river. The hare ran up to the river and stopped; he could not swim. The tortoise came along slowly, went into the water, swam, climbed out on the other side and reached the finish line. The tortoise won. "Wits win," he said.

Now each of them had won once. The hare thought one night, and in the morning went to the tortoise: "One last race. But this time let's be a team."

The race began. On land the hare took the tortoise on his back and ran. In the river the tortoise took the hare on his back and swam. On the far bank the hare ran again. They crossed the finish line together; faster than ever before.

The animals applauded. The owl asked: "Who won?" The hare and the tortoise looked at each other and answered at the same time: "Both of us."

Speed is good. Wits are good. But a friend is better than both.