The Tortoise and the Hare

This story is not for children, it is for the adult the child will become.

As a children’s story, since children are so impressionable, the best lessons of being a quality person are given to us at that young age.

This will set the child’s mind with this principle so as an adult the principle will be your character, however it seems it has not worked well for most people.

This children’s tale is the true story that if you persist you will win, if you run quickly and give up or rest too soon being cocky and arrogant or simply lazy, you will not succeed.

To be able to do whatever it takes is simply to know that you must, and continue regardless of your feeling and desire to sleep, you stay awake and do what must be done.

Life is really so simple, but the people who are supposed to teach us how to become high quality successful people have also failed in their own life goals, and so cannot convey the valuable lessons we need. Instead, they give us the same wrong ideas they have. Through no fault of your own, you are what you are. What you will be tomorrow is entirely up to you, and is your fault now that you know better.

You must now work diligently on altering your character by reading children’s fables from the point of the adult who can read the lesson hidden within, and there you will find great wisdom.

Rudyard Kipling wrote children’s tales. He also wrote a poem entitled ‘If’ which I have inserted at the end of this article. It is a valuable measuring stick of your progress and inner state. Sometimes you do not know who is behind what, so you must look and find for yourself.

For those of you who are not familiar with the tale, here it is.

A Hare one day ridiculed the short feet and slow pace of the Tortoise. The latter, laughing, said: “Though you be swift as the wind, I will beat you in a race.” The Hare, deeming her assertion to be simply impossible, assented to the proposal; and they agreed that the Fox should choose the course, and fix the goal. On the day appointed for the race they started together. The Tortoise never for a moment stopped, but went on with a slow but steady pace straight to the end of the course. The Hare, trusting to his native swiftness, cared little about the race, and lying down by the wayside, fell fast asleep. At last waking up, and moving as fast as he could, he saw the Tortoise had reached the goal, and was comfortably dozing after her fatigue.

IF

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream – and not make dreams your master;
If you can think – and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on”;

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings – nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run –
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And – which is more – you’ll be a Man my son!

Rudyard Kipling