The Tortoise and the Hare

I have a solution to the story of the Tortoise and the Hare. Most readers of the story think that the Hare is just being stupid. They believe that in his situation, they would have easily won the race. Here, I present a version of the story where both the Hare's and the Tortoise's actions are motivated.

The key to the solution is to realize that the race that they set out on is long. Very long. It is not a matter of minutes or hours. If that was the case, the Hare would have easily sprinted ahead and reached the end, and then gone about his day. In fact, the race takes years. Now, let's transport ourselves to the moment when the race starts. It is a blistering hot day in a wide open field. Both contestants are standing eagerly by the starting line. When the starting horn sounds, the Hare immediately takes off in a cloud of dust. The Tortoise carefully places one of his front legs in the sandy ground before him, and heaves his body a few inches forward.

Far ahead, the Hare is dashing across the plains at breakneck speed. He leaps over logs and rocks in elegant parabolic trajectories. He can feel the wind gushing through his fur and pulling back his ears. This is going fantastically he thinks. I'm completely crushing this guy. At this rate, I'm on track to finish this race within a legendary time. I guess I'll be famous for this, there will be stories about my quick feet. These thoughts warm his racing heart as he his galloping towards the flag pole that marks the end, unspeakably far away in the distance. The sun sets, and the Hare sets down for the night, drinking water and eating his grass. The next morning, he resumes his running, however not at the same insane speed as the first day. I'm going to have to save my strength after all, he reasons. This goes on for a number of days, and gradually the Hare converges to a trotting speed. He does some counting and realizes that with just his trotting speed, his finishing time will not seem particularly impressive to people. He makes a resolution to run faster, and starts pushing himself to perform better and better. At the end of each day, he lays down, feeling exhausted and a bit displeased. I should really be able to do better, I'm the Hare for crying out loud, he reproaches himself. He passes several other animals in the enormous field. Birds and deer only have time to get a glimpse of him as he rushes past them. Can't stand around forever, he thinks. Still, he is making great progress. One day, he wakes up and decides to take the day off. He's been feeling moody lately, and not quite himself. His racing has been taking up so much time, and he hasn't had time to relax and have fun in a while. Besides, his opponent must surely be way behind. He stands up on his hind legs to see as far as he can, but cannot see the Tortoise anywhere. So, he calms himself that he can afford just one day of relaxation. He spends the entire morning laying in the grass and looking at the clouds. In the afternoon, he walks in to a nearby town to see their fine vegetable market. He runs into a group of people and introduces himself as Mr. Hare, athlete. As he is very confident and outgoing, he quickly makes friends. In the evening, he is invited to a party in one of the better neighborhoods. After having partied all night, he resolves not to exert himself with running this day, and goes for brunch with the townsfolk. His career in sports catches the attention of a couple of people at the table, who proposition him to become their personal gym instructor. A few weeks pass, and the Hare settles in to the cozy life in the town. He starts a personal training service, and soon peddles gym equipment to new eager customers every week. Every now and then, he remembers his commitment to completing the race against the Tortoise, but pushes the thoughts in to the back of his head. I'll get back to racing soon again, however I must also think of my clients that I have a commitment to. When someone depends on you for their health and well-being, you can't just up and leave. I'm not the one to do that to good, honest people, that have treated me as their friend. So, he waits another week.

Meanwhile, the Tortoise is trudging along, patiently placing one foot before the other. When he encounters a log or a pile of rocks, he must turn to make a long walk around it. He feels hopeless at first, and begins to doubt his decision to go up against such a fast opponent. Still, he vows not to let the Hare win so easily, and at least endure for one week. At the end of the first week, he realizes that he has made it much further than he thought he had it in him when he set out. He wakes up each morning, feeling good about himself and excited about what progress he will make this day. The animals that he pass take some time to walk along him. He makes friendly conversation with them. The birds are chirping and cheering him. The deer warn him about obstacles and snakes further ahead. When they invite him to stay for a while, he says politely but determinedly that they are welcome to walk with him as long as they want, but that he really wants to finish this race. In this way, he covers mile by mile. He has a lot of time to think, and to experiment with his technique. He finds that he can lift two of his legs at once and lean over his body, to make a longer step. His muscles grow and his shell starts to shrink, making him more agile. He feels joy every day about participating in this race that has allowed him to accomplish more than he thought possible of himself.

And at last, one amber day in the far future, the Tortoise climbs the grassy knoll with the red goal flag that was set up all those years ago. Of course, he expects to see the Hare sitting there waiting for him. The Tortoise has thought for long about what he will say to the Hare as they meet again at last. Thank you for this, Hare. Thank you for respecting an old Tortoise enough to race him, so that he could have the journey of his life. But of course, the Hare is not there. The Tortoise thinks: The Hare was here, but he was tired of waiting, so he left his mark on the pole and went home. But of course, the Hare has not left his mark on the pole, because he was never there. As the sun sets, the Tortoise dreams about the town far back behind the horizon, where the Hare is still waiting for the day when he will muster the energy to take up the race again and finally beat the Tortoise.