The Tortoise and the Hare - wikipedia The Tortoise and the Hare This article is about Aesop 's fable. For other uses, see The Tortoise and the Hare ( disambiguation ). This article relies too much on references to primary sources. Please improve this by adding secondary or tertiary sources. ( April 2017 ) `` The Tortoise and the Hare '', from an edition of Caleb 's Fables illustrated by Arthur Rackham, 1912 `` The Tortoise and the Hare '' is one of Aesop 's Fables and is numbered 226 in the Perry Index. The account of a race between unequal partners has attracted conflicting interpretations. It is itself a variant of a common folktale theme in which ingenuity and trickery ( rather than doggedness ) are employed to overcome a stronger opponent. Contents 1 An ambiguous story 2 Applications 3 Illustrations of the fable 4 Musical versions 5 Film versions 6 Folk variants 7 See also 8 References 9 External links An ambiguous story The story concerns a Hare who ridicules a slow - moving Tortoise. Tired of the Hare 's arrogant behavior, the Tortoise challenges him to a race. The hare soon leaves the tortoise behind and, confident of winning, takes a nap midway through the race. When the Hare awakes however, he finds that his competitor, crawling slowly but steadily, has arrived before him. The later version of the story in La Fontaine 's Fables ( VI. 10 ), while more long - winded, differs hardly at all from Aesop 's. As in several other fables by Aesop, the lesson it is teaching appears ambiguous. In Classical times it was not the Tortoise 's plucky conduct in taking on a bully that was emphasised but the Hare 's foolish over-confidence. An old Greek source comments that ' many people have good natural abilities which are ruined by idleness ; on the other hand, sobriety, zeal and perseverance can prevail over indolence '. When the fable entered the European emblem tradition, the precept to ' hasten slowly ' ( festina lente ) was recommended to lovers by Otto van Veen in his Emblemata Amorum ( 1608 ), using a relation of the story. There the infant figure of Eros is shown passing through a landscape and pointing to the tortoise as it overtakes the sleeping hare under the motto `` perseverance winneth. '' Later interpreters too have asserted that the fable 's moral is the proverbial ' the more haste, the worse speed ' ( Samuel Croxall ) or have applied to it the biblical observation that ' the race is not to the swift ' ( Ecclesiastes 9.11 ). In the 19th century and after the fable was given satirical interpretations. In the social commentary of Charles H. Bennett 's The Fables of Aesop translated into Human Nature ( 1857 ), the hare is changed to a thoughtful craftsman prostrate under the foot of a capitalist entrepreneur. Lord Dunsany brings out another view in his `` The True History of the Tortoise and the Hare '' ( 1915 ). There the hare realises the stupidity of the challenge and refuses to proceed any further. The obstinate tortoise continues to the finishing line and is proclaimed the swiftest by his backers. But, continues Dunsany, the reason that this version of the race is not widely known is that very few of those that witnessed it survived the great forest - fire that happened shortly after. It came up over the weald by night with a great wind. The Hare and the Tortoise and a very few of the beasts saw it far off from a high bare hill that was at the edge of the trees, and they hurriedly called a meeting to decide what messenger they should send to warn the beasts in the forest. They sent the Tortoise. Applications In Classical times the story was annexed to a philosophical problem by Zeno of Elea in one of many demonstrations that movement is impossible to define satisfactorily. The second of Zeno 's paradoxes is that of Achilles and the Tortoise, in which the hero gives the Tortoise a head start in a race. The argument attempts to show that even though Achilles runs faster than the Tortoise, he will never catch up with her because, when Achilles reaches the point at which the Tortoise started, the Tortoise has advanced some distance beyond ; when Achilles arrives at the point where the Tortoise was when Achilles arrived at the point where the Tortoise started, the Tortoise has again moved forward. Hence Achilles can never catch the Tortoise, no matter how fast he runs, since the Tortoise will always be moving ahead. The only satisfactory refutation has been mathematical and since then the name of the fable has been applied to the function described in Zeno 's paradox. In mathematics and computer science, the tortoise and the hare algorithm is an alternative name for Floyd 's cycle - finding algorithm. Illustrations of the fable A 19th - century illustration of La Fontaine 's Fables by Jean Grandville There is a Greek version of the fable but no early Latin version. For this reason it did not begin to appear in printed editions of Aesop 's fables until the 16th century, one of the earliest being Bernard Salomon 's Les Fables d'Esope Phrygien, mises en Ryme Francoise ( 1547 ). Versions followed from the Netherlands ( in Dutch, 1567 ) and Flanders ( in French, 1578 ) but none in English before Francis Barlow 's edition of 1667. Among the many illustrations of the fable, that by the French caricaturist Jean Grandville is novel in portraying the tortoise as running upright. This is also how he is shown in the Walt Disney cartoon version of `` The Tortoise and the Hare '' ( 1935 ). Another departure from the ordinary in Grandville 's etching is the choice of a mole ( complete with dark glasses ) rather than, as usual, a fox as the judge at the finishing line. Auguste Delierre makes the judge a monkey in the 1883 edition of La Fontaine 's fables that he illustrated. La Fontaine says in his rhyme that it does not matter who the judge is ; his interpreters have taken him at his word. Outside of book production, there is an early 17th - century oil painting of the fable by the Flemish landscape artist Jan Wildens. The hare enters on the left, racing over an upland road as dawn breaks ; the tortoise is nowhere in sight. In the mid-19th century, the French animal painter Philibert Léon Couturier also devoted an oil painting to the fable in which, as in Grandville 's illustration, the tortoise is shown racing upright. In modern times there have been two pieces of popular sculpture aimed at children. Nancy Schön 's was made to commemorate the centenary of the Boston Marathon in 1996 and is sited in Copley Square, the finishing line for the race. The tortoise is shown determinedly stumping forward while the hare has paused to scratch behind its ear. In the following year a painted steel sculpture by Michael Browne and Stuart Smith was set up near the cross-country finish line at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx. The hare is mounted on the tortoise 's shell and appears to be trying to leap over him. The fable has also been illustrated on stamps from several countries. These include : Cyprus, in which cartoon characters are depicted on a set of five € 0.34 stamps ( 2011 ) Dahomey, on a set commemorating the third centenary of La Fontaine 's death in which it figures on the 10 franc stamp. Dominica, on a 2 cent stamp for Easter 1984, picturing a Disney tortoise carrying Easter eggs as it overtakes the sleeping hare France issued surcharged Red Cross stamps in 1978 on which the fable appeared on the 1 franc + 0.25 denomination. It was also included in the 1995 strip of six 2.80 franc stamps commemorating the third centenary of the author 's death. Greece issued a 1987 set illustrating Aesop 's fables, including the tortoise and the hare on the 130 drachma stamp Hungary issued a set in 1980 with this fable on the 4 forint stamp The Maldives issued a 1990 set in which Disney characters act out the fables ; the tortoise and the hare appear on the 15 laree stamp Monaco issued a composite 50 centime stamp on the 350th anniversary of La Fontaine 's birth in 1971, on which this fable appears Sri Lanka issued a 5 rupee stamp for Child 's broadcasting day 2007 showing the contestants at the starting line Musical versions This section gives self - sourcing examples without describing their significance in the context of the article. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources that describe the examples ' significance, and by removing less pertinent examples. Unsourced or poorly sourced material may be challenged or removed. ( April 2017 ) Many allusions to the fable in musical titles are of limited or no relevance, but two instrumental versions may be noted. The one by Yellow Jackets jazz quartet was recorded on their Politics album in 1988 The Anglo - Irish band Flook 's title is on their Haven album ( 2005 ) There have also been several musical settings of Aesop 's fable : In Mabel Wood Hill 's Aesop 's Fables Interpreted Through Music ( New York, 1920 ) Vincent Persichetti included it as the third piece in his Fables for narrator and orchestra ( Op. 23, 1943 ) A poetic version set for children 's voices and piano by Edward Hughes in his Songs from Aesop 's Fables ( 1965 ) The cellist Evalyn Steinbock 's setting for violin, cello and narrator in 1979 As the first of Anthony Plog 's Aesop 's Fables for narrator, piano and horn ( 1989 / 93 ) Among Scott Watson 's Aesop 's Fables for narrator and orchestral accompaniment ( 1999 ) A setting for solo voice by Lucian Cristofor Tugui ( 2006 ) As one of the five pieces in Bob Chilcott 's Aesop 's Fables for piano and choir ( 2008 ) A setting for a cappella choir by Darmon Meader ( 2009 ) As one of David Edgar Walther 's ' short operatic dramas ', composed in 2009 Film versions This section gives self - sourcing examples without describing their significance in the context of the article. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources that describe the examples ' significance, and by removing less pertinent examples. Unsourced or poorly sourced material may be challenged or removed. ( April 2017 ) There have been a number of film versions of the fable, although many have taken considerable liberties with the original story line. They include animated cartoons in France ( 1920 ), and the US ( 1921 ), Silly Symphonies cartoons during the 1930s and by Merrie Melodies during the 1940s. Encyclopædia Britannica Films followed with a dramatized version of Aesop 's fable starring live animals, including an owl, a fox, a goose, a rooster, a raccoon, and a hare. This was a 1947 production in black and white with narrated voice - over. Later divergent versions that referenced the fable appeared in Filmation 's Aesop 's Fables ( 1971 ), Sesame Street ( 1973 ),, and the Japanese TV series Manga Aesop Monogotari ( 1983 ). In 1952, the model animator Ray Harryhausen began a version of the fable, before moving over to more lucrative work on monster movies. Young enthusiasts Seamus Walsh and Mark Caballero later helped Harryhausen complete `` The Story of the Tortoise and the Hare '', having refurbished the original puppets and, under Harryhausen 's guidance, completed the film in 2002. A feature in this, is that the hare drops off to sleep as a result of taking a big meal near the end of the race, thus allowing the tortoise to win. The same situation had appeared in Georges de la Grandière 's 1960 's cartoon version of the fable, Le Lièvre et la tortue. Folk variants The many other variants of the story in oral folk tradition appear worldwide and are classed as Aarne - Thompson - Uther type 275. In most of these there is a race between unequal partners but most often brain is matched against brawn and the race is won by means of trickery. Broadly this is of two types : either the slower animal jumps on the other 's back or tail and hops off at the end when the creature turns round to see where his challenger has got to, or else he is deceived by lookalikes substituting themselves along the course. Tales with a similar theme emphasizing doggedness have been recorded in Native American culture. Hummingbird and Crane agree to race from one ocean to the other. Though Hummingbird flies faster, he stops at night to sleep. Crane, however, flies overnight and is overtaken by Hummingbird later and later during the day, at length coming in first. The ultimate prize differs between versions and includes choice of habitat, the love of a girl, or the right to cut the other down to size. See also Wikisource has original text related to this article : The Tortoise and the Hare Achilles and the Tortoise Festina lente Law of the handicap of a head start References Jump up ^ `` THE TORTOISE AND THE HARE ''. Mythfolklore.net. Jump up ^ `` Story Arts - Aesop 's ABC - The Tortoise and The Hare ''. storyarts.org. Jump up ^ A translation is here Jump up ^ `` 237. THE TORTOISE AND THE HARE ( Laura Gibbs, translator ) ''. Mythfolklore.net. Retrieved 23 June 2018. Jump up ^ The English emblem tradition, University of Toronto 1998, vol. IV, p. 174 Jump up ^ `` Lepus et Testudo ''. Flickr - Photo Sharing !. Jump up ^ `` Lord Dunsany, ' ' 51 Tales ' & # 39 ''. FullTextArchive.com. Retrieved 2013 - 12 - 06. Jump up ^ `` Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy ''. Plato.stanford.edu. Retrieved 2012 - 03 - 24. Jump up ^ Wilson, Catherine ( 2015 ). Leibniz 's Metaphysics : A Historical and Comparative Study. Princeton University Press. p. 204. ISBN 978 - 1 - 4008 - 7957 - 1. Jump up ^ `` Aesop ( Thomas Bewick ) ''. Mythfolklore.net. Retrieved 2012 - 03 - 24. Jump up ^ `` Aesop 's Fables - Victoria and Albert Museum ''. Vam.ac.uk. 2012 - 03 - 18. Archived from the original on 2011 - 05 - 20. Retrieved 2012 - 03 - 24. Jump up ^ `` 70. De lepore et testudine ( 1687 ), illustrated by Francis Barlow ''. Mythfolklore.net. Retrieved 2012 - 03 - 24. Jump up ^ `` The cartoon can be viewed on YouTube ''. Youtube.com. 2008 - 06 - 07. Retrieved 2012 - 03 - 24. Jump up ^ The preparatory water colour is at the La Fontaine Museum Jump up ^ `` Photographic image '' ( JPG ). Cuniculture.info. Retrieved 23 June 2018. Jump up ^ `` Photographic image '' ( JPG ). 1st-art-gallery.com. Retrieved 23 June 2018. Jump up ^ `` Le Lièvre et la Tortue Philibert Léon Couturier Peinture Toile Huile ''. philibert-leon-couturier.com. Jump up ^ `` Hare and Tortoise, Boston, Mass by Nancy Schön ''. Schon.com. 1993 - 05 - 19. Retrieved 2012 - 03 - 24. Jump up ^ `` Public Art in the Bronx ''. National Endowment for the Humanities. Retrieved 23 June 2018. Jump up ^ `` Cyprus postal service ''. Mcw.gov.cy. Archived from the original on 17 December 2012. Retrieved 23 June 2018. Jump up ^ `` Creighton University : : Aesop 's Fables : Dahomey Stamps ''. Creighton.edu. Retrieved 2012 - 03 - 24. Jump up ^ `` Photographic image '' ( JPG ). Philatelia.ru. Retrieved 23 June 2018. Jump up ^ `` Photographic image '' ( JPG ). Environnement.ecole.free.fr. Retrieved 23 June 2018. Jump up ^ `` Creighton University : : Aesop 's Fables : Individual Stamps ''. Creighton.edu. Retrieved 2012 - 03 - 24. Jump up ^ `` Creighton University : : Aesop 's Fables : Greece ''. Creighton.edu. 1987 - 03 - 05. Retrieved 2012 - 03 - 24. Jump up ^ `` Creighton University : : Aesop 's Fables : Hungary ''. Creighton.edu. 1960 - 12 - 01. Retrieved 2012 - 03 - 24. Jump up ^ `` Creighton University : : Aesop 's Fables : Maldives ''. Creighton.edu. 1990 - 12 - 11. Retrieved 2012 - 03 - 24. Jump up ^ Scroll down to 12 April 2011 on Stampboard.com Jump up ^ `` Stamp : Hare and the tortoise at the starting line ( Sri Lanka ( Ceylon ) ) ( International Children 's Broadcasting Day 2007 ) Mi : LK 1679, WAD : LK064. 07 ''. colnect.com. Jump up ^ `` Yellow Jackets - Tortoise and the Hare ( Live ) ''. YouTube. 2006 - 07 - 27. Retrieved 2012 - 03 - 24. Jump up ^ The score is available on the Rochester University site Jump up ^ A performance on YouTube Jump up ^ FMHS Jaguar Chorale -- `` Aesop 's Fables : the Hare and the Tortoise ''. YouTube. 26 May 2009. Jump up ^ Harambee - The Tortoise and The Hare ( Darmon Meader ) Acappella. YouTube. 1 September 2010. Jump up ^ This is available on the online movie archive Jump up ^ `` Sesame Street - What if... ( rabbit & turtle ) ''. YouTube. 6 December 2006. Jump up ^ The Anime Encyclopedia, `` Aesop 's Fables '', 3rd revised edition, Stone Bridge Press 2015 Jump up ^ `` Archived copy ''. Archived from the original on 2011 - 07 - 16. Retrieved 2010 - 07 - 11. Jump up ^ `` The Tortoise & The Hare ( 1 OF 2 ) - Ray Harryhausen ''. Retrieved 23 June 2018. Jump up ^ `` The Tortoise & The Hare ( 2 OF 2 ) - Ray Harryhausen ''. Retrieved 23 June 2018. Jump up ^ bbahalt ( 1 November 2008 ). `` Tortoise and the Hare ( 1 / 2 ) ''. YouTube. Retrieved 23 June 2018. Jump up ^ bbahalt ( 1 November 2008 ). `` Tortoise and the Hare ( 2 / 2 ) ''. YouTube. Retrieved 23 June 2018. Jump up ^ `` The Tortoise and the Hare, and Other Races between Unequal Contestants ''. Pitt.edu. 2011 - 06 - 05. Retrieved 2012 - 03 - 24. Jump up ^ John Reed Swanton, Myths and Tales of the Southeastern Indians, University of Oklahoma 1929, p. 253 External links Media related to The Tortoise and the Hare at Wikimedia Commons 15th - 20th century book illustrations online Aesop Aesop 's Fables The Ant and the Grasshopper The Ass and his Masters The Ass and the Pig The Ass Carrying an Image The Ass in the Lion 's Skin The Astrologer who Fell into a Well The Bear and the Travelers The Belly and the Members The Bird - catcher and the Blackbird The Bird in Borrowed Feathers The Boy Who Cried Wolf The Cat and the Mice The Cock and the Jewel The Cock, the Dog and the Fox The Crow and the Pitcher The Crow and the Snake The Deer without a Heart The Dog and Its Reflection The Dog and the Wolf The Dove and the Ant The Farmer and the Stork The Farmer and the Viper The Fir and the Bramble The Fisherman and the Little Fish The Fowler and the Snake The Fox and the Crow The Fox and the Grapes The Fox and the Lion The Fox and the Mask The Fox and the Sick Lion The Fox and the Stork The Fox and the Weasel The Fox and the Woodman The Frog and the Ox The Frogs Who Desired a King The Goat and the Vine The Goose That Laid the Golden Eggs The Honest Woodcutter The Horse and the Donkey The Horse that Lost its Liberty The Lion and the Mouse The Lion, the Bear and the Fox The Man with two Mistresses The Mischievous Dog The Miser and his Gold The Mountain in Labour The Mouse and the Oyster The North Wind and the Sun The Oak and the Reed The Old Man and Death The Old Woman and the Doctor The Rose and the Amaranth The Satyr and the Traveller The Sick Kite The Snake and the Crab The Snake in the Thorn Bush The Tortoise and the Hare Town Mouse and Country Mouse The Travellers and the Plane Tree The Trees and the Bramble The Two Pots The Walnut Tree Washing the Ethiopian white The Wolf and the Crane The Wolf and the Lamb The Woodcutter and the Trees The Young Man and the Swallow Apocryphal An ass eating thistles The Bear and the Gardener Belling the cat ( also known as The Mice in Council ) The Blindman and the Lame The Boy and the Filberts Chanticleer and the Fox The Dog in the Manger The drowned woman and her husband The Elm and the Vine The Fox and the Cat The Gourd and the Palm - tree The Hawk and the Nightingale Jumping from the frying pan into the fire The milkmaid and her pail The miller, his son and the donkey The Monkey and the Cat The Priest and the Wolf The Scorpion and the Frog The Shepherd and the Lion Still waters run deep The Wolf in Sheep 's Clothing Related Jataka tales Panchatantra Perry Index The labyrinth of Versailles The Lion 's Share Aesop 's Fables ( album ) Screen adaptations Aesop 's Film Fables The Grasshopper and the Ants Print adaptations Ysopet The Morall Fabillis of Esope the Phrygian `` The Cock and the Jasp '' `` The Taill of how this forsaid Tod maid his Confessioun to Freir Wolf Waitskaith '' `` The Taill of Schir Chanticleir and the Foxe '' `` The Taill of the Uponlandis Mous and the Burges Mous '' La Fontaine 's Fables Translators Demetrius of Phalerum Phaedrus Babrius Avianus Dositheus Magister Alexander Neckam Adémar de Chabannes Odo of Cheriton John Lydgate Kawanabe Kyōsai Laurentius Abstemius Roger L'Estrange Gabriele Faerno Hieronymus Osius Marie de France Robert Henryson Jean de La Fontaine Ivan Krylov Nicolas Trigault Zhang Geng Robert Thom Zhou Zuoren portal : Novels The Tortoise and the Hare from Aesop 's Fables by Aesop Film The Tortoise and the Hare ( 1935 ) Tortoise Beats Hare ( 1941 ) Tortoise Wins by a Hare ( 1943 ) Rabbit Transit ( 1947 ) The Story of The Tortoise & the Hare ( 2002 ) Sequels Toby Tortoise Returns Games Jazz Jackrabbit Jazz Jackrabbit Hare and Tortoise Literature The Tortoise & The Hare ( 2013 ) Other Cecil Turtle `` Who Could Win a Rabbit '' Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Tortoise_and_the_Hare&oldid=848716838 '' Categories : Aesop 's Fables La Fontaine 's Fables Fictional hares and rabbits Fictional turtles Literary duos Hidden categories : Articles lacking reliable references from April 2017 All articles lacking reliable references Articles needing additional references from April 2017 All articles needing additional references Talk Contents About Wikipedia Wikisource Català Español فارسی 한국어 Bahasa Indonesia Italiano עברית Bahasa Melayu Nederlands 日本 語 Português Svenska Tiếng Việt 中文 5 more Edit links This page was last edited on 3 July 2018, at 20 : 18 ( UTC ). 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Question: who wrote the story of the tortoise and the hare
Answer: Aesop