" i am able to affirm with word of oath , that each prize -- at least , those for which i voted -- was given with just and proper consideration , " said the old boundary post in the wood , who was a member of the committee of judges . " i always act with due order , consideration , and calculation . seven times have i already had the honor to be present at the distribution of the prizes , and to vote ; but to - day is the first time i have been able to carry out my will . i always reckon the first prize by going through the alphabet from the beginning , and the second by going through from the end . be so kind as to give me your attention , and i will explain to you how i reckon from the beginning . the eighth letter from a is h , and there we have h for hare ; therefore i awarded to the hare the first prize . the eighth letter from the end of the alphabet is s , and therefore the snail received the second prize . next year , the letter i will have its turn for the first prize , and the letter r for the second . " " i should really have voted for myself , " said the mule , " if i had not been one of the judges on the committee . not only the rapidity with which advance is made , but every other quality should have due consideration ; as , for instance , how much weight a candidate is able to draw ; but i have not brought this quality forward now , nor the sagacity of the hare in his flight , nor the cunning with which he suddenly springs aside and doubles , to lead people on a false track , thinking he has concealed himself . no ; there is something else on which more stress should be laid , and which ought not be left unnoticed . i mean that which mankind call the beautiful . it is on the beautiful that i particularly fix my eyes . i observed the well - grown ears of the hare ; it is a pleasure to me to observe how long they are . it seemed as if i saw myself again in the days of my childhood ; and so i voted for the hare . " " what is the first prize ? " asked the earthworm , who had overslept the time , and only now came up . " it contains a free admission to a cabbage - garden , " replied the mule . " i proposed that as one of the prizes . the hare most decidedly must have it ; and i , as an active and thoughtful member of the committee , took especial care that the prize should be one of advantage to him ; so now he is provided for . the snail can now sit on the fence , and lick up moss and sunshine . he has also been appointed one of the first judges of swiftness in racing . it is worth much to know that one of the numbers is a man of talent in the thing men call a ' committee . ' i must say i expect much in the future ; we have already made such a good beginning . " 
mule and boundary - post .
who was on the committee ?
who was on the committee ?