Then the hare looked at the tortoise and laughed. He said that the tortoise had short legs and was very slow.
The tortoise said, “I will race you.”
The hare was surprised and laughed more. “I can dance around you.”
“Yes,” said the tortoise. “You are as swift as the wind, but I will win.”
The hare thought this was impossible and said OK. They agreed on a day and a place, and all the other animals talked about the race.
On the day of the race, all the animals came to watch. The race began. The tortoise started walking slowly but surely. The hare quickly ran out of sight.
Another animal might stop and give up, but not the tortoise. The tortoise continued walking.
Then the hare stopped. He was confident that he would beat the tortoise, so he lay down and took a nap.
The tortoise continued walking and walking.
When the hare woke up, he saw that the tortoise had won the race and was resting under a tree.
The tortoise said to the hare, “Slowly but surely wins the race.”
有一天，一隻野兔對其他動物說自己跑得很快，他說：「我賽跑從來沒有輸過，我要跟大家比賽。」
然後這隻野兔看著一隻烏龜，嘲笑他的腿短，動作又遲緩。
烏龜說：「我要跟你賽跑。」
這隻野兔很驚訝，並且笑得更大聲。他說：「我可以繞著你跳舞呢！」
「沒錯，」烏龜答道，「你的確健步如飛，但是我贏的。」
野兔覺得烏龜不可能會打敗自己，便一口答應了。他們協議好某天的某個地點舉行賽跑。其他的動物們則對這場比賽議論紛紛。
到了比賽這一天，所有的動物都跑來觀看。比賽開始，烏龜開始緩慢而穩健地行走，兔子則是一溜煙就跑得不見蹤影。
要是其他的動物，可能就此停止或放棄，但是烏龜卻不然，他繼續走著。
不久，兔子停了下來，他確信自己一定會打敗烏龜，所以躺下來小睡片刻。
另一邊，烏龜繼續走著，走著。
當兔子醒來，牠看見烏龜已經贏得了勝利，並且在一棵樹下休息。
烏龜對兔子說：「緩慢但堅定的我贏得了比賽。」