The Hare and the Tortoise

 The Hare and the Tortoise

Retold by Hilda Offen

Have you ever met someone that thought you could never do something just because you were a girl, boy, tall, short, young, old, fast, or slow? Well, in the story The Hare and the Tortoise, retold by Hilda Offen, we meet Hare, a rabbit that thinks the tortoise could never beat him in a race. But he is surprised when we find out who really wins!
Tortoise was a slow paced animal, possibly the slowest in the forest. All the other animals would laugh and make fun of Tortoise for being so slow. But one day, Tortoise challenged Hare, the fastest animal in the forest, to a race to the clearing in the forest. At first, Hare thought this was a joke but the two settled on starting their race the next morning. When morning came, the two met and began their race. Hare sped off into the distance, so far that he could no longer see Tortoise. Knowing how slow Tortoise is, he decided to sit and take a break because in his mind, Tortoise would take all day to reach up to him. But as he sat, Hare became tired and fell asleep. Meanwhile, Tortoise kept his usual slow pace and eventually passed the sleeping Hare, crossing the finish line. "Slow and steady wins the race" he tells the Hare, who awoke and realized he was too late, catching up.
The characters in this book hold true to traditional fiction. Each character represents patience and consistency (the Tortoise) while the other represents ignorance and inconsistency. Overall, this story tries to teach the lesson that something is better done at one's own pace and own comfort level rather than rushing and ignoring the ultimate goal. The language is very direct and does not allude to any other possible lessons.
The Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks for this would be 12.2 Identify and analyze the elements of plot, character, and setting in the stories they read and write.and 12.1 Identify the elements of plot, character, and setting in a favorite story.