What is the moral of The Tortoise and the Hare?

Most people sum it up as slow and steady wins the race. The hare is faster but stops to show off and nap, while the tortoise wins by never giving up. That famous line is a later English summary, not Aesop's own wording.

Who wrote The Tortoise and the Hare?

It is one of Aesop's Fables, traditionally credited to Aesop, a storyteller said to have lived in ancient Greece around the sixth century BCE. The fable has been retold many times since; this version is a VoiceSmiths retelling.

What age is The Tortoise and the Hare for?

It suits children from about 3 to 8. The story is short and gentle, has a clear winner, and makes it easy to talk about effort and patience.

Back to the theater

Fable · 声匠改编 · 3:27

The Tortoise and the Hare

A boastful hare laughs at a slow tortoise, so the tortoise challenges him to a race. The hare naps halfway. An Aesop fable told as a full-cast story.

Narrator

The Hare

The Tortoise

The Fox

Hazel the Squirrel

0:000:00

Other languages · 2 languages

🇨🇳 中文 🇺🇸 English

About this story

The Tortoise and the Hare is one of the best-known of Aesop's Fables, the short moral tales handed down from ancient Greece. This VoiceSmiths retelling plays it as a full-cast race day, with a cocky hare, a calm old tortoise, a very proper fox judge and a squirrel calling the action from the trees.

What it teaches

Slow and steady wins the race. Talent is not enough on its own: keeping going, without showing off or giving up, is what gets you to the finish.

Suits

Ages 3–8

Tips for telling it

Stop when the hare lies down for his nap and ask: is that a good idea? What might happen?
Let children say the tortoise's line, one step and then another, with you as he walks.
Talk about a time they kept trying at something hard, like riding a bike or learning to read.

Questions people ask

What is the moral of The Tortoise and the Hare?: Most people sum it up as slow and steady wins the race. The hare is faster but stops to show off and nap, while the tortoise wins by never giving up. That famous line is a later English summary, not Aesop's own wording.
Who wrote The Tortoise and the Hare?: It is one of Aesop's Fables, traditionally credited to Aesop, a storyteller said to have lived in ancient Greece around the sixth century BCE. The fable has been retold many times since; this version is a VoiceSmiths retelling.
What age is The Tortoise and the Hare for?: It suits children from about 3 to 8. The story is short and gentle, has a clear winner, and makes it easy to talk about effort and patience.

Theater

🇺🇸🇨🇳🇯🇵🇰🇷🇪🇸🇧🇷🇮🇩7 languagesShort drama3:36

Reborn at My Engagement Party

声匠原创

Pushed down the stairs by her fiancé and her sister, Shen Qingci wakes up at her own engagement party. She exposes them both, then he whispers in her ear: did you come back too?

5 voices

🇺🇸🇨🇳2 languagesClassic5:00

Borrowing Arrows with Straw Boats

Romance of the Three Kingdoms · Luo Guanzhong (original) · VoiceSmiths adaptation · 1522

Zhou Yu sets a trap: 100,000 arrows in ten days. Kongming asks for three, waits for fog, and lets Cao Cao pay. Same cast as the Chinese episode.

6 voices

🇺🇸🇨🇳2 languagesFable3:33

The North Wind and the Sun

声匠改编

The boastful North Wind and the gentle Sun bet on who can make a traveler take off his cloak. Aesop's fable of why warmth wins where force fails, retold.

5 voices