Misadventures in the Land of Fables #47
Hares are noted for their speed and for their timidity. Or, to put the two characteristics together: when they are startled from their hiding places, they are running for their lives, and that’s when we see them. I’ve seen plenty in my time, disturbing them as I womp through the middle of some bramble-encrusted woodland. Just a week ago I was running through a field of thistles when a hare detonated in front of me. It left its escape to the last moment, but gained a hundred yards up the hill before it turned to check whether I was in pursuit.
LOST IN THOUGHT
What, I wondered, had the hare been doing so inconspicuously among the dead thistles? Not grazing, or sleeping, resting perhaps, but would it really need to rest so often? Maybe it was simply lost in thought and my approach had shocked it out of its reverie. That might explain the burst of speed: a reflex, a survival mechanism, a sudden, automatic acceleration out of danger, triggered not consciously chosen.
This explanation also contradicts the arrogance attributed to the hare in Aesop’s classic fable, ‘The tortoise and the Hare.’
The hare’s speed might seem impressive to an on-looker, but to the hare itself it is nothing. The hare cares about its safety and its meditations, not its speed, which is no more than a means to an end. The fable now seems like a mistake. It is other creatures who boast of the hare’s speed, the tortoise who issues the challenge, and the bewildered hare is pressured into taking part. This became the starting point for my version of the tale.
‘SLOW BUT STEADY WINS THE RACE’—WHAT RACE?
I agree the tortoise has a point: determination and resolve will bring it to its destination while, despite its speed, the hare may never reach it, as it runs in whatever direction brings safety. However, their destinations are not the same so can their efforts be meaningfully compared?
It could instead be argued the hare is wasting its talents, as Laura Gibbs’ translation puts it: “the story shows that many people have good natural abilities which are ruined by idleness; on the other hand, sobriety, zeal and perseverance can prevail over indolence.”
Much as I approve the moral of the original fable, my version steps to one side to take a sideways glance at the idea of the race. It criticizes those who would make sport of others or who fail to appreciate the divergence in our goals and motivation. We are not all heading to the same destination.
You can read my version here: ‘The Tortoise and the Hare’