IItt iiss aa bbrriigghhtt sspprriinngg mmoorrnniinngg.. AA TToorrttooiissee wwaallkkss bbyy aanndd mmeeeettss aa RRaabbbbiitt..
Tortoise: Hi there, Mr. Rabbit. Beautiful day, isn’t it
Rabbit: Aren’t you the Slow Tortoise
TThhee TToorrttooiissee iiss aa lliittttllee mmaadd,, bbuutt hhee ddooeessnn’tt sshhooww iitt.. TThhee TToorrttooiissee ssttiillll ttrriieess
ttoo bbee nniiccee ttoo tthhee RRaabbbbiitt..
Tortoise: Yes, I’m Mr. Tortoise. I’m happy to meet you. Let’s be friends.
Rabbit: No, thank you. I don’t want to be your friend.
Tortoise: How come
Rabbit: Your legs are too short. You can’t jump. And you are too slow.
Tortoise: My legs may be short. And I may be slow. But I can still beat you in
a race.
Rabbit: Ha!Ha!Ha! That’s funny! How can you beat me I am much faster.
Tortoise: I can beat you for sure.
Rabbit: No, you can’t!
Tortoise: Yes, I can!
Rabbit: No, you can’t!
Tortoise: Yes, I can! Let’s have a race now. Then you’ll see.
Rabbit: Now Okay! Why not I will win for sure.
Tortoise: Let’s make a bet. If I win, you must carry me on your back.
Rabbit: I promise. But if I win, you must carry me.
Tortoise: Fine.
TThhee ootthheerr aanniimmaallss iinn tthhee ffoorreesstt hheeaarr aabboouutt tthhee rraaccee aanndd ggaatthheerr ttoo sseeee tthhee
TToorrttooiissee aanndd tthhee RRaabbbbiitt rruunn.. TThhee rraaccee iiss aabboouutt ttoo ssttaarrtt..
Tortoise: See the mountain top
Rabbit: Yes.
Tortoise: The first one to reach there, wins. Okay
Rabbit: Okay.
The Fox is the starter.
Fox: Stand behind this line. Are you both ready
Tortoise: Yes
Rabbit: Me too.
Fox: Okay. I’ll start the race. One! Two! Three! Go!
TThhee FFooxx ddrrooppss tthhee wwhhiittee hhaannddkkeerrcchhiieeff aanndd tthhee rraaccee ssttaarrttss..TThhee RRaabbbbiitt iiss vveerryy
ffaasstt aanndd iiss aallrreeaaddyy wwaayy aahheeaadd.. TThhee ttoorrttooiissee wwaallkkss vveerryy sslloowwllyy.. TThhee ootthheerr
aanniimmaallss aarree aallll cchheeeerriinngg ffoorr tthhee TToorrttooiissee.. TThhee FFooxx iiss wwoorrrriieedd aabboouutt tthhee
TToorrttooiissee..
Fox: Poor Mr. Tortoise. He will lose for sure.
Goat: How do you know Maybe he will win.
TThhee RRaabbbbiitt iiss aallrreeaaddyy hhaallff wwaayy uupp tthhee mmoouunnttaaiinn.. HHee iiss oouutt ooff bbrreeaatthh.. HHee ssttooppss
ttoo llooookk bbeehhiinndd..
Rabbit: Where is the Tortoise I can’t even see him. He is too slow for me.
This is too easy.
TThhee RRaabbbbiitt ddeecciiddeess ttoo ttaakkee aa nnaapp bbeeffoorree tthhee TToorrttooiissee ccoommeess..
Rabbit: I am a little tired. And I have a lot of time. So, I will take a nap
here.
TThhee RRaabbbbiitt ttaakkeess aa nnaapp.. EEvveenn tthhoouugghh tthhee TToorrttooiissee iiss ssttiillll ffaarr bbeehhiinndd,, hhee
ddooeessnn’tt ssttoopp oorr ggiivvee uupp.. HHee jjuusstt wwaallkkss aanndd wwaallkkss aanndd wwaallkkss..
Tortoise: I am tired, but I must go on. I must win the race. One, two. One,
two.
TThhee RRaabbbbiitt ffaallllss aasslleeeepp aanndd ccoonnttiinnuueess ttoo sslleeeepp ffoorr hhoouurrss.. TThhee TToorrttooiissee iiss nnooww
aatt tthhee mmiiddddllee ooff tthhee mmoouunnttaaiinn.. HHee sseeeess tthhee RRaabbbbiitt sslleeeeppiinngg..
Tortoise: It’s Mr. Rabbit! Why is he sleeping here He must be very tired. I am
tired, too. But I must go on. One, two. One, two.
TThhee mmoouunnttaaiinn ttoopp iiss nnoott ttoooo ffaarr aawwaayy.. TThhee TToorrttooiissee iiss aallmmoosstt aatt tthhee ffiinniisshh
lliinnee.. AAllll tthhee ootthheerr aanniimmaallss aarree ssuurrpprriisseedd..
Goat: Look! It’s the Tortoise!
Fox: Where’s the Rabbit
Goat: Who knows Come on, Mr. Tortoise! Go! Go! Go!
TThhee ttoorrttooiissee ttaakkeess oonnee sstteepp,, aanndd aannootthheerr sstteepp,, aanndd aannootthheerr..
Tortoise: One, two. One, two. I’m almost there.
JJuusstt tthheenn,, tthhee RRaabbbbiitt wwaakkeess uupp ffrroomm hhiiss nnaapp aanndd iiss ssuurrpprriisseedd.. HHee rreeaalliizzeess tthhaatt
hhee hhaass sslleepptt ttoooo lloonngg.. HHee sseeeess tthhee TToorrttooiissee nneeaarr tthhee mmoouunnttaaiinn ttoopp.. HHee rruunnss,, aanndd
rruunnss,, aanndd rruunnss,, bbuutt iitt’ss nnoo uussee..
Rabbit: Faster! Faster! I must run faster!
Finally, the Tortoise reaches the mountain top first and wins the race.
Goat: Hooray! Hooray for Mr. Tortoise!
Fox: Congratulations, Mr. Tortoise! You won the race!
Tortoise: Thank you, thank you, everyone!
TThhee RRaabbbbiitt iiss ttoooo llaattee.. HHee ffeeeellss aasshhaammeedd..
Rabbit: Oh, no! I lost. Now I have to carry the Tortoise on my back.
TThhee RRaabbbbiitt ggooeess ttoo sshhaakkee hhaannddss wwiitthh tthhee TToorrttooiissee..
Rabbit: Good race. Congratulations, Mr. Tortoise. You won the race.
Tortoise: I told you, I would win.
Rabbit: But how did you do it
Tortoise: It wasn’t too hard. Just take one step after another. It may be slow,
but you will get there for sure.
Rabbit: OhNow, I will keep my promise. Climb up on my back.
Tortoise: That’s okay. Let’s just be friends.
MMOORRAALL
TTaalleenntt iiss ooff nnoo uussee wwiitthhoouutt eeffffoorrtt..
[來源: _t_i_n_g_c_l_a_s_s]