The famous fable has been retold to illustrate some management lessons.
A vain hare lived in a forest. It always tickled him to think that his friend, the tortoise, could only crawl centimeter by centimeter. Ah, that ugly shell! That must be weighing him down so much, he thought, as he hopped lightly across the field.Then he noticed the tortoise looking at him without as much as lifting his neck. The hare said derisively, "No wonder your back has ballooned up so much. You ought to be running about, not sleeping all the time!"
The tortoise said nothing, just pulled his head further into himself as if in shame.
The hare said, "Let's have a race. That would put some competitiveness into your lazy head. No, you are not saying 'No'. Whoever reaches that banyan tree first is the winner," he said pointing to a huge Banyan tree with hundreds of roots from the sprawling branches reaching out to the ground. "Instead of sleeping here, you may sleep out there. It will be cooler. Why, you loser! already scared?"
The words stung the tortoise. Any challenge has to be met; you cannot run away...er.. walk away from it. Win or lose, fight you must. The tortoise walked resolutely to the hare. "Say 1-2-3," he said, meeting the hare in the eye.
The hare hopped fast with spring in every jump. The wind blew hard in his face, and it was fun. "Where is that darn tortoise," he thought suddenly, as he swung back to take a look.
The tortoise had barely moved a few feet from where they had started. "This is no fun," thought the hare, "Let me wait till that snail comes closer. All I need is a few more leaps to reach that tree."
The hare then cooled his heels under a walnut tree, and picked up a few nuts. He munched them lazily, waiting for the tortoise to catch up. Presently, he closed his eyes, and before long, sank into a peaceful slumber.
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