The Tortoise and the Hare

Hello, I am Tortoise. I live in a big, sunny meadow. The grass is so soft and so green. My shell is my house. It is brown and round and very strong. It keeps me safe. I walk very, very slowly. Plod, plod, plod. My friend Hare is so fast. He goes zip, zip, zoom all around the meadow. You can barely see his white, fluffy tail. One bright, sunny morning, Hare laughed at me. He said, 'You are so slow, Tortoise.' I looked at him and said, 'Let's have a race.' And that is how the story of The Tortoise and the Hare began.

All our friends gathered to watch. Ready, set, go. Hare went so fast. Whoosh. He was a little white dot far away. Then he was gone. I just started to walk. I put one foot in front of the other. Plod, plod, plod. The sun was warm on my strong shell. I kept going. Plod, plod, plod. Far, far ahead, Hare was so far in front. He thought, 'I can win easily.' He saw a big, shady tree. The leaves were cool. He decided to take a little nap. Zzz, zzz, zzz. He fell fast asleep.

I kept walking my slow walk. Plod, plod, plod. Soon, I saw the big, shady tree. And I saw Hare. He was sleeping. Shhh. I did not stop. I did not make a sound. I just kept going. Plod, plod, plod. I kept my eyes on the finish line. It was a big red ribbon. I walked right under the ribbon. I won. All the animals cheered. Yay. The loud cheers woke up Hare. He looked around. He saw me at the finish line. He could not believe it. I showed everyone that slow and steady can win the race. It is good to keep trying and never give up.

Reading Comprehension Questions

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Answer: The Tortoise and the Hare were in the story.

Answer: 'Slow' means moving without much speed, like the Tortoise. The opposite of slow is fast.

Answer: The Hare took a nap under a shady tree.