Tortoise and the Hare

I've always appreciated the morals that accompany fables like the boy who cried wolf, the ugly duckling, and the Lion and the Mouse. But, there's one fable that I've never been able to get on board with: The Tortoise and the Hare. To me it seems like "slow and steady wins the race" is too generalized. Whether the tortoise wins the race or not, depends completely on the hare. In fact, the only reason the tortoise DID win, is not because of the whole "slow and steady" thing, it's because the hare was an idiot. Because, honestly, "fast and steady" would have beat the crap out of "slow and steady," if the hare hadn't fallen asleep.

Don't get me wrong, I love the moral. I love the solid, reliability of the tortoise, and I would much sooner trust him with my life than I would the hare, but I've always found the story a tad unbelievable. Because, honestly, I don't care how slow and steady you are, when it comes down to raw ability, the hare will win every time. Slow and steady isn't what won you that race, Mr. Tortoise. You got lucky. So, stop gloating.