Inspiration: Zarah Mohamed’s telling of the Hare and the Tortiose, Aesops Fables (dated near 620 BC)
R-Jay was in the park playing on the swings when all of a sudden CRASH! R-Jay fell off the swing and felt a lot of pain from the sprained ankle. Mo burst out laughing.
Mo is a very vain person. Mo is always going around putting others down, and boasting about trophies from winning at competitions.
In the next few days R-Jay got really fed up with all Mo’s taunting about his crutches and limping. “We’ll teach Mo a lesson”, he said. He sat by the roadside and waited for Mo to come racing by. He called out to him: “Mo! Where are you going in such a hurry. Stop and listen to my proposal, which might be of some benefit to you.”
Mo turned round and approached R-Jay. “What’s this I hear”, he said, “are you planning to give me some reward?”
“Indeed so”, said R-Jay. “We are going to have a race! If you can beat me you will be able to call yourself the fastest person in the neighborhood”.
Mo fell over backwards laughing. “Beat you? With crutches even! That’s hardly a challenge. I could beat you in a race hopping on one leg!”
“We shall see”, said R-Jay, “Do you accept the challenge?”
“Of course I do”, said Mo, “It’ll be a gas!”
They determined the course of the race. Then R-Jay went and called together some of his cousins, and gave them instructions to be at certain places along the race course. The next morning Mo and R-Jay met at the starting point. They set off together, but Mo immediately rushed off, leaving R-Jay far behind. After a few minutes he rested to get some breath. Then he set off again. To his great amazement he spotted R-Jay in front of him. How was that possible? He’d only stopped for a minute! He raced past him, and shouted: “See if you can catch me again, four legs!” Within seconds he’d left R-Jay far behind again.
Mo got tired again, and decided to have another little rest. There was no way he was going to lose this race! After a short while he set off again, at great speed, and lo! There was R-Jay in front of him again! That was impossible! How could that slowcoach have overtaken him again? He caught up with R-Jay and looked at him. “Have you taken some kind of magic potion?” he asked. R-Jay didn’t stop, he just said to Mo: “Slow and steady, that’s me!”
Mo raced ahead. After a few minutes he looked back, there was no sign of R-Jay and his self confidence returned. He stopped to have a nibble at a bush. He had a drink and a quick snooze to refresh himself, and then set off again, as fast as his strong legs could carry him. The finish of the race was now in sight. He looked up, and to his great consternation he saw that R-Jay was just about to cross the line. He summoned all his strength, and made himself go as fast as the wind, but he crossed the line only to bump into R-Jay, who was sitting there waiting for him! All the children gathered were screaming and shouting.
Mo went off by himself, his head drooping with sadness and shame. R-Jay and his cousins had a party to celebrate their victory.
