Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Hare's Blunder

Once upon a time there was a non-runner who played the Hare in a performance of The Tortoise and the Hare. There were 300 children in the audience. What fun! How silly the non-runner was with the Hare, zipping around the stage and through the audience, delivering lines at the speed of light, and boasting--because that's what Hare does in the fable. Then Tortoise challenges Hare to a race, because that's what happens in the fable. A child is brought up to say "On your mark...get set...go!" because that's what happens in the play. And Hare dashes away, ahead of Tortoise, because that's what happens in the story. But the non-runner forgot that what the story doesn't mention is that hares don't have to stretch out to run; they're built for running. Non-running performers ought to stretch out even if it's just a play; for the non-runner, upon hearing "go," pushed off with her left foot so she could win the race. But something in the foot stretched too much and the non-runner had to limp during the race, even though that's not in the fable. Luckily, the non-runner is a good performer and didn't let on how much the race hurt. She had to put her foot up, though, for a week afterwards.

Moral: If you are not a Hare, stretch out before running even if the race isn't real.


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