Slow and steady wins the race

• This everyday expression means that it is often better to plod slowly to achieve your goal, than to rush at it and fail.
• The expression comes from one of Aesop’s Fables, ‘The Hare and the Tortoise’. Aesop lived between c. 620-560 BCE.

Aesop’s Fable ‘The Hare and the Tortoise’

• A Hare was laughing at a Tortoise, saying, how do you get anywhere at such a slow speed?
• The Tortoise replied that he was slow but steady, and to prove it he would challenge the Hare to a race.
• The Fox was asked to be the judge and prepared the course. The two set off and the Hare was soon so far ahead, that he decided to lie down and take a nap, knowing he had plenty of time.
• Meanwhile the Tortoise walked slowly past the sleeping Hare.
• The Hare eventually woke up, but by the time he reached the finishing line, the Tortoise had already crossed it and won.
• The moral of the story is slow and steady wins the race.