C. T. Suddeth

Tortoise and Hare as history: It is one of Aesop’s Fables. Aesop (around 600 BCE) is a semi-legendary Greek story-teller credited with Aesop’s Fables. The ambiguous story about a race between unequals is about doggedness or cleverness or laziness, which is part of the fun—your choice.

Versions of the story occur almost worldwide and likely pre-date Aesop. Other versions feature head starts or trickery such as hitching a ride on your opponent or subbing lookalikes to finish the race. It is a common theme in Native American stories. The Yuchi have a couple, one involving a wolf and hare. Basically, this is an underdog story, similar to lots of sports movies.