LIFE Photo Collection
For millennia, people have retold Aesop's fables, passing variations from generation to generation and culture to culture. Aesop, according to some historical sources, was a Greek slave born around 620 BCE.
Texian Hare (1848) by John T. BowenThe Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
One of his best-known works is The Tortoise and The Hare. The familiar folktale begins with an arrogant hare taunting a tortoise for being slow. This 1848 lithograph depicts lepus texianus, a subspecies of black-tailed jackrabbit.
Make sure you're sitting comfortably, and we'll see you off to slumber with the story of the tortoise and the hare, told through artworks and images from around the world and throughout history...
Foraging Gopher TortoiseGeorgia Public Broadcasting
In response to the mockery, the wise tortoise challenges the hare to a race. The amused rabbit accepts the challenge. How could he possibly lose?
The Hare and the Tortoise by Mohan Kumar VermaCrafts Museum
The hare takes an early lead, as shown in this scene by Indian artist Mohan Kumar Verma. Although it may look like an illustration, this image was actually created with a paper-cutting technique called Sanjhi.
Pensive Rabbit (2020) by Michael TeffoOriginal Source: University of Pretoria Museums
The hare, confident in his easy victory, decides to lie down for a nap at the side of the track. South African artist Michael Teffo created this sculpture inspired by the scene in 2020.
A Tortoise (1760-1849) by Artist: Katsushika HokusaiSmithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art
Undeterred by the rabbit's hubris, the tortoise continues making slow but steady progress. Katsushika Hokusai painted this tenacious tortoise.
Hase (1502) by Albrecht DürerAlbertina Museum
The groggy hare wakes up to realize that the tortoise has taken the lead! This sleepy-looking hare was painted in 1502 by German Renaissance artist Albrecht Dürer.
A gopher tortoise ambles along the Launch Pad 39B beach road on NASA's Kennedy Space Center.NASA
The tenacious tortoise approaches the finish line, much like this gopher tortoise photographed near NASA's Kennedy Space Center.
The fable of the hare and the tortoise (ca. 1630) by Franz SnydersBiblioteca Museu Víctor Balaguer
The hare sprints its fastest but is unable to overtake the tortoise, just like the galloping bunny in this 1630 painting by Franz Snyders.
The Hare and the Tortoise The Hare and the TortoiseCrafts Museum
In the end, the tortoise is the winner. Aesop's moral shows us that the race does not always go to the swift. Sweet dreams!
