La Tortuga y la Liebre: Una Fábula de Esopo: The Tortoise and the Hare: An Aesop's Fable

Abstract

This is my third bilingual presentation of this fable by the same people, along with one just in English. The other two combine English with French and Polish respectively. This is a landscape-formatted, unpaginated, well-executed large book. McAllister is careful in her English telling of the tale. I say English because a few elements like elevenses might look strange to readers in the USA. In McAllister's telling, the tortoise has a strategy from the start, as is clear when he rejects the hare's suggestion of a short race to the hedge and back. 'That's not far enough,' said Tortoise. 'We'll race down the lane, past the mill and across the meadow to the bridge.' The mill is important, because the tortoise knows that the hare will find carrots there, just as the meadow will invite a nap in the hot midday sun. Perhaps the best of Heale's good colored woodcuts depicts the smiling tortoise as he comes upon the carrot tops lying scattered at the mill. The sleeping tortoise meanwhile dreams of leaping over the moon, while all the rabbits cheer. Of course that cheer is for the tortoise already struggling toward the bridge. The rabbits cheer again for the hare when he promises after the race not to boast any more. The story closes with the tired tortoise asking the hare to carry him home. The first several pages in this copy are crimped at the top.