THE TORTOISE AND THE HARE

Brown-Westhead, Moore & Co. (1862-1904) Fables 12 inch platter featuring the Tortoise and the Hare, ca, 1880

I have loved Aesop's Fables since I was a little girl.  One of my favorites and one of the most popular is The Tortoise and the Hare.  I liked that the possibility of winning could come to a slow runner (me).  At five I thought of the race as a foot race, now I think of it as life.  The moral of the fable is "Slow and steady wins the race."  Or, perhaps it is that hubris can cause you to lose the race.  Sometimes a moral can be ambiguous.

The Tortoise and the Hare is also a popular transferware pattern.  It features on patterns for children as well as on dinnerware items.

Brownhills Pottery (1872-1896) 6.25 inch plate printed with Aesop's Fables The Hare And The Tortoise

William T. Copeland (1847-1970) soup tureen lid printed with The Fox, the Hare and the Tortoise, ca. 1880. I guess the fox is the judge of the race.  Or, perhaps, this is a totally different fable!

I have written about Aesop's Fables in other blog posts.  See The Fox and the Grapes and The Dog in the Manger.  The fables are as enjoyable to me today as they were when I was little.

Five year old Judie