2016 – 6th Grade National 3rd Place Winner

Zachary Miller, Minnesota.



The Tortoise and the Hare Reimagined

Once upon a time, there was a forest full of animals. The fastest one, the hare, bragged about how he was the fastest in the entire forest. The tortoise, tired of his bragging, challenged the hare to a race the next day. The tortoise knew that the hare would beat him, and that he would have to become faster than the hare. So, using his pen and paper, Imagination where anything can come to life, and his solid and trustworthy hammer, Knowledge, he created a device to beat the hare.

The next day, the animals cheered as the tortoise beat the hare by an inch using a machine that spun so fast that it pushed him to a speed faster than the hare. When the other animals asked him how he made his contraption. The tortoise replied, “I used my Imagination and Knowledge to make it. When I worked on my project, I realized that everyone needs both of these things.”

“But which one is more important?” cried the animals. “Surely there is one that is more important?”

“Knowledge is, of course.” said the hare. “Without Knowledge, we wouldn’t be able to know what is good or bad, or what we need. We wouldn’t stand a chance without Knowledge.”

“No, Imagination is more important!” bleated the little goat Amy. “Without Imagination, we would never have ideas, and the world would be sad! We wouldn’t wonder about the world!”

The tortoise had remained silent until they had finished their statements. “You are both correct,” he said, “We need both of these things. If I didn’t have Imagination, I wouldn’t have come up with the idea of my device, yet without Knowledge I couldn’t have known how to create my device or even know that I needed it. We wouldn’t be where we were today if it weren't for these two objects.”

The animals were so impressed that they made him the king of all the animals for his wisdom and greatness, and discovery of the things called Imagination and Knowledge. He lived a long life, and made many amazing things before he died. The lives of the animals became great, and when he died, all the animals wept for three days straight. However, they decided to build a sanctuary in honor of the tortoise where the animals could pay respects and ask for guidance.

 

 



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