Plodding wins the race.

Aesop, the ancient teller of fables, gave to the world a simple yet eternal truth when he declared: “Plodding wins the race.” In this short saying lies the wisdom of endurance. To plod is to move steadily, step by step, without haste and without weariness. Though the impatient despise it, though the proud mock it, in the end it is perseverance, not speed, that secures victory.

The fable of the Tortoise and the Hare gives birth to this teaching. The hare, swift and boastful, trusted in his speed and grew careless. The tortoise, humble and steadfast, placed one foot before the other, never stopping, never faltering. When the hare awoke from his arrogance, it was too late—the tortoise had already crossed the finish line. Thus Aesop shows that the quiet strength of steady effort outlasts the brilliance of fleeting bursts.

The truth of this has echoed through history. Consider Thomas Edison, who failed thousands of times in his quest to perfect the light bulb. To many, his efforts seemed hopeless, his progress too slow. Yet his plodding—his tireless devotion to steady labor—won the race. What the genius of sudden inspiration could not complete, persistence carried to the end, and by it he brought light to the world.

So too in the life of nations. The liberation of India under Mahatma Gandhi was not the work of a single uprising, but of decades of marches, boycotts, and patient suffering. The empire he opposed seemed mighty beyond defeat, yet his plodding perseverance wore it down until freedom came. His victory was not of speed, but of steady resolve, proving that the patient tread of justice outlasts the hasty stride of oppression.

O children of tomorrow, heed this wisdom: do not scorn the slow road, nor despair if your steps seem small. For plodding wins the race. The mountain is climbed not in leaps but in steady ascent; the book is written not in a day but in faithful lines; the soul is shaped not in moments but in years. Trust in steady labor, for what begins in small steps ends in triumph. Thus Aesop, with the voice of ages, teaches that patience and perseverance shall always outlast pride and haste.