The Hare and the Tortoise

Harvey was confident, arrogant, sarcastic, ruthless, determined and blessed with the body of a multi-Olympian gold medalist. Admittedly he ate the right food, heaps of vegetables, particularly carrots (no spectacles on his agenda) and he took plenty of exercise. He enjoyed nothing more than an early morning boxing bout with his peers, primarily because he always won and left most of them sprawled on the grass with bloody noses and black eyes. His prize for winning was that they should form a guard of honour when he had finished knocking their teeth out so they could applaud and chant, ‘Harvey is the King.’ The male population did not like him (rampant jealousy) but some of the girls, more than aware of his faults, could not resist the rippling muscles and toned athletic torso - in addition to the fact that he was distinctly cute and had a nice way with the ladies. ‘Nice’ ladies did not fall over themselves to date him (even though their boyfriends weren’t nearly so handsome) but there were plenty who would forgive most things for big brown eyes, floppy, Hugh Grant hair, sparklingly white teeth and a macho strut. Besides, Harvey toned it down when the guys weren’t around, he didn’t have to compete and as he fancied himself the thoughts of his latest bit of eye candy were completely immaterial.

Helen liked Harvey rather a lot. She was nice looking but not gorgeous, intelligent but not brilliant, endearingly shy, short on confidence and far more popular (with both sexes) than she realised. It never crossed her mind for so much as a second that a chap like Harvey would even notice her because regardless of his faults he usually had a very pretty lady on his arm. “Another dumb blonde,” was often heard to be muttered by those females who believed him to be in desperate need of a personality transplant but it wasn’t like that with Helen. She was so good-natured people felt protective towards her and sincerely wished she could develop a crush on a more modest, if less attractive fellow. She worshipped him from afar without expecting the admiration to be to be acknowledged and certainly not reciprocated. As it happened Helen was quite wrong. Harvey had noticed her and didn’t mind being the object of desire by a girl who was liked so unreservedly by so many. It would help his kudos if he could snare her and open doors to the more glamorous and intelligent members of her social circle who would find him irresistible once he was up close and personal. He was fed up with them looking down their snooty little noses at him and it was his intention to reel one in, make her fall in love and break her heart. In the meantime he enjoyed riling them and teased Helen with a flashing smile or a slight inclination of his head whenever she was in the vicinity.

Spring announced its arrival as a carpet of early flowers bloomed and the grass grew thick and lush. Harvey’s thoughts, and those of many other young bucks, turned both to the annual March athletic events and affairs of the heart. He had spent the winter running one sprint after another, with a fair amount of endurance work thrown in and his body was at its peak, beautifully toned and fine tuned. Helen could not stop herself yearning to be held in those strong, rippling arms against that firm, sculpted chest as he looked down at her with those big, beautiful eyes. She knew all about his faults but the physical attraction was overwhelming; she had the mother of all crushes on a jerk (not her description) but these things happen. In her heart of hearts she kept hoping he’d mellow but as usual he was strutting around the place, whistling, shadow boxing and singing songs about how he’d win the medallion and all the cups for athletic prowess at the end of the month. One or two young  lads were pitching a case to be competitive and ready to de-throne him but it was the bravado of extreme youth and no one could take them seriously.

For the first time in the history of the March meet the governing body had scheduled a long distance race into the programme. It was a half-marathon and although Harvey was king of the sprints he’d never participated in a distance race, no one had. His endurance work would give him a huge advantage but he kept it to himself; he wanted to steal a march on his rivals and astonish them with his super human fitness. He also decided to make a move on Helen, it would make her day and allow him to wind up a lot of nice people. Her girl friends had brothers who were not sprinters but competing in the races for the first time, the half marathon had whipped up a lot of new interest. He also enjoyed the notion of laying on the bragging which he knew would get back to them and mess with their minds. Harvey wasn’t just a jock, as the Americans say, he had a good brain and was not adverse to the use of psychology if there was a chance of it sharpening his cutting edge still further.

One Saturday when groups of young folk were lolling in the park and after an early morning 15 mile run Harvey decided to make a move on Helen. He strolled over with his usual swagger and asked her if she would like to go for a walk with him. There were mutters of, ‘Go away,’ ‘Take a hike,’ ‘No she wouldn’t,’ ‘Tell him to push off,’ and a number of black looks and scowls. The girls moved closer to Helen who had been struck dumb and turned scarlet but gradually recovered her composure and stared at Harvey. The comments and nasty looks meant nothing to him and he tilted his head to one side, smiled and tapped her hand. ‘Hey, come for a walk, you know you want to and I’d love to get to know what’s hiding behind that long fringe and shy exterior. Take a chance, I don’t bite, honest and you might enjoy yourself, come on, walk with me.’ He reached out his hand and before she could say anything they were making their way towards the river and a well worn path that was skirted by trees - it was commonly referred to as ‘Lovers’ Lane.’ Helen sneaked looks at Harvey as they walked and he glanced at her as she tried not to bubble over with excitement; she was not at all like his usual girlfriends and her naivety tickled him. After a while they struck up a conversation and without admitting it to each other were pleasantly surprised to find that it was easy, there were no uncomfortable silences or awkward pauses. He made sure to ask Helen about herself and she was delighted to find that he was quieter and more thoughtful than she had imagined. Her friends would have been astonished because this was a completely different boy to the braggart who lorded it over his peers  and was so universally disliked. As they strolled they held hands, skimmed stones over the water and imitated the ducks who squawked wildly when the stones splashed within a few feet of the nests they were building. Helen was rather a good mimic and Harvey was frequently in stitches as she loosened up and allowed a lovely sense of humour to show itself.

Eventually Helen started to flag so they looked for a dry patch of grass where they could sit down and lean against a tree. Harvey did a few stretches because he didn’t want his legs to stiffen and Helen brought up the subject of the forthcoming athletics tournament. He had no hesitation in telling her that it was his ambition to make a clean sweep, he intended to win everything and would succeed because there was no one who could touch him, he was peerless. He was not in the habit of talking about his sporting prowess in a quiet and serious manner because it had never been required. Arrogant posing in front of possible competitors was his customary style and previous girlfriends had never expressed any interest in the subject. As he finished his warm down Helen suddenly decided to tell him about Tommy.

Tommy was Helen’s younger brother by about a year and he was lame, he had walked with a pronounced limp since the age of six when his leg had been mangled in an accident. He had been a real tearaway, physically active, one of those kids who wanted to be outdoors all the time. After his accident he went inside himself but having a naturally exuberant nature came to terms with the problem and did as much as he possibly could. He was bright, a quick learner and as he grew up proved to be a popular lad who was always game for a laugh, had plenty of friends and was never caught feeling sorry for himself. Unfortunately in recent years because of the way he walked other problems flared up in his back and hips and over the winter he had experienced frequent spells of  depression. When he found out that there was going to be a half-marathon in the athletics events he perked up, ironically the longer race had captured his imagination and provided him with something else to think about. He went out everyday with a specific aim to see how far he could jog/walk before he collapsed. There had never been any point in him entering a sprint but an endurance race was completely different and even with his problems he felt sure he could give it a shot. Helen and her parents knew that everyone else would question his logic but he had always been a fighter and that mattered immensely, he had to have a goal. He had taught himself to jog/walk when he was eight and now he wanted to try it out in competition. As far as he was aware the other competitors weren’t really training hard, if at all, and he believed if he built himself up (ever the optimist!) there was no reason why he couldn’t do well, very well, even win! Obviously there was Harvey to contend with but Tommy convinced himself that perhaps he’d be too cocksure, underestimate the distance and possibly come a cropper. What he didn’t know was that the other runners had agreed to stay up late the night before, pick up injuries and knobble Harvey; (she didn’t know how) basically they were going to throw the race so that Tom could have the day of his life. It was a very nice ‘gesture’ made by thoughtful, generous kids. As they leaned against the trees and the river gurgled on its way Helen happily divulged the whole secret to the one person who hadn’t been given a chance to say if he’d go along with it and also had a dream of his own.

Harvey had listened intently as Helen told her brother’s story and smiled. He knew about Tom’s accident and over many years had quietly admired his pluck and spirit. Helen squeezed his hand and felt herself melt under his gaze, he was even more gorgeous than her fantasies. She didn’t pursue the conversation, (monologue) and she certainly didn’t presume to ask Harvey if he would talk to the boys and agree to the plan. Helen had just enjoyed her own day of days and when Harvey asked if he could see her again she was in seventh heaven. Very much the gentleman he escorted her home so when they bumped into Tom at the gate and spent ten minutes in light hearted banter it placed the cherry on the icing on top of the cake. Helen thanked Harvey for a lovely day and after a bit of chit-chat they made arrangements to meet again the following afternoon; a second date meant that they were officially an item.

As the days passed Harvey intensified his training but cut back on the endurance work, he was happy to run six or seven miles two or three time a week - he believed that the sprint races needed speed, power and stamina and the long runs gave him time to think. As always he trained alone and if anyone had ever accused him of not being a team player he would have accepted the charge because he knew that in many ways he was a lone wolf. Sometimes he caught a glimpse of Tommy on one of his secret training sessions and his heart went out to him. The boy struggled with every step but he had got his body into fine shape and his perseverance was incredible. On those occasions when Harvey spotted him he made sure that Tommy didn’t know he’d been seen trying to run. Instead he veered off down a different track, shook his head and murmured to himself, ‘Tommy, Tommy, Tommy.’ Helen never raised the matter again but when the competition was only a few days away she told Harvey that they’d been invited to a party at Harry’s place. All the gang would be there and they were very keen for Harvey to turn up with Helen and enjoy himself, they were finally ready to welcome her boyfriend into the group. There were times when Harvey was genuinely stunned by Helen’s naivety but this excitement over the apparent proffering of an olive branch was amazing even for her. Having spilled the beans weeks before that her friends intended to ‘knobble’ him before the athletics competition how and when it might happen appeared to have dropped out of her memory bank. With only three days to go it seemed obvious to him that his rivals had something planned and a party would be an ideal place to scupper him. He smiled inwardly but said that he felt it was a real break through so they should both go, let their hair down and have a good time. He knew that Helen would tell her girl friends he was pleased to have been asked and of course they would relay that to their boyfriends.

At eight o’clock the following evening a whole group of people made their way to Harry’s and in no time at all the place was buzzing. There was plenty to eat and drink and a nice relaxed atmosphere, Helen moved quickly into the groove and Harvey looked for all the world as though he’d never been so happy to be with people who didn’t like him. He was never ignored and every time his glass emptied someone obligingly filled it up before he got a chance to put it down. The boys were all jokes and smiles and he couldn’t remember when he’d last received so many compliments or wished so much luck. What the hosts didn’t know was that as soon as someone charged his glass he swapped it for one full of coke or water and every plate of food was tipped away when no one was looking. If the plan to knobble him was with dodgy food and drink there was no way it would succeed because Harvey was always one step ahead of the game. He acted the part of being very tipsy on Elderflower wine and completely pogged on huge quantities of rich food extremely well but used the time to observe discretely and listen carefully to everything that was said. In fact he had a great time, particularly when he passed out and fell in a heap on the floor. As he was rolled out of the way and the ‘gang’ congratulated each other he was incredibly relieved that no one could see his face because keeping it straight was desperately hard. The only downside was Helen who panicked and cried but she allowed herself to be convinced he was fine and went back to her particular cronies who were making a list of what constituted the perfect boyfriend.

Harvey was not seen again until the day when he was listed to run in the one, two, four and eight hundred metre races followed by the 1500 metres with the half-marathon as a finale. He was the only competitor entered for every race and that in itself caused some major administrative difficulties. The governing body wanted to be as fair to him as they could but no matter what they did there was never going to be a way to make it possible for Harvey to race and have a proper break between each one. In the end they had to tell him that sometimes he would finish one race and on two occasions have less than twenty minutes before the next one; it was unfortunate but there were no precedents for competitors who wanted to run every distance and some of the board members were actually quite miffed! As for the man himself he did not look good at all which caused a ripple of stifled amusement in certain quarters. Helen tried to get him to herself so that she could ask how he felt but he stayed well within the competitors’ circle and never made eye contact so the poor girl could do nothing to assuage her sense of devastation and guilt. Tommy, who had been invited to the party but chosen to do a little more secret training could scarcely believe his eyes - and because he was an honest lad, his luck! Harvey looked distinctly green around the gills (he’d dabbled in a little face painting - sneaky!) and ready to drop before the first event of the day.

At five minutes to one o’clock the competitors were called to the first event. Spectators took up their positions, the noise abated and Harvey dragged himself to the starting line - unlike his fellow sprint merchants who were in tip-top condition. As they were called to their marks he underwent a remarkable transformation and sprang into action. His eyes bored down the track until he had absolute tunnel vision, he heard nothing other than the crack of a bullet to signal the release and they were off. The next noise he heard was the sound of applause (muted in some parts) as he broke the tape in a new all time record and showed his true colours to the gang who had been thoroughly sucked in. Helen jumped up and down clapping and waving in the manner of a future Posh Spice and Harvey blew her a kiss; Tommy, all admiration and regard felt his heart sink but was chuffed to bits when Harvey caught his eye and winked at him. Fifteen minutes later another record was set as Harvey left his rivals for dust in the two hundred metres and within the hour he was a triple gold medalist. It was the same story throughout the afternoon, first place, new record times and more gold medals to add to his collection - the boy could undoubtedly run!

Eventually the clock moved toward the start of  the half-marathon which the committee had been forced to delay so that Harvey could compete. They had been blessed with perfect weather and the spectators had kept themselves occupied eating their picnics and playing quick cricket and hide the carrot. The announcement of Tommy’s name in the field of runners was greeted with loud applause and beaming smiles whilst the announcement of Harvey’s’ name was greeted with amazement and dropped jaws. His achievements would already be discussed for years to come but it had not gone unnoticed that he had to be treated for cramp at the end of his last race and appeared to be carrying an injury. The other competitors who had spent the day with their feet up looked decidedly more spritely than Harvey expected for people who had partied hard and were supposed to be throwing the race. It crossed his mind that more than a few of them may have had last minute reservations and were hunting for personal glory. Tommy had moved to one side to focus on the task ahead so Harvey, who was also isolated, bided his time, moved closer, wished him luck and they were off.

The route was carefully marked out and there were officials, first aiders, drinks, distance signs, wet cloths and spectators from beginning to end. It was a real boost to hear shouts of encouragement along the way and it didn’t take long to see who was suffering. A few of the entrants had skimped on their preparation and completely misjudged how difficult it would be to run over thirteen miles. Harvey, at the back with Tommy and urging him on could see exactly what was happening to the rest of the field (twenty/twenty vision) and knew instantly that those in front were dropping like flies because they couldn’t take a step further. Any plans they had to throw anything melted away as the race spat them out cramped up, breathless, exhausted, vomiting and a brilliant shade of puce. Every time they passed a drop out Harvey grinned, mouthed the word ‘loser’ and fell back into stride with Tommy who was in fabulous shape. At six miles and over the philanthropic ’gang’ members did the decent thing and collapsed in a heap - which looked marvellously realistic, especially when the first aiders placed oxygen masks over their mouths and took them off the course on stretchers. Tommy had done more than enough training to recognise a sham when he saw one and in joint fourth place with three miles to go he knew he hadn’t seen one but his theories were confirmed, the drop outs had not trained for the distance and it was taking its toll.

At the eleven mile stage there were only three runners left and together Harvey and Tom were reeling him in. It was obvious that he couldn’t keep going and with only the last mile to come he was well out of it but trying hard to finish for the third place medal. When the final pair came into view there was the most enormous roar from the crowd and it sounded as though every last spectator was chanting, ‘Tommee, Tommee, Tommee.’ The youngster had paced himself superbly where as Harvey, on the back of five races , five wins and a cut in his endurance training looked and felt stiff. In addition he had been forced to alter his natural stride pattern and distance speed whch played havoc with his lower back. His body had screamed out to be set free after the first two hundred metres but he had compelled it to step side by side with Tommy. Harvey looked at his running mate and saw how much this reception and genuine success meant to him but also recognised that had it not been for the childhood accident the lad would have been a superb athlete. He patted him on the back, had a quiet word in his ear, stood tall, shrugged off the stiffness, unleashed the true power of his perfect frame and sprinted to the tape - his dream fulfilled. He had done it, he had made a clean sweep and won every race, it was simply remarkable. He allowed himself a moment to punch the air and at that point realised that the crowd noise had almost disappeared. It was as though they were all in shock, the chanting had stopped as soon as Harvey stepped up a gear and when he broke the tape there was little more than a ripple of polite applause. He turned round to urge Tommy home and the crowd came back to life to give another tumultuous cheer when he crossed the line in second place. How he had managed not only to get himself round the course but also to finish second was a testament to his dedication, application and spirit. He waved to the spectators, his family and the gang, took a few deep breaths, composed himself and reached out to Harvey where they hugged like comrades in a war zone. They stood like that for at least two minutes but when they broke away Tommy grabbed Harvey’s arm and raised it aloft - the spectators had no option other than to applaud because Tom conducted them with his other arm until the cheering could be heard in the next county. Helen, her heart fit to burst, clapped them both as tears of joy streamed down her face. It could have been a fairy tale.

                                                                                                    Jan

                          

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Author : jan2–>
• Date : 3 June 2007
• Categories : Folk and Fairy Tales

One response to “The Hare and the Tortoise”

4 06 2007

shewolfy728 (19:52:09) : edit

This is a wonderful take on the classic story. Harvey, Helen and Tommy all ring true, and, well, I liked the way it ended. The real success was obviously worth far more than a victory from a thrown race would have been.