Yes, I am the hare who lost. No, I did not get lazy or complacent. Let me explain. I was hopping over the meadows near the hills, and looked back to realize that the tortoise was nowhere to be seen. Assured of my healthy lead, I decided to take a short nap under the large banyan tree near the pond. The anticipation of the race had kept me up all night. For days, that old silly tortoise had boasted about his ability to plod for hundreds of miles without stopping. Life is a marathon, he said, not a sprint. I wanted to show him that I could run both far and fast. The shade of the tree was like an umbrella. I found an almost oval rock, covered it with grass and turned it into a makeshift pillow. I could hear the leaves rustling and the bees buzzing – it…