Bruno and Maurice: A Tortoise and a Hare

“You can’t race, Maurice!”

“Bruno, there’s nothing in the rulebook that says I can’t.”

“It’s the ‘54th Annual Tortoise Race.’ You’ve gotta be a tortoise, buddy!”

From across the lane, one of the tortoise’s friends yelled, “Hey, Bruno! You gonna run a race or you gonna hang with that furry hare?”

Bruno looked at his friend; Maurice scowled. “Look, Bruno, I value our friendship and respect you, but when are you going to stop hanging around with such dimwits?”

“We’re tortoises. We hang out with our kind. You and I are only friends because—”

“I know, I know.” Maurice’s face seemed to grow sour with the memory, recalling the day he’d been sent to Bruno’s home as a foster child after his father had been declared mentally incompetent.

“It’s their loss. They don’t know about hares like I do, buddy.”

“And you tell them they’re missing out?”

“All the time. But most tortoises are slow to change their opinions. It takes too long to see something from another perspective. I’d probably be thinking just like them if we hadn’t been forced under the same roof.” Maurice’s eyes grew wide at the comment. “Come, now, Maurice. You know it’s true. Especially considering the bad blood between our fathers.”

“It doesn’t help that your father’s the Leader of the Land and had mine committed.” Bruno knew it was a bitter truth, but one he was thankful for. Without Maurice’s alternating opinions, the young tortoise had been destined to become another lackluster Leader like this aged father, Clyde. Now he might prove to be effectual when the mantle of responsibility was thrust upon him.

“I know you have some hard feelings. I don’t blame you. But let’s talk about it later, after the race. I’m sure I’ll win quickly.”

“Of course you will. You’re the Leader’s son.”

“I’d like to think my physique has something to do with it, Maurice.” He posed, flexing his scrawny leg muscles, causing the friendly pair to laugh hysterically for several seconds. “But seriously, Maurice, we’ll talk after the race.”

“We could talk during the race, if you—”

“You know I can’t. When I’m Leader, I’ll change the rules. We’ll call it ‘First Annual Animal Race’, okay? But for now, you can cheer me on.”

With a sigh, Maurice resigned himself to watch from the sidelines while Bruno joined his father and several young tortoises at the starting line. His father, Clyde, patted Bruno on the shell. “Good luck, son. I know you’ll do me proud.”

Looking into his father’s eyes, Bruno saw something there that he’d not seen before: menace. It made him feel cold. “Dad, I don’t have to win the race, you know.”

Clyde’s smile faltered. “But, Bruno, son, this is where you’re going to start your life as a Leader. You want them all to think that you’re a born winner, don’t you?”

“I’d rather they think I won the race fairly.”

“Son, they won’t care as much, down the road, if you won this race with fairness at your side. They didn’t when I won it.”

Bruno’s heart fluttered at hearing that. “What do you mean?”

In hushed tones, the Leader of the Land said, “How else could I have won, years ago? I doped the hare. Put him to sleep. He knew it, too. That’s why I had him committed. No one believes the rantings of a crazed hare. But,” he continued, as if starting a new story, “I saw a chance there. While that father of Maurice’s was raving around the Land, saying that I cheated, I knew that people weren’t just looking at him and laughing; they were listening, too. They had become a people who might question a Leader such as myself, and I knew I couldn’t have that fall to you.”

Bruno’s pulse was racing as his father revealed the information. “I mean, you don’t think I turned our house into a foster home for no reason, do you? It had to be a place that the System saw fit for placing homeless young animals. And I knew if I got the hare’s son in my grasp, and he got you thinking of different things—why, you might make this Land better yet, with your way of seeing other points of view and such.”

“So, Maurice’s dad isn’t crazy?”

“Son, I imagine he is now, after spending all that time in the Loon’s Bin. But we’re going to be better for it. The Land and everything! With a Leader like you, we’ll change the world.”

Bruno stood, stunned. He looked to Maurice on the sidelines. His friend smiled, waving frantically, as if to send good thoughts meant to fuel Bruno during the race. He looked at his father again. “What’ve you done?”

Clyde stared hard at his son, the forced smile masking darker concerns. “What I had to, for the greater good, for the people of this Land. What you, yourself, might find as something plausible in the not-so-distant future.” Leaning closer, he continued. “And I did it for you, Bruno. You’re my son, and I want everything to be… easy for you.”

“I’m sure Maurice’s father wanted the same thing.”

Looking struck, Clyde flinched away. “Whatever,” he scowled, smile gone. “Good luck with the race.”

As other tortoises were getting ready, Bruno called to Maurice. The hare raced to his friend’s side. “What’s up, buddy?”

“You’re racing too,” he said, loud enough for everyone to hear. “Dad said. That’s what we were discussing.” Bruno looked to Clyde, who now appeared displeased.

Maurice looked excited. He hopped once and dashed towards the Leader, giving him a hug that wasn’t returned. “Oh, thank you, sir! I’ll do you proud!”

When he returned to Bruno’s side, the tortoise said to the hare, “You’ll do your own dad proud, friend. I hope you win it.”

“I hope you win it. And that you can bear and grin it.”

“You mean ‘grin and bear it?’ ”

“Yeah, that, too!”



Word Count: 999