The Ant and the Caterpillar Ant and Caterpillar spent much of their time together hanging out in the trees and eating leaves. Even though they were both so different from one another, they both enjoyed eating leaves more than any other pastime. They would even have competitions to see who could cut up and eat leaves faster. Eventually, Caterpillar grew much larger than Ant, and as he grew, he could eat leaves much faster. Ant became jealous of Caterpillar and was green with envy about his ability to eat leaves quickly. One day, Caterpillar began to wrap itself in a silky cocoon. Caterpillar could no longer play with Ant because he was becoming more and more wrapped up in his cocoon. Caterpillar did nothing anymore, except stay completely still in its cocoon.

"Who is faster now?" Ant mocked. "I can run and play and dance all over, while you just lay there wrapped in your cocoon, as boring as a stone!"

Ant ran around dancing to show off to Caterpillar, but to his annoyance, Caterpillar remained patient and steady in its cocoon. One day, as Ant danced and twirled around, Caterpillar started to emerge from its cocoon. To Ant's surprise, Caterpillar had turned into a magnificent moth and was now spreading his beautiful wings for the first time. Caterpillar, who was now Moth, began to flutter away, higher and higher above Ant. Moth moved like the wind and flew much faster than Ant could run.

"You mocked me because I could not dance and run like you, but look at who dances in the sky much faster and more beautiful than you now!" sang Moth in a kind but wise voice.

The Tortoise and the Hare

Hare was a clever little rabbit. Hare could run faster than almost any animal in the forest and was always bragging about how speedy he was. He thought he had the speediest little legs and the fastest-working brain. Tortoise was a much slower animal. She was old and wise and had seen many things, but she moved and spoke very slowly. Tortoise was trying to teach Hare a thing or two, but Hare was too impatient. He thought he was faster and smarter than Tortoise. Tortoise grew tired of Hare's attitude, so she decided to put Hare in his place and challenge him to a race. Hare was ecstatic. This would be his chance to prove he was better than Tortoise once and for all.

As soon as the race began, Hare took off way ahead of Tortoise, chuckling to himself as he ran. The route they had agreed upon was quite long, so Hare knew he would have plenty of time to win because he was so far ahead. He decided to take a nap when he was halfway through the race. He knew Tortoise was miles behind, so he wasn't the least bit worried. Slowly but surely, Tortoise walked on, and sure enough, she managed to catch up to Hare as he slept under a tree. Tortoise quietly tiptoed on and kept walking. Hare awoke from his slumber hours later and raced on to the finish line, assuming that tortoise was still far behind. As Hare approached the finish line, he was embarrassed to see that Tortoise was already halfway across it. Tortoise had won the race!

What is similar about the themes in each story?

a Both themes are about being kind to others and not mocking them.

b Both themes are about being kind to others even if they are rude.

c Both themes are about not judging others until you really know them.

d Both themes are about not underestimating others' abilities.