Run for Your Life! (Aesop)

Some goats were grazing on the grass.
The goatherd watched the clouds drift pass.

Their dog was sniffing at the air,
And thought he smelled a wild hare.

He walked toward a leafy bush
And gave the branch a gently push.

A hare out from the shrub did dart.
The dog in quick pursuit did start.

Across the field at frenzied pace,
Then through some trees the pair did race.

Then under thorny hedges near,
The hare again did disappear.

The dog back to the herd returned.
This time without his meal earned.

The goatherd laughed, and teased his friend;
“This isn’t how it used to end.

You used to be so very fast –
I guess that now is in the past.”

The dog a quick retort did make –
“The hare had more than I at stake.”

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One’s effort to a goal obtain
Is less than to his life retain.

"Running hare". Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Index references: Oxford-Gibbs 396, Perry 331