Run run run run, here he comes! Hound on the chase with pounding drums! Legs are flying, dust is high-- The hare shoots past like a streak in the sky!

The morning field was wide and green, The fastest chase you've ever seen! The hound was trained, his muscles strong, But something here was going wrong!

Over the hill! Through the gate! Left at the pond-- The hound is late!

Zig! Zag! Zig! Zag! Hare cuts right! Under the fence And out of sight!

The hare's heart pounded in his chest, His every muscle took no rest. "Run! Run! Run!" his instincts cried, "Your very life is on the line!" they sighed.

Faster! Faster! Hound can't catch him! Faster! Faster! Hound can't match him! The hare is gone Like a flash of light-- Vanished clean Out of sight!

The hound slows down. He pants. He stops. He flops right over. Down he drops.

A goat walks up and says, "Well, well! You're the fastest hound around, I hear tell. You chase the rabbits, catch them all-- But that little hare just watched you fall?"

The goat looked puzzled, shook his head, "I don't quite understand," he said.

The hound looked up With tired eyes, And what he said Was very wise:

"You don't understand The race we've run. For me, my friend, It was just for fun.

I was running For my dinner-- A meal, a treat, For me the winner.

But that hare? Oh, that hare was running For his life-- And that's what's stunning.

When you run for what you'd like, You try, you push, you go. But when you run for what you need, Nothing stops you--this I know."

Run run run run--now you see Why the hare ran faster than me! A want will get you down the track, But a need will make sure you never look back.

So remember this when push comes to shove: The strongest force is not what you love, But what you cannot live without-- That's what effort's all about!

The Hare and the Hound