A FENNEL once enjoyed jogging so much that he spent countless hours treading the most unexpected paths in the garden. Yet every time some other fruit or vegetable asked him to jog together, he would come up second, as he had learned to jog at his own pace so as not to get tired.
One day, the fruit and vegetables of the garden thought of taking part in the Marathon race in Athens as a team. The fennel got very excited with the idea, yet, as soon as he asked to be part of the team, the other fruit and vegetables disappointed him. “You’re just too slow for this”, they told him and rejected him. So, they decided that their team should consist of the radish that spent long hours in the gym, the peach that surfed at the beach during summertime and the cabbage that was a professional runner and probably faster than everyone in the whole garden.
Our good fennel got very disappointed to hear their decision, yet he did not quit. Instead of joining a team, he applied as a sole runner. After getting a proper t-shirt and buying new shoes, he followed a rigid diet schedule and trained each and every day so as to best prepare. The day before the marathon, he made sure he got sufficient rest and slept so as to be fully energized.
When the big day came, the athletes placed themselves at the start line and patiently waited for the signal. Along with them came the fennel, at the sight of which the other fruit and vegetables laughed, as they didn’t expect to see him. “You ‘re slower than a turtle, yet you decided to take part in… a Marathon race?”, they asked him and as soon as the start signal was given, they did their best to prove to him there was no chance he could possibly reach them.
Yet our good fennel did not get discouraged. He simply jogged at his own pace, as he had learned to do all these years that he had been jogging by himself in the garden. And so, after half an hour the cabbage was first, the peach second and the radish third. Last came the fennel, who was too far away from the radish.
An hour later, however, and as they had run for many kilometers already, the road became uphill, and the fruit and vegetables started to pant for breath, some even sweating. “Now is the time to prove yourselves”, the cabbage told them and kept running at a much slower pace than before so as not to collapse. Along with him ran the peach and the radish that had gotten way too tired. Just before they reached the hill’s top, they were amazed to see the fennel approach and then get past them, jogging at his usual, mundane pace. “The fennel is ahead of us”, the peach and the radish exclaimed, wondering at his endurance.
The path soon went downhill again, and so the cabbage came first, the fennel second, and far behind him came the peach and the radish that were out of energy. Running at whatever pace they felt fit, they eventually reached the first suburbs of Athens and realized the finish line was finally on the horizon.
Just a mile before the end, however, the cabbage was so tired and sweaty that he started gasping. “I must finish first, as I am the fastest in the whole garden!”, he murmured, yet no sooner had he finished his sentence than he felt his eyes closing. Behind him the fennel was to be seen sweating and jogging, never to speed up and never to slow down.
Just before the finish line, the cabbage took a deep breath and ran the fastest he could. So tired was he, however, that after two steps he felt his lungs had run out of air. In an instant, he blinked. As soon as he opened his eyes again, he saw the fennel passing him by and finishing first, then giving him his hand so as to help him take the final step to cross the finish line. “I admit it, you’re better than me”, the cabbage told him, and realized that the first to finish in a Marathon race is not necessarily the fastest.
And so, our good fennel won the Marathon race, even earning a medal for his achievement for which he also got a big round of applause by everyone else in the garden.
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