It’s a great fable and it made a cute cartoon. But is it honest? We all get it: that to win the race one should stay focused and avoid cockiness. But under what circumstances, really, would the tortoise win?

Clearly this was a life race. There’s no way such dissimilar creatures would make a casual wager. But I don’t care how much you distract the bunny – he will win.

The fact is, and I can sense a heretical future post a-borning, that we select the cottontail, that we value the speed over the steadiness, every time.

I tried to come up with a likelier odd couple of contestants: terrier vs hound; minnow vs dolphin. Better, but still not close enough. Kitten vs cat does it, though. Or puppy vs dog. The mammalian young have the vigor to win, but are too easily distracted.

Of course this now suggests that, evolutionarily, we’re still distractable puppies. Which may not be false. The question is: will the species survive to maturity?