# The Hare — Fifty-One Tales character guide

> The Hare in Fifty-One Tales by Lord Dunsany.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Hare

**First appearance:** 0025-the-true-history-of-the-hare-and-the-tortoise

## Snapshot

A bored, contemptuous sprinter with long ears and a short attention span, dragged into a five-hundred-yard race he considers beneath him.

## Who they are

The Hare enters the fable as the presumed champion, backed by partisans who insist his ears guarantee victory, yet he meets the whole affair with scratching indifference and open scorn for his rival. His supporters desert and return as the catchphrases shift, and his own arrogance keeps pulling him off the track to sit and scratch. He embodies the collection's suspicion of natural advantage and public confidence, and his race becomes a satire of how crowds manufacture certainties.

## Relationships

### [The Tortoise](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fifty_one_tales_se/characters/the_tortoise)

_rivalry_

The Hare and Tortoise are classic competitors, with the Hare's arrogance clashing against the Tortoise's steady determination.

### [The High Muses](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fifty_one_tales_se/characters/the_high_muses)

_social_

The Hare and the High Muses share a fleeting acquaintance, with the Hare occasionally inspiring or annoying them.

### [Notoriety](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fifty_one_tales_se/characters/notoriety)

_social_

Notoriety follows the Hare, capitalizing on his boastful and reckless reputation.

### [The Tortoise](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fifty_one_tales_se/characters/the_tortoise)

_rivalry_

The Hare and Tortoise are classic competitors, with the Hare's arrogance clashing against the Tortoise's steady determination.

### [The High Muses](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fifty_one_tales_se/characters/the_high_muses)

_social_

The Hare and the High Muses share a fleeting acquaintance, with the Hare occasionally inspiring or annoying them.

## In the story

### [The True History of the Hare and the Tortoise](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fifty_one_tales_se/chapters/the-true-history-of-the-hare-and-the-tortoise)

Overconfident and distracted, he stops repeatedly during the race and ultimately loses.

### [Furrow-Maker](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fifty_one_tales_se/chapters/furrow-maker)

Mentioned as having gone to the edge of the cities and reporting that Man was too sick to chase him.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fifty_one_tales_se/characters/the_hare
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fifty_one_tales_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fifty_one_tales_se/characters