(Here is part 2, which was published first.)
“Come on, Hare, we’re gonna be late!” yelled Otter. “I don’t wanna miss it!”
“Okay, okay,” said Hare, packing the last few things into a picnic basket. “We’ll be there in plenty of time.”
“I wanna get there before all the good seats are taken,” said Otter. “C’mon, c’mon, c’mon already!”
“Let’s go,” said Hare, “that’s everything.”
“Finally,” said Otter. He hurried Hare out the door, where Muskrat, Raccoon, Dog, Squirrel, Ferret, and Porcupine were waiting. “Let’s go, everybody,” he called. Everyone set out toward the farm. They were going to see the Big Race. Jake and Oliver, the horses who lived on the farm, had decided to have a race, and they’d invited everyone.
When they first got the invitation, Raccoon had been talking to Squirrel. “A race?” she said. “Those two? I’ve never seen either one of them move very fast at all.”
“Nor have I,” said Squirrel, munching an acorn. “Still, they ARE horses. Maybe running races is just something horses always do.”
“Maybe,” said Raccoon. “Anyway, it’ll be fun to watch I guess. What are they going to do, run from the barn to the apple trees and back?”
“I don’t know,” said Squirrel. “But I think races usually end in the same place they start.”
“You know,” said Raccoon, scratching her head, “I think you’re right, Squirrel. Races start and end in the same place. There’s something a little weird about that, don’t you think?”
“I don’t see why,” said Squirrel. “Why shouldn’t a race start and end in the same spot?”
“It’s just that when I think of a race,” said Raccoon, “I think of a race to get somewhere. If you’re just going to end up in the same place you started, why go at all? You’re already there.”
“I haven’t the foggiest idea,” said Squirrel, who didn’t much care about races. “Go ask Hare if it’s so important to you.”
The next time Raccoon saw Hare, she brought it up right away. “Hare,” she said “have you ever been in a race?”
“Sure I have, a couple of times,” said Hare. “Why?”
“Ever since Jake and Oliver announced their race, I’ve been thinking about why most races start and end in the same place. So you don’t really get anywhere.”
“There are two kinds of races,” said Hare. “I’ve been in both kinds. One kind of race is just between the racers, and it starts when one of them says ‘I’ll race you home’, or ‘race you to the river,’ or ‘last one to the carrot patch is a rotten egg.’”
“A rotten egg?” asked Raccoon.
“Just a saying,” said Hare. “Never mind. But Raccoon, I said there were two kinds of races. The other kind is where you start and end in the same place, and that kind of race has others involved too. There’s somebody to say ‘go’ and then see who wins — pretty often the same somebody — and there might be an audience too. Like there’s going to be for Jake and Oliver’s race. For the audience, the race is more fun if you can see the beginning and the end.”
“I get the idea of the first kind of race,” said Raccoon, “because you’re trying to get somewhere. But what’s with that second kind? Are you just trying to show off?”
“Um…” said Hare, “I guess so. At least that’s part of it. If you win, you get to say you won.”
“That’s IT?” said Raccoon. “You just want to win so you can say you won?”
“Well…it’s fun to win, all by itself,” said Hare. “It’s a…I mean…well maybe it’s like this, Raccoon, some animals are fast animals, and we like to show off how fast we are. Other animals are better at other things. Like you; you’re really good with your hands and you’re always making those cool little woodcarvings. You know, like the one you made of me. I still have it on my mantle.”
“You can’t have a race with woodcarvings,” said Raccoon.
“No, but if you met somebody else who did woodcarvings, maybe you’d like to have a contest to see whose carvings are better,” said Hare.
Raccoon thought about that for a while.
“Nope,” she said. “Not the point.”
“Oh,” said Hare. “Well, maybe it’s just different when speed is the thing you’re good at. I’m fast, and sometimes it’s just fun to see who’s the fastest.”
“But you’re a good baker too,” said Raccoon, “would you want to see if your teacakes are better than somebody else’s?”
“Hmmm,” said Hare, “not particularly. That’s not the point. Oh, that’s just what you said about the carvings. OK, I get it. Not everything is like going fast.”
“That’s where the Big Mistake comes in,” nodded Raccoon. “If you think something is like going fast, even if it isn’t, then you start thinking sideways.”
“Thinking sideways?” asked Hare.
“I mean, thinking things go together when they don’t,” said Raccoon. “Like whose tea cakes are better, which is a thing that goes with speed.”
“But wait,” said Hare, “some tea cakes are better than others. The ones I made last Tuesday didn’t come out well at all, for one thing.”
“Right,” said Raccoon, “but each tea cake is its own tea cake. You make it, but it’s not all about you like it is with who can run faster. See what I mean?”
“I do,” said Hare. “But look, we’re still sitting in a flashback here. Shouldn’t we be getting back so we can see Jake and Oliver’s race?”
“Oh right,” said Raccoon, “I almost forgot about that. OK, let’s snap out of this flashback.”
“Well did you? Raccoon?” said Otter.
“Did I what?” said Raccoon. “Sorry, I missed your question, Otter.”
“What the heck is wrong with you?” grumped Otter.
“I was stuck in a flashback with Hare,” said Raccoon.
“And me,” Squirrel piped up.
“Oh, I hate flashbacks,” said Otter. “They’re a big nuisance.”
“I know, right?” said Raccoon. “But anyway look, we’ve arrived, and…holy moly, what’s that?”
The animals had some to the top of a hill that overlooked the farm. Instead of the fields they expected, there were streams, a couple of small ponds, some patches of what looked like mud, and winding through it all, a twisty path.
Magpie landed on a branch. “Good, you’re here,” she said. “This is going to be fun. Didn’t Beaver do a good job on the race course?”
“Beaver built all that?” said Squirrel. “Wow.”
“He’s been working on it all week,” said Magpie. “Jake and Oliver said that was the kind of race they wanted; a splashy, jumpy, muddy kind.”
“I’ve never heard of a race like that,” said Hare, “but it sounds like a good idea.”
“If you’re a horse,” said Raccoon.
“Can anybody play in the mud?” asked Otter hopefully.
“Probably after the race you can,” said Magpie. “Ask Beaver.”
“Oh good,” said Otter, brightening up. “Beaver’s a real pal; he’ll let me in.”
“Me too,” said Muskrat.
“Magpie,” said Raccoon, “where’s the starting line?”
“It’s over there near the barn,” said Magpie, pointing. “But the finish line is different; it’s over there.” She pointed again.
“Well whaddaya know,” said Raccoon.
“Yeah,” said Hare. “I guess there are THREE kinds of races. Let’s go find good seats.”
