Two Ways To Count To Ten By Frances Carpenter

A big, strong, and bulky animal growls at the beginning of a race, getting ready to defeat the small, and clever animal next to him. Numerous people would assume that the powerful animal would win any contest, however, generally that is not the case. Usually, the clever one that seems puny outwits them all. In the fable, “Two Ways to Count to Ten” by Frances Carpenter demonstrates how the clever one always wins because even though he is weak and not as big, he can think of ways to win by thinking out of the box. The character that is underestimated wins the contest. In the story “The Race Between Toad and Donkey” by Roger D. Abrahams, in a race, a donkey was so sure that he would win that he made fun of the toad. The toad, however, is clever

In the fable, all of the stronger animals take turns competing in the competition to win, however none of them can win. When the weaker but more clever character gives the challenge a try, everybody underestimated him, however the he outwitts the others and wins the contest. As you can see, the character that was thought that had the least chance to win, ended up defeating everybody. The fable says, “ “Ho! Ho!” The other animals burst into laughter. How could such a weak creature fling the King’s spear high enough to say more than two or three words?...... “Do not forget that it is not always the biggest nor the strongest, but sometimes the cleverest who wins the prize.” ” (748) Here, the animals are laughing at the puny antelope who wants a try at the challenge. It exemplifies how the characters do not think that someone that is not strong can win a contest. This text evidence is important because countless people underestimate the power of the clever one, even though they are most likely win in the end. All in all, the strong one may look intimidating and powerful, but the clever one can outsmart it’s way out of any situation and still triumph in the