They're:

Street-smartShrewdWittyAmbitious

They move slowly. They can't move backward, they can only move forward, slowly, one box at a time. Oh! Okay! The first time they move, from their starting position, they can move two boxes forward, but that's the only time; they can't do it again.

And something else. If they want to take an opponent, they can only do it when the bad guy is on a diagonal.

On the other hand, Pawns do live a charmed life. Remember how we said they were ambitious? Well, listen to this: If they reach all the way, that's all the way to the other end of the board, like the frog that turns into a Prince when the Princess kisses him, the Pawn can become whatever he wants to be: a Queen, a Knight, a Bishop, a Rook. Just not a King. How about that!