Episode 4 of 5

The Talkative Tortoise

Two geese, one stick and a tortoise who could not stop talking.

A tortoise named Kambugriva lived in a lake with his two best friends, a pair of geese.
One summer there was no rain, and the lake began to dry up. “We must fly to a new lake,” said the geese. “But how will you come with us?”
The tortoise had an idea. “Hold a stick in your beaks. I will hold the middle with my mouth, and you can carry me!”
“Good plan,” said the geese, “but you must not open your mouth, not even once.” The tortoise promised.
Up, up they flew, over fields and villages. The people below pointed and laughed. “Look! Two birds are carrying a tortoise on a stick!”
The tortoise wanted to say, “Mind your own business!” He opened his mouth to speak —
— and he let go of the stick. Down he fell, all the way to the ground. Luckily he landed in a soft haystack, but his friends had to fly on without him.

Moral of the storyThink before you speak — sometimes it is wiser to stay quiet.

Talk about it: What should the tortoise have done when the people laughed?

Learn more

Facts, a quiz and words to know

The tortoise is called Kambugriva, "the one with the neck like a conch shell".
Geese are called hamsa in Sanskrit. Real bar-headed geese fly over the Himalayas, among the highest flyers of any bird.
Some tortoises live for more than a hundred years.
In India the tortoise, kurma, is also one of the forms of Vishnu in the story of churning the ocean.

Talk about it. The tortoise wanted to answer back. Is it hard for you to stay quiet sometimes?

Try it. Play the silence game: stay quiet for one whole minute and listen. How many different sounds can you count?

Remember: Think before you speak.

Original retellings and drawings by Rangooo.