Three Minute Stories — The Foolish Tortoise

And it did.

THE FOOLISH TORTOISE

(Adapted) Close beside the Pool of the Blue Lotus lived the two geese White-Wings and Gray-Back, and in the pool lived the tortoise Shelly-Neck, and the three were good friends.

One night Shelly-Neck heard two fishermen talking together beside the pool.

“To-morrow morning,” they said, “we will lay our nets and catch that old tortoise and cook him for our dinner.

” Shelly-Neck was much frightened, and when the men were gone he called his friends the geese, and begged them to save him.

“We will save you,” said White-Wings.

“But you must do just what we tell you to do!

” said Gray-Back.

“I will!

I will!

” cried poor Shelly-Neck.

The two geese waddled about, looking till they found a stick.

“Now,” said White-Wings, “take this in your mouth and hold on tight!

” “And remember,” said Gray-Back, “that once you have taken hold you must not let go till we bid you.

” [Illustration] The tortoise promised and took hold on the middle of the stick with his strong jaws.

Then White-Wings took one end of the stick in his bill and Gray-Back took the other, and they flew high up in the air over the roofs of the houses.

All the people came running to see this strange sight.

“Look!

look!

” cried one.

“See the flying tortoise!

” “Ho!

” said another, who was one of the fishermen.

“He has no wings;

soon he will forget and open his mouth, and then down he will come and we shall have him for dinner.

” “I will not let go!

You shall not have me for dinner!

” cried Shelly-Neck.

Crash!

Down he fell on the hard ground.

When the fishermen picked him up he was dead and they did have him for dinner.

White-Wings and Gray-Back flew sadly away.

“We did our best,” they said; “but a fool cannot be saved from his folly.

” THE GARDEN GATE