The Talkative Tortoise

Once upon a time, in a bright blue lake surrounded by swaying green trees, lived a tortoise named Tappa. Tappa was a very friendly tortoise, but he had one big problem: he loved to talk. He talked from the moment the sun rose until the stars came out at night.

Tappa’s best friends were two graceful geese named Sanku and Manku. Every evening, they would gather on the shore to chat.

"Did you see the way the sun hit the ripples today?" Tappa would chatter. "And the dragonflies! Oh, I tried to catch one, but my neck isn't long enough. Did you know my cousin once traveled all the way to the other side of the hill?"

Sanku and Manku would nod and smile. "You certainly have a lot to say, Tappa!"

The Great Drought

One year, the rains did not come. The bright blue lake began to shrink and turn into a muddy puddle. The fish were worried, and the animals were thirsty.

"We have to leave, Tappa," Sanku said sadly. "There is a beautiful, deep lake far beyond the mountains that never dries up. We must fly there before this water is all gone."

Tappa’s eyes grew wide with fear. "But... but I can’t fly! Will you leave me here in the mud? Who will I talk to?"

Manku looked at Sanku. "We cannot leave our friend behind. But how can a tortoise travel through the sky?"

They thought and thought until finally, Tappa shouted, "I have an idea! Get me a strong stick. You two can hold the ends of the stick in your beaks, and I will hold onto the middle with my mouth. Then you can carry me with you!"

The Golden Rule

The geese liked the idea, but they knew Tappa’s personality all too well.

"It’s a clever plan, Tappa," Sanku warned, "but it is very dangerous. Once we are in the air, you must not open your mouth. Not for a story, not for a joke, not even for a 'hello.' If you speak, you will fall."

"I promise! I cross my heart!" Tappa muffled his words, already practicing keeping his mouth shut. "I won't say a single word. I'll be as quiet as a stone."

The next morning, the geese found a sturdy branch. Sanku took one end, Manku took the other, and Tappa bit down hard on the middle. With a great flap of wings, they rose into the air.

The View from Above

Tappa was amazed! He saw the tops of trees that looked like green broccoli. He saw rivers that looked like silver ribbons. He wanted to scream, "Look at that!" but he remembered his promise and kept his jaw tight.

Soon, they flew over a small town. The people below looked up and rubbed their eyes in disbelief.

"Look! Look at that!" a boy shouted. "Two birds are carrying a tortoise on a stick! How funny!"

"It’s a miracle!" a woman cried out. "The birds must be very smart to think of that."

"Actually," a man laughed, "the tortoise looks like a heavy bag of potatoes hanging there!"

The Fatal Mistake

Tappa heard everything. He felt his face turn red with anger. A bag of potatoes? he thought. They don't know that this was MY idea! I am the smart one!

He tried to ignore them, but the people kept laughing. Finally, he couldn't take it anymore. He wanted to tell them exactly how clever he was.

He opened his mouth and shouted, "It was my idea—!"

But the moment his teeth let go of the wood, he stopped flying.

"Oh no!" cried Sanku and Manku, but they couldn't reach him.

Tappa tumbled through the air, down, down, down. Luckily, because he was a tortoise, he tucked his head and legs into his hard shell. He landed with a loud THUD in a large, soft haystack near the town.

He was safe, but he was very far away from his friends and the beautiful lake. As he poked his head out of the straw, he sighed a very quiet sigh.

"I guess..." he whispered to himself, "sometimes it really is better to just listen."

The Moral of the Story: Think before you speak, and know when it is time to stay silent.