The king and
the tortoise
Long
time ago lived in India a king who talked too much. “I am the greatest king in
India. My palace is the finest. My horses are the swiftest. I have more
treasure than any other king. “Thus he would talk from morning till night.
Such talk was only silly chatter. But sometimes the king
told thing that he should have kept secret, and this made trouble for his
people.
Several of wise men in India had told the king at
different times that he talked too much. This always threw him into a great
rage.
“Off with their heads!” he would cry. When his cruel
order had been obeyed, he would glare on the other wise men, as though to say,
“Would any of you like to offer unwelcome advice?”
Now the oldest and wisest of the king adviser was Adulla.
He often shook his wife old head and muttered: “someday I shall teach the king
a lesson.”
One morning the king and Adulla were talking in the
courtyard of the palace. Suddenly the king stopped, and pointing to a black object
on the stone and said, “What is that, Adulla?” “That, sire, “said Adulla , “is
a dead tortoise.”
“O Sire,” replied Adulla, “know that in pond, white
lotus, live many tortoises. One was larger and stronger than his fellows, so he
ruled over them. He was great chatterer. “I am the biggest tortoise in the
pond. My shell is the broadest. My eyes are the brightest. I can dive deepest.”
Thus he talked continually.
“Now it happened that two wild geese spent some weeks at
white lotus. They and tortoise became great friends. When they were ready to
return to their home, one goose said, “O great tortoise, how we wish we could
take you with us!
“If only you could fly!” replied the other. “I know how
it can be managed, “said the tortoise. “I will take hold of the middle of this
stick. If each of you will take hold of end, you can easily fly with me to your
home”.
“But remember, friend tortoise “said the geese, “you must
not speak a word while we are flying. If you do, you will fall to the earth and
be dashed to piece.
“All went well until the geese were flying over this
courtyard. Then a soldier near the door over there happened to look up to the
sky. When he swathe two geese flying along and carrying a tortoise between
them, he was filled with amazement.
“I wish I knew which of three was bright enough to think
of that clever way of helping others” he said aloud. “The temptation to tell of
his brightness was too strong to be resisted. The tortoise opened his mouth to
say “ it is me who thought of this clever way, but he had spoken once too
often, as you may see “ said Adulla , pointing to the crushed tortoise.
For a moment the king looked keenly at Adulla. Then he
nodded his head and muttered,” Yes, I see”
Turning quickly, he walked into the palace. On the whole
day the king talked less and listened more to his advisers, especially Adulla.
And Adulla was often heard muttering: the king has learned his lesson.
(Text taken from The
Aldine Third Readers)
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