The Talkative Tortoise and Two Geese

Told in English, Telugu.

Long, long ago, beside a big blue lake, there lived a little tortoise. He had a round brown shell and a very busy mouth. Oh, how he loved to talk! He talked in the morning. He talked at lunchtime. He even talked in his sleep.

Talk, talk, talk went the little tortoise. All day long, talk, talk, talk.

The tortoise had two dear friends. They were two white geese with soft feathers and kind eyes. Every evening the geese came to the lake, and the tortoise told them stories until the moon came up.

One summer, the rain did not come. The sun shone hot, day after day. Slowly, slowly, the lake began to dry up. The water grew smaller and smaller, until it was only a little muddy puddle.

The two geese said, "Dear friend, we know a big lake far away, behind the green hills. It is full of cool water. We will fly there. But how can you come with us? You cannot fly!"

The tortoise thought and thought. Then he said, "I have an idea! Bring a strong stick. You hold one end in your beak, and you hold the other end in your beak. I will hold the middle with my mouth. Then you can carry me up into the sky!"

"That is a clever idea," said the geese. "But listen carefully. You must keep your mouth closed the whole way. If you open it even a tiny bit, you will let go of the stick."

"Of course, of course!" said the tortoise. "I will not say a single word."

So the geese held the stick. The tortoise bit the middle, snap! And up, up, up they flew, over the trees, over the fields, over the rooftops of a little village.

Keep your mouth closed, little tortoise. Hold the stick tight! Can you say it with me? Keep your mouth closed, little tortoise. Hold the stick tight!

Down below, the village children looked up. "Look, look!" they shouted. "A tortoise is flying! Two geese are carrying a tortoise! How funny he looks!" And they laughed and clapped and pointed.

The tortoise heard them. His cheeks felt hot. He wanted to say, "I am not funny! This was my idea!" He wanted to talk so much, he could not hold it in.

Keep your mouth closed, little tortoise. Hold the stick tight!

But the tortoise opened his mouth. "I am not..."

And whoosh! He let go of the stick. Down, down, down he tumbled, and landed plop! in a soft, squishy pond full of mud at the edge of the village.

The geese flew down quickly. "Are you all right, dear friend?"

The little tortoise blinked. His shell was covered in mud, and he had a small bump on his nose, but he was safe. He felt very silly.

"I am sorry," he said softly. "You told me to keep my mouth closed. I should have listened."

The geese smiled and wiped the mud from his eyes with their soft wings. "Everyone makes mistakes," they said. "Shall we try again?"

So they found another stick. The tortoise held it tight. And this time, all the way over the hills, he did not say a single word, not even when the birds sang and the children waved.

At last they reached the big cool lake. The tortoise splashed into the water, happy and safe. And then, oh my, how much he talked!

But from that day on, the little tortoise remembered. There is a time to talk, and there is a time to keep quiet and hold on tight.

Good night, little one.