Once there was a tortoise and two geese that lived in a pond. All three of them were great friends and lived happily for many years.
Then a drought struck the land. All the rivers and tanks started drying up. People and animals were dying. The geese decided to leave the country and fly away to some other place. Their friends had told them of a place which had plenty of food and water. When they met the tortoise to bid farewell to him, the tortoise begged them not to leave him alone.
The geese said, “Dear friend, even we do not want to leave you behind in this hour of need. But, unlike you, we cannot sustain without food and water for too long. Our friends tell us of another place which has plenty of food and water. If you could fly, you could come with us too”.
But the tortoise could not fly.
He kept begging the geese to take him along.
Finally, the geese relented. They told the tortoise, “You have very strong jaws. We have though of a plan but it is very risky. You will have to do exactly what we tell you. If you fail to follow our instructions, you will die.”
The tortoise agreed.
They got a stick. The geese held the ends of the stick with their beaks. The tortoise would hold the middle of the stick. The only condition was that the tortoise should not speak or it would fall from the stick to instant death.
The tortoise that this plan was very dangerous. But he did not want to be left behind. He promised to remain silent during the flight.
Commemorative stamp displayed during World Philatelic Exhibition in New Delhi in February 2011
The geese flew up, carrying the tortoise with them. They flew over hills and fields and a village. As they flew over the village, people clapped their hands and shouted, “Look! How wonderful! The geese are carrying the tortoise. Maybe they have captured the poor animal.”
The tortoise did not like the pointing and staring, and unable to control himself, burst out, “What are these fools…?”
As he spoke these words, he lost hold of the stick and fell from the great height to the ground and died.
—
Read more Panchatantra Tales here for FREE.
You can purchase the complete set of Original Illustrated Panchatantra Tales by Visnu Sarma (Collector’s Item) at Amazon.
