Reading Notes: Indian Fairy Tales, Part B

Indian Fairy Tales

The Talkative Tortoise: Story source: Indian Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs with illustrations by John D. Batten (1912).

• The story starts by giving us background about the Buddha and how he was born into a minister's family. 
• When he grew up, he became the king's advisor
• The king was very talkative and wanted to get rid of his talkativeness
• When he spoke, he didn't allow anyone else to speak because of how much he talked
• At the same time, a tortoise lived in a pond and made friends with two ducks
• One day, the two ducks asked the tortoise to come with them to the Golden Cave
• Upon asking how he would get there, the ducks told him that they could take him there if he could hold his tongue and not speak at every opportunity he could 
• The tortoise agreed and told the ducks to take him with them
• To do this, they told the tortoise to bite hold onto a stick while they flew him through the air
• While the ducks were carrying the tortoise through the air, some of the villagers called out at them and the tortoise tried to hold his tongue and not curse the villagers for their comments 
• Once the ducks had carried the tortoise over the king's palace, he let go of the stick and fell to the ground
• He split in two
• The people around cried out once this happened and the king went to the tortoise and asked the Bodisat how the tortoise fell
• He replied that the tortoise probably had been friends with the ducks, heard the chatter of the villagers, and couldn't hold his tongue long enough before he lost his life
• He then says this quote about how talking too much led to the tortoises death
• After the Bodisat said this to the king, the king realized that his had happened to teach him a lesson about talking too much
• From this moment on, the king was a man of few words

• The end of this story was very confusing to me, so if I rewrote this, I would make it much more clear and easier to follow. 
• I like the message presented in the story. 

(The tortoise being carried by the ducks. Source: Indian Fairy Tales - The Talkative Tortoise)