Sheldon was a tortoise who lived in a beautiful lake surrounded by mountains. He was best friends with two geese named Glider and Ollie.

Floating on the crystal clear water, Sheldon told his friends, “This is heaven. I never wish to go anywhere.”

Both Glider and Ollie agreed, and they all lived in harmony for many years.

Unfortunately, one year, there was hardly any rainfall, and there was a drought. The lake was almost completely dry, and there was hardly any food to eat or water to drink.

“What do we do now? We cannot live here anymore,” said Sheldon in despair.

“I know, Sheldon. The only choice we have is to move to another lake,” said Olli.

Sheldon thought about it and said, “I agree, but how can I go anywhere? We have mountains surrounding us, and the only way out of this place is by flying.”

“Ollie and I were discussing this, and we thought of a plan,” replied Glider. Taking a long stick, he said, “We will carry you with us. All you need to do is grab onto this stick using your mouth. We will each hold one end of this stick and fly.”

“That’s a great plan, my friends. What are we waiting for? Let us start immediately,” said Sheldon happily.

“But keep in mind one thing, Sheldon. You will be holding onto the stick using your mouth. So don’t open your mouth for any reason,” warned Ollie.

Sheldon agreed and, as planned, held onto the stick with his mouth. Ollie and Glider carried the stick and began to fly.

As the three friends were flying, some children on the ground noticed them.

“A flying tortoise! Have any of you seen such an amazing creature?” asked one of the children. The children began cheering loudly.

Seeing the children, Sheldon was quite pleased.

“Look at all these children cheering me,” thought Sheldon.

In his excitement, Sheldon forgetting Ollie and Glider’s advice to hold tightly to the stick with his teeth.

Wanting to respond to the children cheering him, he opened his mouth. Unfortunately, as soon as he opened his mouth, he fell onto the ground and cracked his shell.

Meanwhile, Ollie and Glider continued on their journey and reached their new home while mourning the loss of their friend.

Author’s Note:

The Tortoise and the Geese is a story from Panchatantra. There is a similar fable by Aesop called ‘The Tortoise and the ducks’. There are also variants from Italy, Mongolia, Russia, etc.

All Panchatantra Stories have Morals associated with them. The moral of this story is “Vanity leads to downfall”.