The Tortoise and the Geese

A tortoise named Kambugriva lived in a pond with two geese friends. When a drought dried up the pond, the geese offered to carry the tortoise to a new lake. They would hold a stick between their beaks, and the tortoise would bite the middle. "But you must not open your mouth, no matter what," they warned. As they flew over a village, people looked up and shouted, "Look! Two birds carrying a tortoise on a stick! How amazing!" The tortoise burned with the urge to reply. "These fools know nothing!" he wanted to say. Unable to hold his silence, the tortoise opened his mouth to shout back. He instantly lost his grip and fell to the ground below. His two friends wept, knowing their warning had gone unheeded.