The Tortoise and Snail were very good
friends and they did things together. The only hurdle in their friendship was
that the tortoise used to insist on taking a bigger share especial when they
had to share food. The Snail once in a blue moon complained but told the
Tortoise that he was greedy.
One day, the two friends
decided to try out anew trap they had bought. They knew that there were several
animals in the forest close to their farms. They set trap and left for home. On
the way, the tortoise said:
Snail, listen to me, we shall take whatever animal killed
by our trap in turns’,
‘That is agreeable, who will take first? Asked the snail,
‘You can take the first one if it is a small animal but
if it is big I will take it’, replied the tortoise.
I agree with you’, said the snail.
They went early in the following morning to
check their trap.
They found that it had caught a rat.
Tortoise was not interested. He wanted something big and he already told his
friend so.
All right, I will take the rat today. The
trap may catch a rodent which is bigger than a rat tomorrow’, said the snail.
Take it. I definitely prefer a rodent to a
rat’, said the Tortoise.
The following day, trap caught a rodent. The
Tortoise looked at it and said he would prefer something bigger.
The trap may catch a deer tomorrow for him
to cooked a good soup. The snail took the rodent and cooked a good soup. The
next day the trap caught a deer. The tortoise was happy but he thought the trap
may kill a bigger animal like a bear the following day.
He therefore allowed the snail yet again to
take the deer.
The following morning, the Tortoise was the
first to get to their trap. To his surprise it had caught a very big animal,
bigger than all the animals they used to catch. He danced round in joy. Soon
the Snail emerged and the tortoise said:
Today is my lucky day, I told you I wanted a
very big animal and that is it in the trap’. He danced with joy again. The Snail
left him and went away. The tortoise moved close to the trap and released the
animal. To his utter amazement, the animal was not dead. He gripped the Tortoise
and asked him to carry him home.
The animal threatened to strangle the Tortoise
if he refused. Reluctantly, the Tortoise carried him and set off for home.
Listen to me Tortoise, when I ask “what do
you carry?”, you should answer “Monster”. If you don’t answer, I will kill
you’, the strange animal threatened. Soon the sing-song went thus:
What do you carry?
Monster
What do you carry?
Monster
What do you carry?
Monster
The Tortoise passed through the Snail’s farm.
The Snail saw his friend singing with a big load on his head. He called the Tortoise
and when the Tortoise wanted to stop to tell his friend his problem, the
monster gave him a knock on the head. He quickly continued walking to his
house. The monster asked for food as soon as they got home. He was a heavy
eater; soon the Tortoise’s food stock became very low and he was unhappy. He
thought of how to free himself from the monster.
After a heavy meal one day, the monster
slept off. The Tortoise sneaked out to tell the snail his problem.
‘Please help me, the monster will kill me if nobody helps’, he said
crying.
‘I will help you. Tomorrow morning, I will bring a keg of palm wine for
him. I will also bring ropes which I will hide from him. Give the monster a lot
of palm wine. When he is drunk, we shall tie him and you will carry him back
into the forest’, said the snail.
‘Thank you my friend, I will expect you tomorrow morning’, the tortoise
said, leaving for home.
The following morning, he prepared food for
the monster. After a while the Snail came with a keg full of palm wine.
‘I brought sweet palm wine for your visitor.
I hope he will like it’, said the Snail.
‘Thank you my friend’, said the Tortoise as
the Snail rose to go.
The Tortoise served the palm wine to the
monster who enjoyed the sweet taste, within an hour, the monster slept off and
started snoring. The Snail who had been watching from a hiding place quickly
brought strong ropes. Him and the Tortoise tied the monster very securely that
he could not break loose.
The Tortoise carried the monster, who had
now woken up. The monster asked why he was tied up like that but the Tortoise did
not answer him. The monster started his usual song to frighten the tortoise.
‘What do you carry?’
‘Junk meant for the dunghill’.
The monster asked the question again and was given the same answer. The
monster sadly realized that his power over the tortoise was gone.
When they got into the forest, the tortoise
dumped him near a very big tree and returned home. He thanked his friend, the Snail,
for his assistance in getting rid of the monster.
‘If you had taken one of the smaller animals
caught by our trap, you probably would not have encountered the monster. You
have seen the type of problem greediness can cause you,’ said the Snail.
The tortoise learnt through this experience
that it was not good to be greedy.
<<<<<<<<<THE END>>>>>>>>>
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