Week 2 Story: How the Turtle Survived... Twice

The last time the Turtle got into trouble, he almost lost his life. All he had wanted was to move from his boring life in his uneventful pond to the grand lake the Geese told him about, but he was naive and foolish. Those village children just had to say something about him hanging from a stick and provoke him like that, and he just had to defend himself and respond. So foolish of him. He could not keep his mouth shut. Everyone thought he had died. Instead, he was left for days just lying on his back with his shell cracked open, no one to aid him to safety or recovery. Eventually, the wind blew him onto his side, and he was able to find the lake he was so excited about just days before. Of course, that excitement vanished when his life was on the line. He arrived at the grand lake, and from then on he spent his days alone to heal his wounds.

The Turtle has learned from his last mistake. He is now more cynical and more cunning. But that comes as no surprise for someone who has lived in isolation for so many years. He only had his thoughts for company. More importantly though, if the Turtle has learned one thing from his near-death experience, it is that kids mean trouble.

The lake offers him peace and quiet. That is, until the little princes begin disturbing his solitude. Even worse, they take the Turtle for a demon. All because of the crack on his shell from that fated day years ago. The little princes have the king wrapped around their fingers; he would do anything for his sons, including killing the Turtle instead of explaining to this sons that the Turtle is not, in fact, a demon. Reasoning with the king would be useless, but he also remembers. The Turtle remembers what happened the last time he opened his mouth when he should not have. So he stays quiet, thinking of a strategy, some way to trick the king. He did not have the think hard though, as the old man handed the Turtle his escape on a silver platter without even realizing it. He suggested they throw the Turtle back in the lake, only because the old man is afraid of water! What a brilliant idea! The king is too proud to think anyone can trick him, especially something like a old, decrepit turtle. His plan will work, he is confident about that. The Turtle begged not to be thrown back in the lake, emphasizing just how cruel a punishment that would be, knowing full well that his pleading is all the incentive the king needs to make his final decision. The king thought he doled out the worst punishment possible and killed the Turtle by throwing him into the lake. In reality he just let the Turtle go back home to life of peace and quiet. The Turtle cheated death twice, the first by luck and the second by deceit.

Turtle by Edward Norton: Flickr.

Author's Note: 

Since the anthology included two turtle Jatakas, I thought it would be an interesting and fun twist to combine "The Turtle Who Couldn't Stop Talking" with "How the Turtle Saved His Own Life". I treated each story as different chapters in the Turtle's life; the 'foolish turtle' version was when he was young, and the 'clever turtle' was when he was older. The former story offered the Turtle a teaching moment when he faced the events of the latter story. The contrasting personalities of the Turtle from either story is what inspired me to treat the two Jatakas as one continuous progression of his life. I did not change much from either of the original plots, the only major change being that the Turtle did not die from his fall. I also wanted to tell the story as if these were the Turtle's thoughts rather than from a narrator's perspective, but I still wanted to keep the story in the third person like the original Jatakas.  

Bibliography:

"The Turtle Who Couldn't Stop Talking" from Jataka Tales by Ellen C. Babbitt. Web source.

"How the Turtle Saved His Own Life" from Jataka Tales by Ellen C. Babbitt. Web source.