MarytaleRead in Marytale

The Talkative Tortoise

  • 4-6 min read
  • 12 pages

The talkative tortoise, a Panchatantra tale to read aloud. Two geese carry him through the air on a stick, and he must not open his mouth.

In a lake at the edge of a plain there lived a tortoise who liked to talk.

In a lake at the edge of a plain there lived a tortoise who liked to talk. He talked to the frogs and the fish and anything else that came within reach, and he was good company as long as you had nowhere to be.

Two geese nested on that lake, and they were his friends, and the three of them spent every evening on the same flat rock.

Two geese nested on that lake, and they were his friends, and the three of them spent every evening on the same flat rock.

Then the rains failed.

Then the rains failed. The lake went down and down until the mud cracked at the edges, and the geese said they would have to go north to a bigger water.

«Take me,» said the tortoise.

«Take me,» said the tortoise. «I'll die here.» «You cannot fly,» said the geese. «Then think of something,» said the tortoise, «because you are cleverer than I am and I am the one who is going to dry out.»

So they found a strong stick.

So they found a strong stick. «Bite the middle,» they said, «and hold on. We will each take an end. And whatever happens, do not open your mouth.»

They rose off the lake with the stick between them and the tortoise hanging from the middle of it, and the plain went past…

They rose off the lake with the stick between them and the tortoise hanging from the middle of it, and the plain went past underneath, and it was the most extraordinary thing that had ever happened to him.

…read the rest in the Marytale app.

Marytale is an app of illustrated bedtime stories to read to your child — a picture on every page, no ads and no internet needed. The bookmark stays where your child fell asleep.

Try it free

Scan with your phone to get Marytale

Text source: From the Panchatantra, the Sanskrit collection of animal fables compiled around 300 BC. Public domain. The text was written anew for Marytale — it is not a reprint of anyone else's version.

Want to know where these stories come from? The articles are here

More stories to read