Hard-Working Tortoise

Written by: Nasratullah Samim

Tortoises, mongooses, hedgehogs, and a few rabbits were living in a big jungle with other animals and birds.

One day the tortoise went out of his house and saw that the squirrel was sitting in a tree and the rabbits were eating carrots from a field.

The turtle called everyone to him and told them that she wants to learn reading and writing from the doctor monkey and he wanted them to go with him to learn too but none of them accepted.

The squirrel wanted her to let them play and said that learning will not help them.

 The tortoise said that if they were educated, his brother might not lose one eye due to eye pain.

All animals were mocking him for learning.

The squirrel talked to himself that she would not let the tortoise learn anything.

 She grabbed the schoolbag from the tortoise and hung it on a branch of a big tree. The tortoise cried and wanted her bag but the squirrel did not accept. Finally, she returned the tortoise’s schoolbag.

When the tortoise was going for learning, all the other animals were annoying and mocking him.

Once when the tortoise was on the way to school, the squirrel saw him and kindly greeted him and said that she would no longer bother him. The tortoise became happy and thanked her.

The squirrel suggested her a short way to reach the school.

The squirrel said if the tortoise crosses the stream, she would reach it soon. The tortoise asked about the nearest way.

The mongoose showed a tumbler on the stream to the tortoise and wanted him to go on it. When the tortoise wanted to cross the stream, the tumbler was so smooth that the tortoise slept and fell in the stream. The mongoose laughed at him.

As the tortoise knew swimming, she went out of the stream but his books were wet and he could not go to school for learning on that day.

A few months later, most of the animals were suffering from illnesses. The squirrel said to the mongoose that the doctor monkey has gone to another forest and they might die of sickness.

The mongoose said that the rabbits need more attention. The crow said that she could not find the doctor monkey in the other jungle.

Squirrel is very sad about her sickness and said that she would no longer survive. The crying of animals was heard but there was no one to treat them.

Meanwhile, the tortoise got aware of the sickness of the animals and reached their houses and said that he could treat them.

The squirrel said that the tortoise cannot help them and added that she took some herbs from the doctor monkey’s house but the medicine increased her pain.

The mongoose said that she suffering from headaches and the monkey was always giving medicine from the same bottle and when I ate the same medicine, it did not help her.

When the tortoise checked the medicine, he said that he can read and write and the medicines that they had taken, are not for their sickness.

The tortoise gave them some medicines and all the animals got well.

They wished they could read and write.

The tortoise promised that he would teach them writing and reading. All the animals became happy and thanked the tortoise.