yellow-green fairy tale book

Chapter 30 The Fate of the Turtle

"Ah! my friend," said the elder of the two ducks, "if you feel bad, so do we. Besides, we have something to tell you, and I'm afraid you will be more upset when you hear it." Pain. If we don't want to die of thirst, we have to get out of here at once and find another place where the sun isn't as strong. My heart bleeds as I say this, because there is no other reason in this world other than this What reason will separate us from you."

After hearing what the duck said, the tortoise was both surprised and sad, and could not speak for a while.But it finally suppressed the tears and said in a trembling voice:
"You have been my only friends for so long. Do you think I can live without you? If you leave me, I shall soon die sadly."

"We are as sad as you are," replied the other duck, "but what can we do? Don't forget, if we are not here to drink water, you will have more water to drink! Were it not for this unprecedented Nothing will ever separate us, because we love each other so much."

"My friend," replied the Turtle, "water is as necessary to you as to me, and if death threatens you, it threatens me too. For the sake of our many years of friendship, I beseech you, Don't leave me here alone to die! Wherever you go, take me with you!"

After a moment's silence, the two ducks felt very sorry to leave their old friend behind.But how could they grant its request?This seems unlikely.Finally, a duck said:

"Ah! how can we say no to you?" said it, "but how can we satisfy your demands? Consider that our bodies are as heavy as yours, and our feet are as heavy as yours. The same is very short, how can we go over the mountains with you, cross the desert, and go to places that are not so hot? Hey, it will take less than a day. The three of us must be exhausted or starved to death on the road! Our only Hope rests only on wings. But, alas! You can't fly!"

"Yes, of course, I can't fly," the tortoise replied with a sigh, "but you are so smart and have been to so many places, you can always figure out a way!" eyes, looking at them hopefully.The duck was touched to see the turtle wanting so strongly to be with them.They signaled to their friends that they wanted to swim to the lake and discuss it alone.Although the tortoise couldn't hear what they said, he could see them.They talked for half an hour, which seemed like 100 years to the tortoise.At last he saw them come back side by side, and he was so worried about his fate that he almost died of tension before the ducks came along.

"We hope that we have come up with a plan that may help you," said the big duck solemnly, "but we must warn you that this approach is very dangerous, especially if you accidentally do not follow our instructions." to do as required.”

"My life and my happiness are at stake. How could I not do what you ask?" replied the turtle happily. "Tell me what you plan to do, and I will be more than happy to do what you say."

"Okay, then," said the duck, "we'll take you up in the air as we've figured out, and you won't be able to move at all, as if you're dead. Whether you find yourself flying off the ground No matter how high you are, don't be afraid, don't move your hands and feet, don't speak. No matter what you see or hear, you must not move, or you will bear the consequences."

"I will obey absolutely," said the Tortoise, "not only at this moment, but for the rest of my life. Once again, I solemnly promise that I will not move my head, nor move my feet, nor be a little bit afraid, and I will be alone all the way. Not a word."

That's it.The duck swims in the lake until it finds a strong stick on the surface.They tied the ends of the sticks around their necks with strong lotus roots, and swam back to the turtle as fast as they could.

"Now," said the older duck, pushing the stick gently toward his friend, "hold the stick firmly in your beak, and don't let go of it until we get you down to the ground."

The tortoise did as it was told.Two ducks grabbed the ends of the stick, spread their wings, and flew quickly into the air, with the turtle hanging between them.

At first everything went well.They skimmed valleys, over mountains, and over deserted cities, but no lakes were to be seen anywhere.The tortoise was full of confidence in his friend, and bravely hung on the stick.

At last they saw a small village in the distance, and soon they were skimming the roofs of houses.The people below were very surprised to see this unique scene. Men, women and children ran out to see it, and shouted to each other:

"Look! Look! It's amazing! Two ducks flying with a turtle in the sky! Who's ever heard of such a thing before!" Indeed, this is indeed amazing, men Putting down the plow in their hands, the women put down the spinning in their hands, they all watched the fun together and shouted together.

The two ducks continued to fly forward unmoved, ignoring the things below.Not so with the tortoise.At first it obeyed the duck's orders and didn't make a sound.Later, the noise below made it float.It began to think that everyone must be jealous of its ability to travel in the air.The moment of misfortune came, it forgot the solemn promise it had made before, and opened its mouth to answer.But it opened its mouth, and before it could utter a word, it fell from the sky rapidly, and soon fainted from fright.Just like that, it fell to pieces beside a house.So the two ducks dropped the stick which was of no use to their friend who had helped them.They looked at each other sadly and shook their heads.

"That's what we're afraid of," they said, "but maybe it's right, and it's better to die like this than to stay there alone."

(End of this chapter)