The turtle lived in a small pond on the edge of the forest. One day, it spotted two young geese landing on the water.
The turtle loved to talk, so it went over to chat with the geese.
“It must be wonderful to fly so high in the sky,” it said. “I wish I could fly. I can only walk very slowly!”
“Yes, it truly is wonderful,” the geese replied. “We have a beautiful home far from here. We’re flying back tomorrow. Would you like to come?”
“Can I do that?” the turtle asked in surprise. “I don’t have any wings!”
“Don’t worry, we can take you with us,” one of the geese said. “But you must stay quiet the whole trip and not say a single word to anyone.”
The turtle was very excited. “That’s okay!” it shouted.
The next day, the geese returned to take the turtle with them. They held a long stick between them.
“Hold onto the stick with your mouth, and don’t say anything until we get home.”
The turtle bit down on the stick, and the geese took off into the sky.
As they flew over a village, people below started pointing and smiling at the sight of the turtle hanging between the geese.
The turtle looked down. The talkative creature couldn’t resist the temptation: “Look at me! I’m flying…”
As soon as it opened its mouth to speak, it lost its grip on the stick and plummeted to the ground with a loud CRASH!
Luckily, the turtle landed on a grassy field, so the only thing that got hurt was its pride.
But the turtle learned two important lessons:
Turtles aren’t meant to fly, and sometimes it’s best to keep your mouth shut!
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