The Audubon Societies 45q 



'Tlic Talkati^'e Tortoise' is an ingenious tale about two wild geese who 

 tried to help their friend the tortoise to fly to their beautiful home in the 

 Himalayas. 



By placing a stick in the tortoise's mouth and each taking an end, the trio 

 flew up into the air the fable relates, much to the astonishment of the village 

 children, who exclaimed: "There are two geese carrying a tortoise by a stick!" 

 Unluckily, the tortoise had a short temper and forgot the admonition of his 

 friends to keep his mouth shut, with the consequence that he fell into a court- 

 yard and "split in two," which caused a tremendous uproar. Even the King 

 came out to inquire what was the matter, accompanied by the Future Buddha, 

 who had long wished to rebuke the King for talking indiscreetly and too much. 



In the manner of a timely observation, the Future Buddha remarked that 

 "They that have too much tongue, that set no limit to their speaking, ever come 

 to such misfortune as this," adding: 



"The tortoise needs must speak aloud, 

 .Although between his teeth 

 A stick he bit; yet, spite of it. 

 He spoke — and fell beneath! 



And now, O mighty master, mark it well. 



See thou speak wisely, see thou speak in season. 



To death the tortoise fell: 



He talked too much, that was the reason." 



Of course, the King could hardly fail to take so pointed a moral to himself; 

 but, when he asked the Future Buddha if the rebuke was meant for him, the 

 latter adroitly replied: "Be it you, O great King, or be it another, whosoever 

 talks beyond measure comes by some misery of this kind." The fable closes by 

 saying that so the Future Buddha "made the thing manifest," and thereafter 

 the king "became a man of few words." 



There are many beast fables in the old Indian collections of tales, and it 

 would be diflficult to select from the five hundred and fifty stories of the Bud- 

 dhist Jataka, or from the equally entertaining Brahmanical collection known 

 as 'Panchatantra,' both of which are used in Pilpay's fables, just those stories 

 that might appeal most to you. 'The Buddhist Duty of Courtesy to Animals,' 

 'The Antelope, the Woodpecker, and the Tortoise,' 'The King and the Hawk,' 

 'The Transformed Mouse,' 'The Hare-mark in the Moon,' and 'The Ass in 

 the Lion's Skin' are all excellent examples of the keen observation, ready pen, 

 and simple skill of the fabulist. 



Perhaps no writer of fables of later times was and still is better known than 

 Jean de La Fontaine, who lived from 162 1 to 1695. Born in the country, the 

 son of a well-to-do gentleman, who held the responsible government office of 

 "master of forests and stream's" — an office not exactly comparable with any 

 position in this country, but one which probably combined that of chief 



