The Talkative Tortoise
The Talkative Tortoise
Adapted from Indian Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs (1892)
Long ago in the ancient kingdom of Benares, there lived a wise minister who served as the king’s adviser in both worldly and spiritual matters. This minister was actually the future Buddha in one of his many lives before attaining enlightenment.
The king of Benares, Brahma-datta, had one particularly troublesome habit—he talked excessively. Whenever he began speaking, no one else could get a word in. The minister, concerned about this flaw in his ruler, constantly sought some way to help the king recognize and overcome his talkativeness.
Far away in the Himalaya mountains, a tortoise lived in a beautiful pond. Two young wild ducks, known as hamsas, often came to feed at this pond and eventually befriended the tortoise. As their friendship grew, the ducks decided to invite their new friend to visit their home.
“Friend tortoise,” they said one day, “we live in a delightful spot at the Golden Cave on Mount Beautiful in the Himalaya country. Would you like to come visit us there?”
The tortoise was immediately interested but asked the practical question, “How could I possibly get there? I cannot fly like you.”
The ducks had already considered this problem. “We can carry you,” they replied, “but only if you can hold your tongue and remain completely silent during the journey.”
“Oh, that I can certainly do,” the tortoise assured them. “Please take me with you.”
“Very well,” said the ducks. They devised a clever plan. They found a stick and instructed the tortoise to bite firmly onto the middle of it. Then each duck took one end of the stick in its beak, and together they lifted off into the air with the tortoise hanging between them.
As they flew over villages and fields, people looked up in amazement at the unusual sight. “Look!” some villagers called out. “Two wild ducks are carrying a tortoise on a stick!”
The tortoise, hearing these remarks, became indignant. “What business is it of theirs how I travel?” he thought. “These wretched peasants should mind their own affairs!”
His anger and pride grew until he could no longer contain himself. Just as they were flying over the royal palace in Benares, the tortoise opened his mouth to deliver a sharp retort—completely forgetting that his mouth was the only thing keeping him aloft.
The moment he released his grip on the stick, the tortoise plummeted downward, falling directly into the palace courtyard. The impact was fatal, and the poor creature’s shell split in two.
A crowd quickly gathered around the fallen tortoise, exclaiming, “A tortoise has fallen from the sky and broken in two!”
King Brahma-datta, hearing the commotion, came to investigate, accompanied by his wise minister. Looking at the tragic scene, the king asked, “Teacher, how did this tortoise come to fall here?”
The minister immediately recognized this as the perfect opportunity to deliver the lesson he had long sought to teach the king. He thought to himself, “This tortoise must have made friends with the wild ducks who offered to carry him through the air. They must have had him bite onto a stick while they flew, but being unable to keep silent when he heard others talking about him, he must have opened his mouth to speak and thus fallen to his death.”
Addressing the king, the minister said, “Truly, Your Majesty, those who cannot control their words—those chatterboxes whose talking knows no end—come to grief just like this unfortunate creature.” Then he recited these verses:
“Verily the tortoise killed himself
Whilst uttering his voice;
Though he was holding tight the stick,
By a word himself he slew.
“Behold him then, O excellent by strength!
And speak wise words, not out of season.
You see how, by his talking overmuch,
The tortoise fell into this wretched plight!”
The king, sensing that these words were directed at him, asked, “O Teacher, are you speaking of me?”
The minister replied honestly, “O great king, whether it be you or anyone else, whoever speaks beyond measure meets with misfortune like this.”
From that day forward, the king became mindful of his speech, transforming from a man of endless words to one who spoke with purpose and restraint.
This ancient tale reminds us that knowing when to remain silent is as important as knowing what to say. The tortoise’s inability to control his tongue cost him his life—a powerful metaphor for how excessive talking can lead to our downfall. Through this story, we learn that words have consequences, and sometimes the wisest choice is to listen rather than speak.
