Reading Notes: Two Turtle Jatakas

The Turtle and the King

•  King had a lake in courtyard for princes to play in it. 
• There was a turtle in the lake with the fishes
• The boys were afraid of the turtle because they had never seen a turtle and they thought that it was a demon. 
• They cried to their father about the turtle because they were scared
• The king had his men catch "the demon" and they brought it to the castle
• The king ordered his men to kill the turtle
• The turtle heard and asked what he did to deserve to die.
• The king heard the turtle and had his men instead throw the turtle into the lake

The Turtle and the Geese

• Turtle lives in pond
• Two geese came and talked with the turtle and came back the next day eventually they became great friends. 
• The geese told the turtle that they are going to their home far away and asked if the turtle wanted to come with them
• The turtle agreed and the geese carried the turtle with them using a stick and their mouth
• The kids in the village saw the turtle being carried by the geese and started talking about how ridiculous it was
• The turtle replied back in which he let go of the stick and fell in front of the kids 
• The kids proceeded to saw that the turtle lost his life because he had to talk and couldn't keep his mouth shut. 

Thoughts

Both stories were very interesting. The first story had a sort of happy ending since the turtle ended up living and the king had him taken to the lake. The second story with the geese had a shock ending. I definitely did not expect for the turtle to fall and thought it was going to have a happy ending. 

Jataka Tales by Ellen C. Babbitt.

Turtle 

(via flickr)