How the Turtle Got its Shell
Once upon a time, in a forest filled with all of the animals, there lived a small colony of turtles. These turtles lived a happy and peaceful life, for the most part. The turtles were kind and there were few animals in the forest who did not like the turtles. But there was one animal that the turtles did not like: the bear. The bears in the forest thought the turtles were the best snack in all of the forest, so the turtles were constantly in fear of being eaten by a bear.
One day the turtles had had enough. They no longer wanted to live in fear and they were determined to do whatever it took to save themselves. The leader of the turtle colony decided that he had no other option than to go and visit the Forest God.
"Please, Forest God, I need your help. All of my family and friends are being eaten," pleaded the turtle.
The Forest God was known for helping when he was asked, but every wish he granted came with a price.
"How may I help you?" replied the Forest God.
"The bears are eating us all and I am begging you to help us!" cried the turtle.
"I think I know a solution," replied the Forest God, "but if I am to give you this wish, you must pay the price for such a wish."
"We will do anything to stop this," the turtle claimed.
The Forest God looked at the turtle and granted him and all the turtles across the land an individual shell that each turtle would now live in permanently. The Forest God handed the turtle a sack of food that each turtle was supposed to have a bite of in order for them to grow their shells. The turtle now had a hard surface on his back, making it impossible for him to be a yummy snack. The turtle was amazed at what the Forest God had done for him and he could not wait to return to his other turtles and share the amazing news. When he went to run back to his colony to give them all their shells he could barely move. The turtle was so confused and was trying with all of his might to run, but he couldn't.
"What have you done to me?" cried the turtle.
"This is the price you must pay," replied the Forest God, "You will no longer be delicious or something the bears want to eat but you now will be the slowest animal in the forest."
The turtle began his journey home. He arrived there two days later than normal. When he arrived home he handed out the food. All the turtles ate it and grew their shell. But they all became the slowest animals in the forest as well.
"At least we are alive!" said the leader of the turtles.
Author's Note: I was really inspired by the stories telling the fates of the animals lives and why they are the way they are today. In the story I read as my inspiration for this story it was about a tiger and how he gained his strength. In that story the tiger was gifted with pride but he also longed to have physical strength. He had to go to the God and ask for it but overheard the God telling man that he would give it to him. In the end the tiger tricked the God and ended up with the physical strength. The man was supposed to have the most physical strength but because of the tiger's trick they were not. The human ended up being the smartest and that is why humans hunt. The human obtained the gift of extreme skill. They now use their weapons against the animals. Then I took those stories and put my own twist on them. I chose turtles for no particular reason and wanted to explain how they got their shells and why they are so slow. I liked these stories because they are humorous and very creative. These stories help explain why a specific animal has the traits they have.
Bibliography: "How the Tiger Got His Strength" By: Mrs. K. U. Rafy