Read one of Rudyard Kipling’s short stories, such as “How the Leopard Got His Spots.” Write your own “How the ___ Got Its ___” story.
This next tale I will tell you explains how the tortoise got his shell.
Now back at the beginning, when the earth had just got finished being made, all the animals were placed in their own habitats to start life there. Well way down south where the air gets hot and the land starts to dry out, there lived a group of forest animals. There were owls, foxes, and snakes, but also friendlier group who tried their best to avoid the grim company of the latter. These friends were little squirrels, deer, birds, rabbits, and tortoises among many others in the forest. Now, having just been created, naturally each animal was testing his abilities and talents to see what fun they could have or how best to avoid being the first meal.
The squirrel found that with his sharp claws he could scurry up and down any tree trunk he pleased and so he set about doing what he did best. On the ground the deer soon found her long spindly legs were perfect for leaping over the thick underbrush and she spent day breaking in her long back legs. Meanwhile the bird was taking a little longer to figure out his talent. The squirrel offered to help the bird get some ideas and took him up to a tree branch so he could watch. As the squirrel scurried off, the bird tried his best to pay attention but he wasn’t used to gripping a branch yet and he lost his balance. Falling fast toward a large thistle bush he spread out his wings and flailed trying to grab hold of the lower braches but he found that as he flapped, he moved farther and farther from the forest floor. Now he rose fast toward the sun-filled sky laughing and chirping about his newfound joy.
Now we come to the last two creatures left in the forest clearing. The rabbit and tortoise had seen the others and were impatient to discover what amazing feats they were capable of. But the rabbit also observed that the others talents would keep them safe from predators when the night came and so she too sought out the talent of survival. Rabbit shared this knowledge with the tortoise but he scoffed at her caution and went to admire the birds’ unique skill. So while rabbit set to digging a burrow for herself, the tortoise searched for a talent that would diminish all of the others. He tried climbing first but his claws were not curved like the squirrels in order to grip the bark. His flying attempt ended him with quite an array of bruises and the bounding and hopping simply weren’t suited for his build. But when he took off through a strip of the meadow and snaked through the thick underbrush he found he was faster than any animal in the forest!
Now you must understand that the tortoise looked a whole lot different back in the beginning of creation than he does nowadays. His feet weren’t so flat and he has no shell on top his back but, instead, he was very lean with a long neck that could weave its way through even the thickest places of the forest. And so he rushed through the forest perfecting his gift and when he came across a fellow animal he would stop them to show off his incredible speed. He would challenged them to see if any of them could match his gift but none of them were able to and he grew very proud. He boasted about his feats to anyone he saw day after day until all the animals grew angry and sought out the man’s help so that he would put a stop to the tortoise’s behavior. Well the man went to the Creator to discuss the predicament and the Creator agreed to visit down to the forest and sort out the problem.
He questioned each of the animals and heard all about the tortoise’s boastfulness. He grew sad that there was already so much corruption spreading through his animals and so set off to confront the tortoise. He found the tortoise shouting up at a place in the tree where a squirrel had just vanished.
“Tortoise,” He said in a deep booming voice, “Why have you been so boastful about the gifts I have given you as though they were your own glory? Do you not know that you are to boast in nothing except in me?”
“Well now… I… Well…” The Tortoise stuttered, surprised to be in such revered company.
“Have you anything to say for yourself?” The Creator continued after a silence, “I gave you speed so as to protect yourself but you have abused your skill and angered the rest with your pride. Now because of your behavior you will have to carry a large weight on your back for all the days of your life. This weight will no longer allow you to be swift as your formal self so that you may be humbled before all animals.”
“Oh Creator,” the tortoise despaired under the new strain on his back. “But how will I ever escape from the larger animals who wish to have me as a meal without my swiftness?”
“I will make the inside hollow for you so that you can duck inside when enemies come at you. No go forth and start afresh by asking forgiveness from each animal that you have angered.”
And so the tortoise has carried the weight on himself for all these years and today we know him, through many tales and stories, as a much wiser and humble animal.
Leahstps 