Why the tortoise’s shell is cracked

This is another popular one from back in the day. The story is meant to teach a moral lesson about greed and gluttony. It also gives an explanation of why things are the way they are.

In this story, the tortoise is known in the animal kingdom as a very greedy and lazy individual, and everyone avoided him. Whenever it was planting season, he would never leave the house. But when it was time to harvest, he would always look for opportunities to loot others. One day, he walked out of his house and saw Bird, his neighbor. Tortoise approached his neighbor and asked where he was coming from.

Bird explained that the bird community always hosted a feast in the clouds once every year and they were making preparations. The tortoise was instantly interested when he heard there would be a feast, and he asked if he could be invited. Bird invited Tortoise to the feast, but there was the problem of actually getting there. Then Bird proposed a suggestion that all the birds donate a feather to make Tortoise a pair of makeshift wings.

On the day of the feast, Tortoise flew with the Bird to the clouds and sat amongst the birds at the feast. Being his witty self, Tortoise proposed that they each give themselves nicknames. Each bird named itself, and when it was his turn, he named himself “All of us”. When it was time to eat, he asked the host who owned all the food on the table. The bird host answered and said “well, it’s for all of us.” Tortoise then smiled and declared himself the owner of the feast because his name was “all of us”. He wolfed down the feast, much to the annoyance of the birds.They left the feast in anger one at a time, and when it was time for Tortoise to leave, he discovered that he was too heavy for his makeshift wings. Tortoise pleaded for more feathers but the birds ignored him. Tortoise plummeted down and clashed on solid ground. However, because of his thick shell, he did not die, but his shell became cracked ever since.