The Tortoise and the Geese

Once there was a tortoise in a large tank. He had two geese as friends.
These geese used to come to the tank and the three of them spent much of their together. They lived thus happily for a number of years.
Then there was a drought in the country; for a long time there was no rain. Rivers and tanks began to dry up.
There was famine in the land. There was no food. People and animals were dying. Birds were flying away to places of safety.
The two geese saw the danger from the drought, and they decided to go away to some other place.
They went to the tortoise to take leave of him.
“Why do you bid me farewell?” said the tortoise. “Am I not your friend? Don't you want me to live too? Why do you leave me here to die?”
“How can we help you?” asked the geese. “We can get to any place on earth by flying. But you can't fly.”
“It is true that I cannot fly like you,” said the tortoise, “but you can help me. Take me with you.”
“How can we do that?” said the geese.
“That is easy,” said the tortoise. “Bring me a stick. I shall hold the two ends of the stick with my teeth. You can hold the two ends of the stick in your beaks and fly up, taking me with you. Then we can all fly to some place where we shall be safe from this drought.”
The geese thought the matter over and said: “We hope we can do that, but there is one danger. If by any chance, you began to speak while we are up in the air, you will lose your hold on the stick and be crushed to death.”
“But I will do no such foolish things,” said the tortoise. “I will not utter a word as long as we are in the air.”
So, the geese brought a strong stick and held it in their beaks, one at each end. The tortoise held the middle of the stick firmly in his mouth.
The geese flew up, carrying the tortoise with them. They flew higher and higher. They flew over many fields and hills, and then they flew over a city.
The people of the city noticed the strange sight in the sky. They had never seen anything like it before. They clapped their hands and shouted: “Look! What a wonderful thing! Two birds carrying a tortoise on a stick through the sky. See how they are flying.”
The tortoise didn’t like the people shouting.
“Why re those fools shouting like that?” he said.
But even as he uttered these words, he lost the hold of the stick and down he went. He hit the ground and he was killed.