close beside the pool of the blue lotus lived the two geese white-wings and gray-back, and in the pool lived the tortoise shelly-neck, and the three were good friends. one night shelly-neck heard two fishermen talking together beside the pool. “to-morrow morning,” they said, “we will lay our nets and catch that old tortoise and cook him for our dinner.”

shelly-neck was much frightened, and when the men were gone he called his friends the geese, and begged them to save him.

“we will save you,” said white-wings.

“but you must do just what we tell you to do!” said gray-back.

“i will! i will!” cried poor shelly-neck.

the two geese waddled about, looking till they[54] found a stick. “now,” said white-wings, “take this in your mouth and hold on tight!”

“and remember,” said gray-back, “that once you have taken hold you must not let go till we bid you.”

the tortoise promised and took hold on the middle of the stick with his strong jaws. then white-wings took one end of the stick in his bill and gray-back took the other, and they flew high up in the air over the roofs of the houses.

all the people came running to see this strange sight. “look! look!” cried one. “see the flying tortoise!”

“ho!” said another, who was one of the fishermen.[55] “he has no wings; soon he will forget and open his mouth, and then down he will come and we shall have him for dinner.”

“i will not let go! you shall not have me for dinner!” cried shelly-neck.

crash! down he fell on the hard ground. when the fishermen picked him up he was dead and they did have him for dinner.

white-wings and gray-back flew sadly away. “we did our best,” they said; “but a fool cannot be saved from his folly.”