The Man, the Tortoise, and the Thief

A man wept when he saw his garden had been raided. 

Tortoise witnessed the theft, so he shouted out the thief's name.

But instead of thanking Tortoise, the man grabbed him and stuffed him in a sack. "No doubt you also stole from my garden!" he said.

Next he went to confront. the thief Tortoise had named. "Pay for what you stole!" he demanded, and the thief paid.

Then the man went home and threw Tortoise in a pot. "I'll get soup too!" he said.

Inside the pot, Tortoise groaned. "That's what I get for speaking instead of keeping quiet."

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Inspired by: "Tortoise Dies" in Umbundu: Folk Tales from Angola by Merlin Ennis, 1962.
Notes: You can read the original story online.

Tortoise by William Warby at Flickr