Indian Fairy Tales · Chapter
The Talkative Tortoise explained
The future Buddha, born as a minister's adviser to King Brahmadatta of Benares, seeks to cure the king's excessive talkativeness.
What happens
The future Buddha, born as a minister's adviser to King Brahmadatta of Benares, seeks to cure the king's excessive talkativeness. A tortoise, carried through the air by two wild ducks by biting a stick, cannot resist speaking when villagers comment, falls into the king's palace, and splits in two. The Bodhisatta uses this as a lesson, warning the king that those who talk too much come to grief, and the king reforms.
Themes in this chapter
Cunning and Wisdom
The Bodhisatta cleverly uses the tortoise's accident to teach the king a lesson about the dangers of excessive speech.
Gratitude and Ingratitude
The tortoise's ingratitude toward his friends' help leads to his downfall, as he fails to follow their instructions.
Characters to notice
- The Talkative Tortoise
The tortoise who, unable to hold his tongue, lets go of the stick and falls to his death.
- Buddha
The future Buddha, born as a minister's son, who uses the tortoise's fate to admonish the king.
- Brahmadatta
The talkative king of Benares who learns to speak less after the Bodhisatta's lesson.
Key passages
“Verily the tortoise killed himself Whilst uttering his voice; Though he was holding tight the stick, By a word himself he slew.”
The tortoise died because he spoke when he should have stayed silent; even though he held the stick firmly, his own words caused his death.
The Bodhisatta's verse summarizing the moral of the story.
“Behold him then, O excellent by strength! And speak wise words, not out of season. You see how, by his talking overmuch, The tortoise fell into this wretched plight!”
Look at this example, O mighty king, and learn to speak wisely and at the right time. See how the tortoise's excessive talking brought him to this miserable end.
The Bodhisatta directly applies the lesson to the king's own talkativeness.