Long, long ago, as you know, animals and birds could talk, just as we can. At that time tortoise was very friendly with Mammy Hawk. They often met and talked about their neighbors or about the weather or about their plans for their children. Mammy Hawk liked her friend very much but she felt a little superior to him because she could fly and he could not.
One day, Mammy Hawk met her friend and said, 'I can't stop to talk, Tortoise, I now have three baby hawks and I must get some food for them.'
'Ah,' said Tortoise, 'I did not know you had any children. I shall come to visit you all very soon.'
'You! Visit us!' laughed Mammy Hawk. 'Do you not know that we live in the highest tree in the forest? But, since you have said you'll come, we shall look forward to your visit.' With that she flew off, laughing and thinking, 'Tortoise thinks he is very clever but he has not learnt to fly yet!'
A few days later she met Tortoise again while she was out hunting, and she said, 'My dear Tortoise, my children and I have been looking forward to your visit but you still haven't called on us. You must come and see us soon.'
Once again she laughed as she flew away and this time Tortoise heard her. He made up his mind to punish her for mocking him. He was not sure how he could pay her back but he knew that he would succeed. 'If I lack wings, I do not lack intelligence,' he muttered as he walked home.
A week passed. Then, one day, as Tortoise was out walking, he saw a tender, plump, young chicken and he remembered that Hawks love chickens. Tortoise sneaked slowly, noiselessly up to the chicken. He moved so quickly that the chicken neither saw nor heard anything until, 'F- fwit!' Tortoise grabbed the chicken by the leg. It struggled and struggled but could not escape. At last, it was exhausted. It lay down as if were dead and its wings covered Tortoise completely.Tortoise lay there quietly. He knew that Mammy Hawk usually flew that way when she was out hunting. At last he heard her flying overhead. She saw the chicken exclaimed with delight, 'Aha! My children will have a very good meal today!' She swooped down, picked up the chicken and flew to her nest. She thought that the chicken was very fat because it was very heavy. What she did not know was that she was also carrying Tortoise. When she reached her nest she dropped the chicken into it and said, 'Look, children. I've brought you a nice plump chicken for supper. I must go out again but I shall be back soon.'
She flew off again. As soon as she had gone Tortoise crawled out from below the chicken and sat down with the young hawks. The babies and the Tortoise began to eat and soon, they had finished the chicken. After they had stopped eating Mammy Hawk came and saw Tortoise! She was really amazed!
'Tortoise?' she asked. 'Is it really you? Have you actually managed to visit us?'
Tortoise just smiled and replied, 'But you shouldn't be surprised. Did I not promise to visit you and your children? '
Mammy Hawk did not know how Tortoise had reached her nest, but she was too surprised to ask question. She had no food in the house to offer her visitor so she went out to hunt again.
Tortoise waited and waited. He was very hungry indeed. After some time he could wait no longer. He caught one of the baby hawks, broke off its leg and ate that. When Mammy Hawk returned Tortoise asked, 'Why did you not tell me that one of your children was a crippled? I see that this young one has only one leg.' Mammy Hawk looked at her child which was standing like a stork on one leg! She did not say anything but she began to feel afraid.
The next time Mammy Hawk went on hunting Tortoise ate the remainder of the baby hawk. When its mother returned she asked, 'Where is my other child?' And Tortoise replied, 'Is he not with you? As soon as you left he followed you. I thought that you and he had gone for a little outing together.'
Mammy Hawk did not know what to do. She had invited Tortoise to visit her home so it was her duty to look after him. She went out hunting again and when she did so Tortoise ate another baby hawk. As soon she returned he told her the same story - that her baby had followed her. This time, however, Mammy Hawk was very angry. She had lost two of her babies and she knew that Tortoise was to blame. So she picked him up and flew as high as she could go. Then she dropped him, WHAM! But Tortoise has a very thick skin. The fall did not hurt him. He just got up, shook the dust off his shell and slowly walked home.
And the thing to remember is that no one should ever laugh at his friends.
Loreto Todd