Page:Folk Tales from Tibet (1906).djvu/179



was once an old Tortoise who lived with his wife and family in a large lake, on the borders of which grew an extensive jungle; and in the forest there were many wild beasts, more especially Monkeys, who swarmed in great numbers all along the shores of the lake.

It happened one day that the Tortoise came out of the lake and went for a stroll amongst the trees which grew near the water. After walking for some distance he became hungry, and looking up into a cocoanut-tree, near which he found himself, he thought how much he should like to get one of the cocoanuts which were growing near the top. He made several awkward attempts to climb the tree, but the stem was so straight and so smooth that he was quite unable to succeed; he was just about to give up the attempt in despair when he espied a large Monkey sitting among the branches. The Monkey, who had been watching the Tortoise's attempts to climb the tree with some curiosity, felt rather sorry at his failure, and noticing that the Tortoise was a fine, well-grown fellow with a very handsome shell, he