THE TORTOISE, THE MONKEY, AND THE BANANA TREE (1)

THE TORTOISE, THE MONKEY, AND THE BANANA TREE (1)

Once upon a time, a tortoise was sunbathing by a river.

You might think a tortoise, with its thick shell, couldn't sunbathe.
But you'd be wrong.

The warmth comes up from the ground, and of course, the tortoise sticks its head out, and as much of its neck as it can.
It soon very warm indeed.

Well,this tortoise was almost asleep when she noticed a tree being carried downstream.

No ordinary tree.
It was a banana tree.

She dived in, swam to the tree, and began pushing it toward the bank.

But a banana tree is a very big tree.
And this tortoise was a fair-sized tortoise, she couldn't pull it up the bank.

The tree still had its roots and leaves, and they were heavy with water.

So the tortoise did the sensible thingーshe ran for help.

That's to say, she ran as a tortoise runs: a fairly slow business.

But not far along the road, she came across her neighbor, the monkey.

" I say ! Come and look ! " said the tortoise.
" I've found a banana tree. Help me carry it to my house so I can plant it there ! "

(つづく　1/5)