The Tortoise and the Birds, by Adam Mathar Adam

This is a recording of an animal fable in the Thuri language, close to 3 minutes in duration. Once upon a time, the tortoise and the birds were friends. One day, tortoise went to hawk and asked for something to eat. Not having anything to offer his friend, hawk instead invited tortoise to travel with him and other friends to the sky for a wedding party. Hawk assured tortoise not to worry about flying as they will contribute their feathers and glue them upon him with glue. They did that the following day and travelled together up in the sky and attended the wedding party. Because of excitement and I think cleverness, tortoise changed his name from tortoise to Ge Beed (All of them). After a short while, caterers started serving the guests after taking their seats. Tortoise, now Ge Beed, who sat in front, asked the caterers whenever they approached the guests, ‘whose food is this?’ It is for all, the caterers replied. Tortoise started eating all, saying it is for him since he is now called Ge Beed. After eating, his gave remnants to his friends who warned him lest they dispossess him of their feathers. He never heeded to the warning but he continued defiantly. His friends dispossessed him of their feathers and left him up in the sky partying. Upon their departure, he asked them to tell his wife to prepare him a soft area to land on. When the birds arrived at the tortoise’s wife, they told her the opposite, i.e., to prepare a hard landing area. Jumping off the sky, tortoise fell on stones and rocks with his back, which he broke seriously. That is why the tortoise’s back is the way it is now.