How the turtle got its shell

How the turtle got its shell

A story from Greece

The great God Zeus was the ruler of all the Greek gods. He was so powerful and could be so bad-tempered , always flinging thunderbolts around, and the other gods were a little scared of him.

When Zeus was getting married, he invited all the animals to a huge wedding feast. The great day came and the animals set off, barking and braying, snorting and squealing, growling and grunting, whinnying and whistling with excitement. They had a wonderful time. For a whole day they ate as much as they could of the foods they liked best.

Zeus looked at them, smiling with pleasure. Then he frowned. "Where's the turtle?" he asked Hera, his new wife. "Why isn't she here?"

Hera was a goddess and could see at once that the turtle was not with all the other animals. "I'll go and ask her tomorrow" said Zeus.

The next day, Zeus found the turtle, resting quietly on the muddy bank of a river. "Turtle, why didn't you come to my wedding feast?" he asked in a gentle voice.

The turtle tried to hide under a big leaf growing on the river bank, and said nothing. "Why didn't you come to my wedding feast? Answer me," Zeus demanded. The turtle raised her head and whispered in a tiny, scared voice, "There's no place like home".

Zeus was furious. He shouted in a voice so loud it frightened the birds which flew screaming away through the forest, "In that case, you will always carry your home with wherever you go.". Then he disappeared with a crash of thunder and a flash of blinding light.

The turtle suddenly felt a great weight on her back. It was a hard, heavy shell which covered her all over. From then on, all the turtles in the world have always carried their homes on their backs.