The Clever Tortoise

Author: Prashaanth Ramalingam

Illustrator: Nuwan Chathuranga Athulasiri

Translator: Alisha Berger

The monkeys were eating wood apples*.

*A wood apple is a common fruit in Sri Lanka. It has a hard shell, is quite smelly, and tastes like a cross between raisin and tamarind.

The tortoises wanted them too!

“We want tasty wood apples too!” said Kibba, the Tortoise.

“But how do we crack them open?” asked the others.

“Monkeys, please

help us crack open

the apples!” called Kibba.

“Ooh! Ooh! We

can't! We won't!”

The monkeys

made fun of the clumsy tortoises.

The tortoises tried to bite into the fruit. But they couldn't!

Boo!

They tried to knock it open with their awkward tortoise feet.

Boo!

They tried to break the fruit with their heads.

Boo!

They tried to soak the fruit to make it soft... but the apples just bobbed on top of the pond.

Boo! Boo! Boo! all the tortoises cried. "We want to try the tasty wood apple!"

Meanwhile, the mean old monkeys

kept teasing the tortoises. They threw

wood apples and giggled.

The raining fruit gave Kibba an idea!

Kibba told his friends to spread stones under the trees.

And then, when the monkeys threw

wood apples on the

ground...

TAGAD! TAGAD!

CRACKKKK!

Yum! Yum! Yum!

At last, the tortoises could have their

tasty party!

This book was made possible by Pratham Books' StoryWeaver platform. Content under Creative Commons licenses can be downloaded, translated and can even be used to create new stories provided you give appropriate credit, and indicate if changes were made. To know more about this, and the full terms of use and attribution, please visit the following link .

Story Attribution:

This story:The Clever Tortoiseis translated byAlisha Berger. The © for this translation lies with Room to Read, 2012. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Based on Original story:'ஆமையும் குரங்கும்', byPrashaanth Ramalingam. © Room to Read , 2012. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.

Other Credits:

This story 'The Clever Tortoise' has been published on StoryWeaver by Room to Read.

Images Attributions:

Cover page:Three tortoises, byNuwan Chathuranga Athulasiri© Room to Read, 2012. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 2:Monkeys eat wood apples as tortoises look on, byNuwan Chathuranga Athulasiri© Room to Read, 2012. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 3:Monkeys eat fruit as tortoises look on, byNuwan Chathuranga Athulasiri© Room to Read, 2012. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 4:Tortoises discuss among each other, byNuwan Chathuranga Athulasiri© Room to Read, 2012. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 5:Tortoises talk to monkeys, byNuwan Chathuranga Athulasiri© Room to Read, 2012. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 6:Monkeys mock tortoises, byNuwan Chathuranga Athulasiri© Room to Read, 2012. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 7:Monkeys throw stones at tortoises, byNuwan Chathuranga Athulasiri© Room to Read, 2012. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 8:Tortoise tries to break open a wood apple, byNuwan Chathuranga Athulasiri© Room to Read, 2012. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 9:Tortoises push around a wood apple, byNuwan Chathuranga Athulasiri© Room to Read, 2012. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 10:Tortoises look at balls floating on water, byNuwan Chathuranga Athulasiri© Room to Read, 2012. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Disclaimer:https://www.storyweaver.org.in/terms_and_conditions

Some rights reserved. This book is CC-BY-4.0 licensed. You can copy, modify, distribute and perform the work, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. For full terms of use and attribution, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

This book was made possible by Pratham Books' StoryWeaver platform. Content under Creative Commons licenses can be downloaded, translated and can even be used to create new stories provided you give appropriate credit, and indicate if changes were made. To know more about this, and the full terms of use and attribution, please visit the following link .

Images Attributions:

Page 11:Tortoises trip over wood apples, byNuwan Chathuranga Athulasiri© Room to Read, 2012. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 12:Monkeys tease tortoises, byNuwan Chathuranga Athulasiri© Room to Read, 2012. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 13:Tortoises push wood apples, byNuwan Chathuranga Athulasiri© Room to Read, 2012. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 14:Monkeys throw wood apples down a tree, byNuwan Chathuranga Athulasiri© Room to Read, 2012. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 15:Tortoises eat wood apples, byNuwan Chathuranga Athulasiri© Room to Read, 2012. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Disclaimer:https://www.storyweaver.org.in/terms_and_conditions

Some rights reserved. This book is CC-BY-4.0 licensed. You can copy, modify, distribute and perform the work, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. For full terms of use and attribution, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

The Clever Tortoise (English)

The tortoise sees the monkeys eating wood apples and wants to taste them. But first, he has to figure out how to crack open the hard shell. Can you help him?

This is a Level 2 book for children who recognize familiar words and can read new words with help.

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