How the Tortoise Built Her House

Author: Elizabeth B. Shusha

Illustrator: Iddi Marumba

Translator: Alisha Berger

Once upon a time, the tortoise had no shell.

It was very difficult for her on hot, rainy, and cold days!

She wished she could build herself a house. So, she started collecting materials.

The tortoise moved quite slowly.

She was never be able to collect enough tree branches to build a proper house.

She sat down and thought about what to do.

After thinking for a long time, she decided to go in search of a house that was already built.

One day, she saw a cave. She peered inside. It looked warm and dry!

But the cave belonged to a rabbit and her children.

She climbed up a tree. But, she was chased away by birds chirping and cawing noisily in their nests.

The tortoise walked away sadly, sweating in the heat of the sun.

One day, as the tortoise was wandering about, she found a cow in its pen. She was with her calves.

"Can I join you, please?" asked Tortoise.

“I’m sorry,” said the cow, “but we can’t help you. It's full in here already.”

As the tortoise left the pen, she passed under a tree. Drops of gum from the tree fell on her. The tortoise loved the cool feeling of gum sliding all over her back. Since it was quite hot, she stopped there for a while to rest. Her back got soaked with gum.

As she walked away, she noticed a

piece of tree-bark stuck to her back.

It was stuck firmly in place.

The tortoise picked up another piece of bark and

placed it on her back. Then another piece, and another.

She flipped on her back to press them firmly into place.

When she walked in the hot sun,

none of the pieces came off.

She jumped into water and splashed around, cool at last.

Best of all, the pieces remained firmly stuck to her back!

Tortoise played in the sand. The pieces of bark remained stuck to her back.

Now the tortoise felt comfortable,

no matter what the weather.

She was no longer afraid of the heat, rain, or cold.

The pieces of bark remained stuck

on her back forever.

Finally, the tortoise had built her home.

She carries it around proudly to this day!

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:How the Tortoise Built Her Houseis translated byAlisha Berger. The © for this translation lies with Room to Read, 2015. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Based on Original story:'Siku Kobe Alipojenga Nyumba', byElizabeth B. Shusha. © Room to Read , 2015. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.

Other Credits:

This story 'The Day the Tortoise Built Her Home' has been published on StoryWeaver by Room to Read.

Images Attributions:

Cover page:A tortoise with a stack of blocks, byIddi Marumba© Room to Read, 2015. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 2:A tortoise without a shell, byIddi Marumba© Room to Read, 2015. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 3:A tortoise suffering harsh weather, byIddi Marumba© Room to Read, 2015. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 4:A shell-less tortoise holding a stone, byIddi Marumba© Room to Read, 2015. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 5:A shell-less tortoise in front of stones, byIddi Marumba© Room to Read, 2015. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 6:A tortoise wondering what to do, byIddi Marumba© Room to Read, 2015. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 7:A tortoise meets a rabbit family, byIddi Marumba© Room to Read, 2015. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 8:A tortoise meets a nest of chicks, byIddi Marumba© Room to Read, 2015. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 9:A tortoise meets a flock of cows, byIddi Marumba© Room to Read, 2015. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 10:Gum falls on a tortoise's back, byIddi Marumba© Room to Read, 2015. 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:A shell-less tortoise with one stone on its back, byIddi Marumba© Room to Read, 2015. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 12:A shell-less tortoise sticks stone slabs on its back, byIddi Marumba© Room to Read, 2015. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 13:A tortoise walks in the sun, byIddi Marumba© Room to Read, 2015. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 14:A tortoise plays in water, byIddi Marumba© Room to Read, 2015. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 15:A smiling tortoise walks in the sun, byIddi Marumba© Room to Read, 2015. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 16:A smiling tortoise, byIddi Marumba© Room to Read, 2015. 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/

How the Tortoise Built Her House (English)

Tortoise wants a home to protect herself from the heat and the rain. How will the tortoise build it?

This is a Level 3 book for children who are ready to read on their own.

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