I CAN'T BE BOTHERED
A long time ago, a tortoise, a climbing plant, and a singing-bird lived together in the forest. The tortoise creeps slowly. It is nearly as slow as the snail. That is why we say, “If the tortoise and the snail were the only animals in the forest, no hunter would ever have to shoot.”
During the day, the tortoise looked for food near the foot of a tree. When it was tired, it slept quietly under the tree. The climbing plant lived on the tree which the tortoise always slept under. It climbed the tree until it reached the top.
The singing-bird lived in the branches of the tree. It had made it nest in the branches of the tree. During the day, when everybody was quiet in the forest, this bird sang and sang. These three friends talked to one another very often. Whenever the tortoise wanted to say something to the bird, it told the climbing plant, who then told the bird. When the bird wanted to speak to the tortoise, it also spoke through the climbing plant. But the climbing plant could always speak straight to either the bird or the tortoise.
The singing-bird lived in the branches of the tree. It had made it nest in the branches of the tree. During the day, when everybody was quiet in the forest, this bird sang and sang. These three friends talked to one another very often. Whenever the tortoise wanted to say something to the bird, it told the climbing plant, who then told the bird. When the bird wanted to speak to the tortoise, it also spoke through the climbing plant. But the climbing plant could always speak straight to either the bird or the tortoise.
One day, the tortoise wanted to ask the singing-bird to stop making noise. So it said, “Dear Climber, I think our friend up there makes too much noise. He not only disturbs everybody in the forest, but he also makes our stay here dangerous.” But the climbing plant shouted, “I can’t be bothered! I’m not the singing-bird. He can do whatever he likes. You can tell him yourself if you want to.”
TORTOISE: Oh Climber, you’re not serious. Doesn’t the singing-bird’s noise disturb you?
CLIMBING PLANT: Not at all.
TORTOISE: Look, Climber, I’m older than you are. Besides, I’ve travelled a lot. I know more about this forest than you do. Very often, I meet hunters in this forest.
CLIMBING PLANT: What do I care?
TORTOISE: You may not care now. Let me tell you, if…
CLIMBING PLANT: If what? The singing-bird is old enough to look after himself.
As the tortoise and the climbing plant were talking to each other, they heard some footsteps. A hunter had heard the song of the singing-bird, and he was looking for the bird. The tortoise immediately kept quiet. It went into its shell and kept very close to the ground. But the climbing plant was not bothered. It shook its leaves from left to right.
Now the hunter saw the singing-bird clearly in the tree. He aimed at it and fired. Poww! The singing-bird was dead. It fell straight to the ground where the tortoise was hiding. As the hunter bend down to pick the bird, he saw the tortoise too. Happily and quickly, he picked up both the bird and the tortoise. Then he asked himself, “How am I going to carry both the bird and the tortoise home?”
He looked round and saw the climbing plant. When he was ready cut it, the climbing plant cried. “Oh, Mr. Hunter, what have I done?”
The tortoise said “Can you now be bothered? If you had told the singing-bird to keep quiet, all of us would have been safe. Now the singing-bird is dead; and you and I don’t know what the hunter is going to do to us.
The hunter cut the climbing plant. He tied the tortoise and the bird together with the climbing plant. He walked happily towards home.
So the singing-bird was dead. The climbing plant was also dead. Only the tortoise was still alive. As the hunter walked happily towards home, the tortoise wept. It said, “Oh Singing-bird, oh Climbing plant, you didn’t listen to me. You couldn’t be bothered. Now here we are.”