Week Eleven Reading Part B

 I really liked using Babbitt's story of the "Very Timid, Foolish Rabbit" so I wanted to make sure I read more of the jataka's. I think that this story is supposed to symbolize people not understanding beings other than them. I think that this tells a tale of morality and about how one's presumed weakness may actually be to the perpetrator's fault. The story essentially features a group of being cruel to a turtle, and someone suggests throwing him into the river. The turtle realizes he has an opportunity to save himself, a tells the group that it would be a horribly dreadful thing for him to be thrown into the water. Little do the people know, he is actually much safer in the water than on land. I think that this story also encourages people to think outside of the box and to think of other ways to protect yourself that are not violent, but rather clever. Of course, the young prince's had never seen a turtle before so they did not understand that they were truthfully being humane, rather than truly cruel. I think that this also speaks to intent, and whether it not it makes someone a bad person or not. Because the boys technically saved the turtle's life, but they believed their actions would kill him. That still makes the action morally unjust. I believe that this story could be rewritten into a story set in HS, or something. Maybe it could be set from the perspective of the young princes. 

Image information: The Turtle Who Could Not Stop Talking

Story Source: How The Turtle Saved His Own Life