Reading Notes: Week 2 Anthology

The Turtle and the Geese by Ellen C. Babbitt

• Story from Two Turtle Jatakas from the version in Jataka Tales by Ellen C. Babbitt
• Character Charting:
• Geese
• Strength: Inviting - Geese invited the Turtle to their home
• Strength: Having Foresight/Being Wise - Geese knew to remind the Turtle not to talk
• Weakness: Secretive- Geese simply told the Turtle not to talk but gave no explanation.
• Personal Note: There are always people in our lives that are wise and know more about a particular topic because they have had experience. In a weird way, the Geese remind me of God. I believe God is all-knowing and He asks of us to do certain things with no explanation. We simply must trust in Him and that he is pointing us in the right direction by following through with what He is asking. 
• Turtle
• Weakness: Did not follow through with promise - The Turtle talked even though he promised not to. This immediately led to his death.
• Strength: Trusting - The Turtle did not question the Geese about why he was forbidden to talk.
• Strength: Defending himself - While the act of defending himself led to his death, I applaud that the Turtle defended himself against the bullying village children.
• Personal Note: I completely understand the actions of the Turtle, even if it led to his death. I appreciate that he did not let himself and his character be stepped on. However, the Geese seemed to have foresight which led to the single promise the Turtle had to make. All the Turtle had to do was follow through with that promise. If the Turtle had questions about the promise, then he should have asked and sparked a conversation. Instead, he dismissed the idea of a conversation and just thought he could get to the final destination without keeping his promise.
• Village Children
• Weakness: Mockery - The village children made fun of Turtle being carried my two geese and a stick. 
• Personal Note: These children remind me of the people in one's life that purposely tries to trip us. Unfortunately, we all face bullies at some point of our lives. However, when in this situation, we hope to keep our head up and walk over their foot that is trying to trip us and make us fall.

The Falling Turtle illustrated by Grandville.