Why the Turtle ended up living in the water - Tales from Africa

It is believed that a very long time ago, the turtle which is also considered a very clever animal by the African people once lived on land.

One day some hunters came across a turtle grazing in the African savannas, they decided to take the turtle home as a special meal for their king.

When the hunters returned to their village they eagerly laid the wise turtle out before the king.

The King was quite grateful as he had never eaten a turtle before, as a matter of fact none of the people in their tribe had, but the deer was scares and hunting was difficult.

The king and the hunters contemplated how to prepare the turtle for dinner.

The turtle then said; " Well if you are going to eat me you will have to kill me and get me out of my shell"
To which the hunters replied: "you are right, we will gave to crack your shell with rocks or sticks"
The wise turtle thought for a while then continued: "My shell is way to hard for that, why not rather throw me in the river to drown, and that way the water will also make my shell soft and easy for you to break open"

The hunters agreed, and took the turtle to the river bank and tossed him into the water to drown. The turtle sunk down to the bottom of the river, and as the hunters stood and watched, the saw two green eyes emerging on the surface of the water, they thought it was a crocodile and quickly ran back to the village.

The lucky turtle escaped that day, and so grateful was he for the sanctuary of the water that he choose to stay there for the rest of his days.