Good Fortune

There once was a young tortoise walking through the desert. It had been a dry year, and the drought was taking its toll on the animals. The tortoise had searched in vain for food. On this day, things had been especially tough. The tortoise was about to give up and stopped next to a large rock to rest.

“Oh, how I wish I could eat some food,” said the tortoise.

The tortoise looked down and saw something very unusual. Sticking out from the rock was a pile of leaves. The tortoise walked around to the other side of the rock and was stunned to see a large pile of leaves, lettuce, berries, and more.

“What good fortune I have in finding this food. Now I will not starve to death,” said the tortoise as he sat down to eat.

It didn’t take long before the tortoise was joined by an old tortoise. The old tortoise looked longingly at the food. The younger tortoise did not want to share his food. Minute by minute the time ticked away and the old tortoise continued to stare at the young tortoise eating his food. The young tortoise couldn’t handle it any longer and so he said, “Would you like some of this food?”

“I would love that,” said the old tortoise.

Before long, the two tortoises were munching away. The young tortoise had a good feeling inside. He was glad he had decided to share his food. Somehow he didn’t seem as hungry anymore.