The Turtle that Could not Stop Talking

ONCE upon a time, there lived a turtle with two swans in a pond. They were best friends. They always helped each other.
Well, there was something that the swans did not like about the turtle. She loved to talk. When the turtle was talking, no one could stop her. The swans actually hated this turtle's bad behavior.
They had suggested the turtle to speak less. Unfortunately, the turtle could not change it. She still talked and talked.
It was drought season. Rains had not fallen for months. Slowly the pond dried. The swans and the turtle were restless. The pond was their home and also their place to eat. They had to find a new place.
“What should we do?“ asked the turtle.
“We cannot stay here. You can see that the pond has dried. We cannot live here any longer,“ said one swan.
The turtle and the swans were silent.
They did not know what to do. Suddenly, one swan had an idea.
“I will fly and look for a new place for us to live. After I find it, I will come back as soon as possible,“ said the swan.
The turtle and the other swan agreed.
Soon, the swan flew and left them.
Several days later, the swan came back with good news.
“I found it! I found a new place to live.
The pond is beautiful,“ said the swan.
The turtle and the other swan were completely happy.
“That's wonderful! Let's go there now!“ said the turtle cheerfully.
The swan looked sad. “The problem is that the place is very far from here.
We can fly to go there, but what about you?“ “I can walk,“ responded the turtle.
“The place is too far for you to walk. I don't think you can make it. You will be very tired before you get there,“ said the swan.
The other swan said. “I have an idea.
You can join us. You will fly with us.“
“How?“ asked the turtle. She looked confused.
“Each of us will hold one end of a long stick. You must hold onto the middle of it with your beak and never let it go.
You must not talk while we are carrying you! If you open your mouth, you'll fall to the ground.“
The turtle understood. Later the swans grabbed a long stick. They each held the end of the stick and later the turtle bit the stick with her beak.
Slowly the swans flew. At first the turtle was scared. However she began to enjoy it. She was so amazed to see everything from the sky.
She wanted to say something but she remembered what the swans said. She must not open her mouth otherwise she would fall to the ground.
The swans were flying above a village.
Some people were surprised to see a flying turtle.
“Hey look! The turtle is flying!“ More and more people were looking and pointing their fingers.
The turtle saw what the villagers were doing. She was thinking to herself, “Why don't they mind their own business?“ Well, the turtle could not stand it any longer. She yelled, “Shut up!“ The moment she opened her mouth, the turtle fell down to the ground. She landed on her back, and her shell cracked into a thousand pieces.
People then talked about it. They then learned something from the incident.
Keeping our mouth shut can save our lives. Media Indonesia, 3 Agustus 2014, Halaman 19