9.  Tale of Wolf and Turtle


In the distant past, a story took place in which a wolf and a turtle met one day and agreed to compete with each other in a long distance jumping contest from one bank of a river to the other.
      The story began by Turtle saying to Wolf, "Neh! Brother Wolf, I would very much like to compete with you in a jumping contest even though my legs are short." Wolf responded, "Sure, Brother Turtle. What kind of competition do you have in mind?" Turtle replied, "The competition will be jumping this river here," as he pointed to the river nearby. Wolf then questioned, "Yuh! I really wonder why you would invite me to compete when your legs are as short as a tadpole's. How will you jump?" Turtle replied, "Yuh! Brother Wolf, you wrongfully underestimate my short legs. You do not yet know of what these short legs are capable. Come and test them out."
      Wolf decided he would test Turtle's resolve and asked, "If you lose to me, Brother Turtle, what do you have to give me?" Turtle answered, "I will find an animal with two legs for you to eat." Wolf responded, "If I jump and lose to you, Brother Turtle, I will find an animal with one leg for you to eat as food."
      After speaking thusly, both animals warmed up in preparation for the competition. Turtle said to Wolf, "Nuh, Brother Wolf, come and stand in front of me and get set to jump." Wolf responded, "Ey! There's no need to tell me where to stand." Turtle went over and stood behind Wolf, who was getting set to go. Just as Wolf was about to jump, Turtle bit down on the tip of his tail. Instinctively, Wolf whipped his tail, throwing Turtle to the other side of the river while Wolf himself fell into the water with a splash.
      Turtle stood up and laughed "Ha! Ha! Ha!" saying, "Ye! Long-legged Brother Wolf, why are you unable to jump all the way across?" Meanwhile, Wolf was grasping at the river bank's edge to lift himself out of the water. Once back on dry land, a very angry Wolf shook himself off and tried again, jumping two, three more times. He was defeated by Turtle's trick every time.
      The wolf had dared guaranteed to find an animal with one leg for Turtle to eat should he lose because he did not believe Turtle could outjump him. Now that he had lost the competition, he feared he would not be able to find an animal with one leg for Turtle to eat so he ran away. Turtle struggled to follow after Wolf, but Wolf ran too fast for him.
      As Wolf was running, he happened to come across clever Rabbit who was busy working as a blacksmith. Rabbit heard the sound of footsteps "puk, puk" and looked up to see Wolf galloping toward him. He asked, "Brother Wolf, of what animal are you so afraid that you have come running exhausted?" Wolf replied, "I am afraid of Turtle who is chasing after me because I bet on and lost a jumping contest to him." Clever Rabbit responded, "Oh! Is that all? If that is the case, do not worry at all. Help me pound this medal and I will help you resolve your situation."
      Wolf was laboriously hammering metal for clever Rabbit when Turtle came steadily trudging along. Seeing Wolf busy pounding away, Turtle shouted, "Yuh! So this is where you have been, Brother Wolf. I have walked far and wide looking for you, and after all that I find you shamelessly here."
      Rabbit interjected, "Stop, stop, Brother Turtle" and hopped over and onto Turtle's back. As he squatted on Turtle's shell, Turtle stretched out his head and bit him. Rabbit sprang up alarmed and shot off as if he were an arrow. Wolf, seeing Rabbit sprint off so urgently, turned tail and ran after him assuming Rabbit was fleeing Turtle. Turtle shouted, "Stop!" Wolf responded, "No! I will not stop. I will flee into the woods with Brother Rabbit." Saying that, Wolf ran straight into the forest without looking back, never to step foot outside the forest again.
      Because of what happened in this story, wise men of the ages remind us with the warning: "Big one, do not underestimate the small. Be wary of the harm that may come to you as happened in this story."