Page 29 - Arrow Publications Pvt. Ltd.
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The next morning, at sunrise, the swans gripped the stick with their beaks. The
tortoise hung from the middle with his jaws locked onto it.
The swans flew for a long time. They passed some villages and towns. They could
see people working in the fields.
One of the men in the fields noticed the swans and the tortoise.
He shouted, “Look up there! There are two swans carrying a tortoise on a stick. How
clever indeed!”
The three friends looked down but said nothing.
On and on they flew, and soon came to a small town. Once again, the people below
noticed the strange sight in the sky.
“Look up there! Strange indeed!” shouted a man.
“What clever birds!” exclaimed a woman.
The tortoise got angry on hearing this. “I am the clever one. It was my idea. The
swans are just flying,” thought the tortoise.
Now, he forgot where he was. He forgot the warning of the swans.
He opened his mouth and shouted, “You silly people, this was my idea.............” But
he never finished the sentence for he fell down, down, down to the ground.
Alas! that was the end of the talkative tortoise. The swans, however, flew on to
another lake where there was plenty of water.
Word Power
valley: a low area between two hills thirst: feel the need to drink water
tortoise: a slow-moving animal with a hard grip: hold tightly
shell on its body
flap: to move from side to side
swan: a white water bird with a long neck
crashing: falling
waddle: walk with short steps
locked: fixed
chat: talk
warning: to tell a person about a danger
28 Arrow-English Plus-3
