The Tortoise, the Dog, and the Farmer: A Lesson in Friendship

26/04/2025 4 min

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Episode Synopsis

# How Tortoise's Greed Led Him to TroubleDuring a terrible famine in Kurumi, Nigeria, the tortoise noticed his friend the dog remained suspiciously plump and healthy. After failed attempts to learn the dog's secret directly, tortoise secretly followed his friend to a neighboring village where the dog was stealing yams from a farmer's field. When confronted, the dog reluctantly agreed to let tortoise join him, warning they must always leave before 6pm when the farmer returned. Each day, the greedy tortoise harvested more yams and stayed later despite the dog's warnings. When the dog announced his departure at 4:30 one day, tortoise ignored him and continued filling his basket. By 5:50, tortoise's basket was too heavy to lift alone, but the dog refused to return despite tortoise's threats to make noise. When the farmer arrived, he caught tortoise with the stolen yams. Tortoise was brought before the king, who sentenced him to be hanged in the market square—a fatal consequence of his unchecked greed. https://mythopia.io/story/55/the-tortoise-the-dog-and-the-farmer-a-lesson-in-friendship