Theme: Prejudice and Forgiveness

The little green turtle

Once upon a time there was a chicken that couldn't lay eggs. She kept looking sadly at the other chickens, with their little chicks, with yellow fuzz and red beaks. She wanted to be a mother, too.

One day, while walking, she found an abandoned egg. Full of hope, she took it to the chicken coop and hatched it with lots of love. Until one day it broke and, to her surprise, it came out not a fluffy yellow chick, but a little green turtle.

The hen had hatched an egg of another specie, but no one knew about it.

The little turtle was very different from the chicks and hens in the coop. As they did not know how to respect this difference, they often laughed and made fun of her color, her hard shell, her slow way of walking... No one played with the little turtle. Without friends, she felt rejected, felt sad and cried.

For the mother chicken, these differences were not important. She loved her daughter so much and tenderly said to her:

- My dear, don't believe them! Everyone has their value. One day you will discover yours.

One afternoon, after a storm that filled the ditches on the ground with water, some chicks wanted to have fun on an adventure: they took a cardboard box and decided to play boat in the biggest and deepest puddle of water. They all got into the box and they went off, in a great racket.

In the middle of the game, the cardboard started to soak and sink, scaring the chicks, because they couldn't swim. The little green turtle, which was nearby, realized the danger and dived, swimming towards them. Her hard hoof served as a platform where the chicks could climb, frightened and grateful.

After being saved, the chicks realized that, despite being different from them, the little turtle was very cool. They also regretted having teased and hurt the little turtle so many times and apologized. She forgave the chicks and they became friends.

From that day on, no one made fun of the little turtle anymore. They eventually learned to respect her and they all lived happily and in harmony.

(Adaptation of the story told in chapter 3 of the book “Contemplando Estrelas, Histórias de Fraternidade”.)

Translation:
Larissa Martine - larissa_am@hotmail.com

marcelapradacontato@gmail.com