XIII. THE TALKATIVE TORTOISE.
Source.—The Kacchapa Jātaka, Fausböll, No. 215; also in his Five Jātakas, pp. 16, 41, tr. Rhys-Davids, pp. viii-x.
Parallels.—It occurs also in the Bidpai literature, in nearly all its multitudinous offshoots. See Benfey, Einleitung, §84; also my Bidpai, E, 4 a; and North's text, pp. 170-5, where it is the taunts of the other birds that cause the catastrophe: "O here is a brave sight, looke, here is a goodly ieast, what bugge haue we here," said some. "See, see, she hangeth by the throte, and therefor she speaketh not," saide others; "and the beast flieth not like a beast;" so she opened her mouth and "pashte hir all to pieces."
Remarks.—I have reproduced in my edition the original illustration of the first English Bidpai, itself derived from the Italian block. A replica of it here may serve to show that it could be used equally well to illustrate the Pali original as its English great-great-great-great-great-great grand-child.