“How happy they will be in the morning!” replied the other man. “Come, let us climb to the edge of these rocks and throw our nets into the river. Then we will draw them in, empty the fishes into those buckets, and carry them to the courtyard lake this evening.”
When the turtle heard that some of his neighbors were to live in the royal courtyard, he was very jealous indeed!
“Fishes are such stupid creatures!” he said to himself. “How much more delight a turtle would give those young princes. I’ll not live on this rock any longer. I’ll slip very quietly into one of those buckets, and the men will carry me into the royal courtyard. They will never notice me. Fishes for the delight of royalty! It is absurd!”
The next morning the little princes took their sailboats and ran to the lake in the courtyard.
“See, see!” cried one of them. “Our wish has come true! There are fishes swimming about in the water. Oh, what fun?”
“Come away! Come, come, brother!” shouted the other little prince in terror. “See, there is a demon on the bank! Perhaps the fishes belong to him! Come!”
To the turtle’s great surprise off ran the lads, crying out, “A demon has come to live on the bank of our lake!”
When the king saw how frightened the princes were, he ordered an attendant to capture the demon and bring him to the palace. So, before the poor turtle could make up his mind what to do, he was caught and brought before the king.
“How shall we kill him?” asked an attendant.
“Throw him into the fire,” said one.