The noise made by the feet of the Deer having ceased, the first Tortoise listened. Not a sound was heard. Then he called to the Deer, but received no response. So he went to see what was the matter and found the Deer lying at the foot of the tree.
This is an Amazonian myth of the Tupi-speaking population, as related in the Lingua Geral.—Charles F. Hartt.
A myth of the slow Tortoise (Sun) and the swift Deer (Moon), a race which the Sun always wins.
WHICH WAS THE STRONGER, THE TORTOISE, THE TAPIR, OR THE WHALE?
By C. F. Hartt
One day a Tortoise went down to the sea to drink. A Whale saw him and called out: “Here, what are you doing, Tortoise?”
“Why, I’m drinking, ’cause I’m thirsty.”
Then the Whale began to make fun of the Tortoise’s short legs, but the Tortoise indignantly replied: “Even if my legs are short, I am stronger than you, and I can pull you on shore.”
The Whale laughed, “Come on, let me see you do it!”