By the shores of a great lotus lake lived a tortoise named Kambugriva. His very best friends were two white geese, Sankata and Vikata, who visited him every day. Together they shared seeds, stories, and laughter.

One hot summer, the rains did not come. The great lake shrank and shrank. The lotus flowers faded. The fish disappeared. Kambugriva looked at the cracked dry mud and felt very afraid.

'Dear friends,' said Kambugriva, 'I cannot walk fast enough to reach a new lake before the dry season ends. I will not survive here.' The two geese looked at each other and smiled — they had a plan!

'We will carry you!' said Vikata. 'Hold the middle of this stick tightly in your mouth. We will each hold one end and fly! But whatever you do — do NOT open your mouth. Not one word!'

Up, up, up into the bright sky they rose! Kambugriva looked down and saw the whole world — the forest, the rivers, the tiny villages far below, the distant purple mountains. He held on tight and stayed perfectly silent.

They flew over a village. Children looked up and pointed. 'Look! Look! A flying tortoise!' they shouted and laughed and clapped. Kambugriva heard every word. He felt a hot flush of anger rise up inside him.

'How RUDE!' Kambugriva wanted to shout back. The angry words formed in his throat. His jaw began to twitch. His mouth started to open—

The stick dropped from his mouth! Kambugriva fell — down, down, down through the sky — tumbling and turning — until he landed with a great THUMP in the soft mud of the riverbank far below.

He was safe — only muddy and bruised and very ashamed. Soon the two geese landed gently beside him. Sankata spoke softly. 'You opened your mouth, didn't you?' Kambugriva nodded slowly, tears in his eyes.

The geese lifted him up and this time carried him safely the rest of the way to the beautiful new lake. And as they flew, the wise old crane called up from below: 'Patience and silence are the two wings that carry wisdom safely home.'