One day, a tortoise heard of a feast that the sky-gods were giving for their friends, the birds. The feast was to be in the sky. The tortoise pleaded with the birds to take him. The birds agreed. Each bird stuck a few feathers onto the tortoise till he was covered with many feathers. He found that he could fly. At the feast, the tortoise ate up everything. The birds were very angry. They wanted to teach him a lesson. One day, they invited him to a feast. It was announced that no one could eat until his or her claws were clean. Everyone rushed to a nearby stream. The birds flew back but the tortoise had to crawl along the ground, so his claws were dirty again. He kept going back and forth while the birds enjoyed the feast. The tortoise realized that the birds had tricked him.
The Big Feast
