The Turtle's Clever Whetstone Trick: A Folk Tale of Wit and Deception

Mrs. Turtle one day heard of a dance which was to take place in a neighboring town. She was very anxious to go, but she had no necklace to wear.

After thinking over the matter, she went to her friend, Mrs. Pig, who lived at the other end of the town, to borrow her necklace. Her friend was only too glad to help her out, and with great expectations of having a wonderful time, Mrs. Turtle hurried off.

During the dance, in the midst of all the excitement, the necklace was stolen from Mrs. Turtle. This greatly troubled her and caused her to leave the dance early.

On her way home, she stopped at Mrs. Pig's place.

"Have you come back with my necklace?" Mrs. Pig asked.

"It was stolen from me," replied Mrs. Turtle in a sorrowful tone.

"Then you shall pay for it," Mrs. Pig answered indignantly.

Several months had passed. During all this time, nothing was seen of Mrs. Turtle. So Mrs. Pig one day said to her husband, "Grunty, you had better go to the Turtle's hut and see about the payment for my necklace. I must have another in time for the big dance at the next full moon. You had better get moving. There is no time to be lost!"

So Grunty went to the Turtle's hut. When the Turtle saw Grunty the Pig approaching his hut, he said to his wife, "If the Pig comes in here, tell him that I am not at home!"

Then he threw himself down, shell-side up, and pulled in his head and legs. In this position, he looked very much like a whetstone.

After the Pig had entered, he asked, "Where is the Turtle?"

"He is not in," the Turtle's wife lied.

Upon hearing this, the Pig became very angry and, noticing what he supposed to be a whetstone lying on the floor, he said, "I am going to take his whetstone." And he picked up what he thought was a whetstone, not knowing that it was actually the Turtle turned shell-side up, and left the hut with it.

He hid the supposed whetstone in the grass by the wayside and marked the place with a stick. Then he went back to the Turtle's hut to await his return.

Immediately after Grunty the Pig had left him, the Turtle righted himself and walked off.

Meanwhile, the Pig was impatiently awaiting the Turtle's return. After some time, the Turtle returned to his hut and there met Grunty the Pig. The Pig, upon seeing the Turtle, immediately blurted out, "Pay me for the necklace which your wife borrowed and lost!"

Just at this moment, Mrs. Turtle, who was in an adjoining room and had heard the Pig's words, stuck her head through the door and said, "The Pig took your whetstone away while you were gone!"

Then the Turtle said to the Pig, "First bring back my whetstone if you want me to pay."

And the Pig went back to the place where he had hidden the whetstone, only to discover that it was gone. He searched all over the place but could not find it.

The Pig was in a rather gloomy mood when he came back to the Turtle's hut and said, "Someone must have stolen the whetstone. I had hidden it in the grass, but it is no longer there. In some mysterious way it has disappeared, and I cannot find it."

When the Turtle heard this, he said to the Pig, "Do not think for a moment that you can get your necklace payment before you have returned my whetstone!"

The Pig is still looking for the whetstone. So anxious is he to find it that he has even taught his children to root around in the ground.