In a bright, busy jungle lived a little tortoise named Tiku.
Tiku was not fast.
Not even a little bit.
While the monkeys went zip-zip-zip through the trees,
and the rabbits went boing-boing-boing through the grass,
and the squirrels went dash-dash-dash over roots and rocks,
Tiku liked to go:
Step…
pause…
look…
listen.
The other animals laughed.
“You’ll be late for everything!” chattered Cheeku the Squirrel.
“You’ll still be walking at bedtime!” giggled Rina the Rabbit.
Tiku just smiled.
“I like to see where I’m going,” he said.
One sunny morning, Mili the Myna called from a branch above,
“The sweet purple berries are ripe! They’re ripe on the other side of the Whispering Woods!”
At once, the jungle went wild.
“Hurry!” squeaked Cheeku.
“Race you there!” shouted Rina.
“Last one there gets nothing!” sang Mili.
Zoom!
Dash!
Boing!
Swoosh!
Off they raced.
Tiku blinked once and took one calm little step.
“I’m coming too,” he said.
When Tiku reached the middle of the Whispering Woods, he found a giant old Banyan Tree. Its roots twisted like ropes, and its branches stretched wide over the path.
Most animals would have rushed right past it.
But Tiku stopped.
He looked up at the leaves.
Shhhhhh…
He looked down at the ground.
The shadows were dancing.
Flicker…
flutter…
slide…
glide…
And because Tiku was so still, he noticed something amazing.
The shadows were pointing to a narrow path covered in soft green moss.
Just then, a gust of wind blew leaves off the main trail.
Whoooosh!
Underneath was a giant, slippery mud pit.
Wide.
Deep.
And very, very squishy.
“Oh dear,” said Tiku.
Then he heard it.
SQUELCH!
SPLOSH!
SPLAT!
“Help!” cried Rina.
“My tail is stuck!” squeaked Cheeku.
“My wing is muddy!” groaned Mili.
Tiku hurried forward as fast as a tortoise can hurry.
Step-step-step.
There they were, trapped in the gooey mud.
“We didn’t see it!” cried Rina.
“We were going too fast!” said Cheeku.
Tiku looked back at the Banyan Tree and smiled.
“I know another way,” he said.
He led them back to the tree and showed them the secret mossy path. It curled safely around the mud pit, cool and quiet under the whispering leaves.
This time, nobody zoomed.
Nobody dashed.
Nobody shouted, “Last one there gets nothing!”
They followed Tiku slowly.
Step by step.
Around the mud.
Along the soft green moss.
And when they reached the other side of the woods, they all gasped.
The berry bushes were bursting with big, round, juicy purple berries.
The biggest, sweetest berries they had ever seen.
Cheeku stuffed one into his mouth.
Rina gobbled two at once.
Mili tossed one into the air and caught it with her beak.
Tiku picked one carefully and took a happy little bite.
“Mmm,” he smiled.
Cheeku looked at Tiku and said, “You were right.”
Rina nodded. “Going fast is exciting…”
“But going slow helped us find the right path,” said Mili.
Tiku smiled his quiet little smile.
“Sometimes,” he said, “if you slow down enough to look and listen, the world shows you its secrets.”
Above them, the Banyan Tree rustled softly.
Shhhhhh…
As if it agreed.
And from that day on, whenever the jungle animals got too rushed and too zoomy-woomy, they would stop and ask,
“Tiku… should we race?”
And Tiku would blink slowly and say,
“Maybe first… we should look.”
