The Dog's False Accusation

A Dog and a Tortoise lived in the same village. A great piece of smoked meat went missing from the Dog's house. The Dog, who was known to be a bully, immediately accused the Tortoise. "He is slow and sneaky!" the Dog barked to the village elders. "He must have stolen my meat!" The Tortoise denied the charge but had no way to prove his innocence. The elders decided on a trial by ordeal. "You will both swim across the wide river," they declared. "The guilty one will be taken by the river spirits." The Dog, being a strong swimmer, plunged in confidently. The Tortoise, however, was terrified. As he entered the water, he saw a piece of wood floating by and clung to it. The current was swift, and the Dog struggled in the middle of the river. The Tortoise, resting on the log, floated past him easily and reached the other side first. When the exhausted Dog finally crawled ashore, the elders declared the Tortoise innocent, as the river had helped him. Defeated and shamed, the Dog had to apologize. Later, it was discovered that the Dog's own puppy had hidden the meat, and the ordeal had not revealed guilt, but had rewarded the Tortoise's quick thinking.