The Tortoise and the Falling Sky

One day, the Tortoise was walking through the forest when an old, dry fruit fell from a tree and hit him hard on the shell. "The sky is falling!" he cried in terror, without looking up. He began to run as fast as he could, which was not very fast. He met a Duiker and shouted, "Run for your life! The sky is falling!" The Duiker, seeing the Tortosie's panic, became frightened and started to run. They met a Monkey, and the Duiker cried, "The sky is falling!" The Monkey became terrified and joined the stampede. Soon, the Elephant, the Leopard, and all the other animals were running in a blind panic, all because the Tortoise had been hit by a piece of fruit. Finally, they came across the Lion, who stood his ground and roared, "Stop! What is all this foolishness?" The animals, panting, explained that the sky was falling. "Who saw it?" asked the Lion. The trail of blame went all the way back to the Tortoise. The Lion took them all back to the spot where it began. There on the ground lay the broken fruit. The animals felt very foolish. The Lion declared, "Let this be a lesson. Never believe a rumor until you have seen the proof with your own eyes. Panic is a greater danger than any falling fruit."