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Once upon a time in the Animal kingdom, King Lion took ill and nearing death. He summoned all the animals to come and pay homage to him. All over the kingdom his illness rang bell so that every Animal could hear. Days for visitation of the King was scheduled and all Animals filed in ranks and types to visit their King that was ill, The King arraigned himself in multicolours as on sick bed. There was no Animal that didn't get it's turn to visit his King, on due turn.

It was time for the Tortoise to file in. The Tortoise being cunning and sluggish was moving sluggishly and calculatingly. As he was moving , he was observing the footprints of the other Animals on the way. He observed that those other Animals footprints were just on one direction, that is, going and not returning. He wondered why it should be so. Others going and not return.

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The Tortoise hesitated and ask himself the question why are the footprints towards one direction,going and not returning? He summoned courage and moved on. He was conscious of the fact that he was endowed with tricky life. On arriving the King's palace, the King welcomed him and he was given a place to sit. As the Tortoise tried to comfort him and asked him about the rest of the animals, the Lion pounced on him but the Tortoise had entered it's shell. The King dropped him on the floor and was waiting for other Animals to appear. The Tortoise came out of it's shell and slain through his back to an open yard, where he saw a vulture dealing with the carcass of the animals the Lion had dealt with.

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He pleaded with the vulture to help carry him on his wings to the top of the tree outside the palace. The vulture obliged. When he dropped him on the tree he found a squirrel trying to make a nest on the tree, he pleaded with the squirrel to pack the leaves from the tree and wrap him then throw him to the ground. That was how the Tortoise escaped from the Lion while other Animals were devoured by the Lion.