In Khmer, the idiomatic expression “turtle’s mouth” (មាត់អណ្ដើក moat ândaek) is used to describe speech that makes no sense. The story of the turtle and the monkey (អណ្ដើកនិងស្វា ândaek nĭng svā), found in the first volume of the Collection of Khmer Tales and Legends published by the Buddhist Institute in Phnom Penh, explains the origin of this idiom.
A monkey and a turtle wished to become related by marriage. Although they had no children to marry off, they nevertheless decided to establish family ties and consider themselves relatives by alliance. Many years later, the monkey did have a child ready to marry. He prepared the wedding and invited his entire monkey family. As the wedding day arrived, he remembered the turtle, his relative by alliance, and sent word to have him fetched.
The turtle arrived at the foot of the tree where the wedding banquet was being held, but was quite unable to climb the trunk. Some monkeys saw him and went to inform the groom: “Your in-law the turtle has arrived at the foot of the tree!” The monkey hurried to welcome the turtle and said: “My dear in-law, you cannot climb trees. The only solution is for you to bite down hard on this vine, and we will pull the vine to hoist you up. But above all, no matter what is said or what you see, do not open your mouth, or else you will fall and perish!” The turtle agreed and bit firmly on the vine his in-law handed to him.
The monkeys all began tugging on the vine to lift the turtle up. As he was almost at his destination, the monkey’s wife, seeing her law approach, wished to greet him politely: “Well hello, dear in-law, how are you?” Forgetting the monkey’s strict instructions, the turtle opened his mouth to reply to the greeting and fell abruptly to the ground. His shell struck a stone and shattered, and the turtle died instantly.
The moral of “The Turtle and the Monkey” is that disregarding wise advice and acting impulsively can have dire consequences. The turtle’s fate illustrates the importance of self-control, careful listening, and following instructions, especially when they are given for one’s safety. The story also teaches that responding rashly out of politeness, rather than considering the situation, can lead to harm.
This is such an interesting story!!