Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories

By Dr. Seuss

Original copyright 1958

Most books for the very young that teach morals do so blatantly. Dr. Seuss had a gift for telling a story in such an entertaining way that you often don’t see it coming.  Or if you do see it coming, you don’t care because you’re having so much fun reading it.  

The first story in this book is Yertle the Turtle. Yertle the Turtle was king of the pond, and in the beginning all was well.  Unfortunately, his position goes to his head and his desire for more power inspires him to literally stand on the backs of the other turtles to raise his throne higher and higher.  

“If I could sit high, how much greater I’d be!
What a king!  I’d be ruler of all I could see!”

Yertle commands each turtle in the pond to stand upon each other’s backs, ignoring their complaints and groans.  It appears as if he has reached his goal of being higher than anyone or anything when the moon comes out. 

“What’s THAT?”  snorted Yertle.  Say what IS that thing

That dares to be higher than Yertle the King?”

Just as Yertle begins to call for five thousand, six hundred and seven more turtles to set his throne higher than the moon, poor little Mack, at the bottom of the stack, did something shocking:  he burped.  That burp shook the throne so much that Yertle fell off the top of his throne into the muddy pond.

“And today the great Yertle, that Marvelous he,

Is King of the Mud.  That is all he can see.
And the turtles, of course...all the turtles are free
As turtles and, maybe, all creatures should be.”

The lesson is obvious to readers young and old.  Any time we trample on others to reach our goal, we’ll eventually end up back at the bottom.