Turtles Picnic
A turtle family decided to go on a picnic. The turtles,
being naturally slow about things, took seven years to prepare
for their outing. Finally the turtle family left home looking
for a suitable place. During the second year of their
journey they found a place ideal for them at last!
For about six months they cleaned the area, unpacked
the picnic basket, and completed the arrangements. Then
they discovered they had forgotten the salt. A picnic without
salt would be a disaster, they all agreed. After a
lengthy discussion, the youngest turtle was chosen to retrieve
the salt from home. Although he was the fastest of the
slow moving turtles, the little turtle whined, cried, and
wobbled in his shell. He agreed to go on one condition: that
no one would eat until he returned. The family consented and
the little turtle left. Three years passed and the little
turtle had not returned. Five years...six years.... then on
the seventh year of his absence, the oldest turtle could no
longer contain his hunger. He announced that he was going to
eat and begun to unwrap a sandwich.
At that point the little turtle suddenly popped out
from behind a tree shouting, 'See! I knew you wouldn't
wait. Now I am not going to go get the salt.'
[Some of us waste our time
waiting for people to live up to our expectations. We are so
concerned about what others are doing that we don't do
anything ourselves.]