text: There once was a tortoise village. The village citizens lived a calm and predictable life and thrived on lettuce, carrots and love. One night, a wolf came to the village and ate two of them. The tortoises were in despair. Those two tortoises that were eaten were among the most popular and kind of the tortoises that lived in the village and their absent was agonizing. In their sorrow, the tortoises decided to gather up the eldest and wisest of the tortoises and leave it to them to decide what should be done. The eldest and wisest gathered therefore and sat down to decide what to do. The first tortoise, who actually wasn’t that old, and definitely not that wise, said that the best thing to do was to commit a collective suicide by jumping into the lake. At the bottom of the lake, he said, no wolf will find the tortoise. The other tortoises rejected this idea and said that it was probably the stupidest idea they have ever heard in their long lives. The second tortoise, who obviously neither was that old (or for that matter, wise), said that the tortoise’s best choice was to migrate to America. In New York, said the second tortoise, no wolfs walk the streets - not even during nighttime. This idea, said the other tortoises, was - even if it wasn’t as stupid as the first one - among the most ridiculous they have ever heard in a long time. Migrate to America? Asked the tortoises - had the not-too-old-or-wise forgotten they were tortoises? It would take them half an eternity to get there. Before they would reach halfway the wolves would have eaten the whole lot of them. The third, and considerably older and wiser tortoise in the gang, had an idea. The tortoises could build a tower, he said, and every night they could place a guard on top of it. Should the guard see a wolf approaching, he would start screaming: “Wolf! Wolf!”. The other tortoises, who were then sound asleep, would thereof wake up, and seek a hiding place. The wolf would have to go and search for consolation among the chicken in the neighboring village. The tortoises liked this idea and decided unanimously to accept it. They raised a tower in the middle of the village and took turns guarding during the night. Exactly like old and wise said, if the guard on duty saw a wolf approaching during the night he warn the others, who were sleeping, so they could go and hide, and the wolf went hungry away to try to find consolation by means of the chickens in the neighboring village. Order had returned and life in the tortoise village was once again calm and predictable. But one night, it was Bertil’s turn for night guard duty. Now, it wasn’t so that Bertil was a loner or in any other way a troublesome tortoise - on the contrary, he was a popular and sociable citizen and everybody who knew him (which everybody did), loved him. The only thing that distinguished Bertil from the others was that he suffered from stuttering. When night came, Bertil climbed dutifully up the tower and peered all night for the wolf. When he suddenly saw it approaching, he began to scream, but the words got stuck in his mouth and all he could say was “Wo! Wo! Wo!”. The other tortoises, who lay asleep, woke up, gazed up the tower, and decided that Bertil might have drank too much carrot juice, and then went back to sleep. That night, the wolf ate three more tortoises. In the morning, when the disaster revealed itself, despair was back in town. But before the tortoise mob could lynch Bertil to death, the tortoises decided once again to gather the elder and wise in order to decide what should be done. And so, they did. The first tortoise, who, as mentioned before, wasn’t particularly old nor wise, said that the tortoises should stone Bertil to death, as a punishment for his behavior. That idea, thought the rest of the tortoises, was, although tempting, very stupid. The tortoises were a peaceful folk and punishment was not a part of their agenda. The second tortoise, who neither was particularly old nor wise, said that the tortoises better exile Bertil, and why not to America. That idea, thought the rest of the tortoises, was only a hair less idiotic than the first one, and of the same reason. The third tortoise, which, as discussed before, was the oldest and wisest of his folk, had an idea. Let life run it’s course as usual, he said, and as the evening comes whence Bertil’s turn it is to guard at night, let us warn the village citizens, and remind them that should the guard start screaming “Wo! Wo! Wo!” in the midst of night, it is not because of over consumption of carrot juice, but instead because he suffers from a quite common disorder and tries to warn us of the coming wolf. Go and hide, citizens, and let the wolf go hungry away and once again try to find consolation in the company of the chickens in the neighboring village. The tortoises decided that the shrewd senile once again was right and did as he had said. The evening before Bertil’s guarding duty they reminded each other of the circumstances of the stuttering guard, and went to sleep, albeit slightly concerned. In the middle of the night the tortoises woke up, hearing the guard’s screams. They saw poor Bertil up in the tower screaming “Wo! Wo! Wo!”, and even if they first thought it was just another case of carrot juice intoxication, they could readily remember the warning they got the evening before and want and hid themselves. The wolf, who had an utter craving for a tortoise supper, had to indulge himself once again with a couple of chickens from the neighboring village. When the tortoises woke up the next morning, they were out of their minds with happiness, and decided to organize a celebration. They wore their best shields, served the most delicious meals a tortoise could ask for, and danced in the streets. In the midst of the festival, the tortoises heaved Bertil up on their shoulders in order to praise him. Bertil yelled: “Hip! Hip!” and the tortoises answered “Hooray!”. Bertil screamed again: “Hip! Hip!” and the tortoises answered: “Hooray!”. And then came a hippo and ate them all.