retreated into a nearby burrow which was not his own.
"Well hello Tortoise," welcomed the porcupine with a friendly
countenance, "What are you doing in my den?"
"Pardon me, Porcupine, I am so very sorry to have disturbed your
home. I was almost eaten again by the hungry hyena so I hid in the
nearest hole I could find."
"Absolutely no problem," explained the porcupine. "I'm just glad
to see that you are safe." "I, too," continued the porcupine, "have
come very close to being hyena dinner. I understand your quandary
very well and you are welcome to hide in my den whenever you so need."
"Thank you so kindly, Porcupine," answered the tortoise, "there
must be something we could do to thwart Hyena."
Tortoise and Porcupine became friends from that day on. All of
the other animals would laugh at them as they foraged side by side.
Ostrich even took the gossiping to an extreme when she suggested to
Badger that it was ludicrous for a creature of the night – as everyone
knows Porcupine to be – to be mingling so freely with a known diurnal
reptile such as the tortoise. But nothing daunted the two best
friends. During the day, Tortoise would graze happily on grass and
clover, always with one eye watching over his friend, the sleeping
porcupine. And at night when Tortoise slept, Porcupine would search
for grubs, all the while standing guard for himself and his shelled
friend. At dawn and at twilight, both animal pals would chat for an
hour or two recounting the previous day and night.
One night Hyena suddenly appeared and began to harass Porcupine.
At once, Tortoise woke up and the two animal friends held onto each
other forming an almost perfect sphere: a hard impenetrable shell on
one side and fatal, sharp spikes on the other. Hyena hastily
retreated.
"Wow, our spontaneous embrace worked extremely well," asserted
Porcupine as Tortoise nodded in full agreement. "We must continue to
use this agreeable tactic."
And they did. Even Lion could not devour the animal sphere.
Porcupine and Tortoise were very happy. However, Stork and now Hyrax
soon joined Ostrich and Badger in ridiculing the two animal buddies
with jeers and taunts: "Who has ever heard of such a thing? A
porcupine and a tortoise? That is positively outlandish and it must
be stopped at once! Let us seek Owl to help put an end to this
ridiculous duo."
Owl swooped down as the sound of his name awoke him from his
daylight slumber. After hearing Ostrich's plea, he did not need to
hear the deliberation of the opposing side. Owl's response was simple
and swift:
"Any soul on our mother planet may form a symbiotic bond with
another. Do not be covetous of other's success or joy. Instead, seek
out unique and novel ways to help each other out in the struggle
against intolerant dogmatic untruths."
Owl flew away just as Porcupine and Tortoise gleefully retreated
to their shared den to escape the heat of the noontime sun. They were
never bothered again.