he asked his neighbors if they had seen her, and they said no. he asked the town constable if he had heard anything, and he said no. he went to the guru and told him his wife had gone missing.
the guru said, “no.”
the guru promised he would meditate until he had a vision of where she was. while the guru was meditating, the tortoise went to the temple of the Goddess and prayed, “Goddess, i know i don’t talk to you much, but my wife has gone missing, and i need your help.”
a priestess said, “when did you last see her?”
the tortoise said, “how did you know what i needed? did the Goddess send you?”
the priestess said, “you’re praying out loud.”
the tortoise said, “oh.”
the priestess said, “when did you last see her?”
the tortoise said, “before i went into the woods with the guru.”
the priestess said, “how long were you gone?”
the tortoise said, “for many days. i got lost with the guru.”
the priestess said, “do you not know what has happened?”
the tortoise said that he did not, and the priestess explained, “your wife, who loves you dearly, has traveled into the woods to find you. now that you have returned, you must do the same.”
