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Tortoise finds his home

Tortoise sets off in search of his house. Along the way, he meets new friends to help him. But the sky is darkening, and lightning flashes in the distance. Will Tortoise find his house in time?

Suggested age: 4–6岁 · Reading level L2 · 14 illustrated pages

Tortoise finds his home — original illustrated page 1, English text included

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Tortoise sets off in search of his house. Along the way, he meets new friends to help him. But the sky is darkening, and lightning flashes in the distance. Will Tortoise find his house in time?

Read all 14 story pages
Tortoise finds his home — original illustrated page 1, English text included
Tortoise finds his home
Tortoise finds his home — original illustrated page 2, English text included
One day Tortoise was walking through the veld. He was looking and looking. He gazed into the distance and squinted at the grass. Then he went past Snail. "Are you looking for something?" Snail asked. "Yes, Snail, I’m looking for my house. Have you seen it, by any chance?"
Tortoise finds his home — original illustrated page 3, English text included
Snail said: "No, I haven’t, but I’ll help you look!" She climbed onto Tortoise’s shell. Tortoise walked on with Snail on his back. They looked and looked, but there was no sign of a house. The sun was high in the sky.
Tortoise finds his home — original illustrated page 4, English text included
A little later they passed Sparrow. "Are you looking for something?" asked Sparrow. "Yes, Sparrow, I’m looking for my house. Have you seen it, by any chance?" Sparrow said: "No, I haven’t, but I’ll help you look!"
Tortoise finds his home — original illustrated page 5, English text included
He flapped his wings and he whizzed away. "But you’re going too fast for me," complained Tortoise. Sparrow came back. "Alright, then I’ll hop on too." Tortoise carried on, with Snail and Sparrow perched on his shell. They looked and looked, but there was no sign of a house. The sun had inched lower in the sky.
Tortoise finds his home — original illustrated page 6, English text included
A little later they passed Ladybird. "Are you looking for something?" asked Ladybird. "Yes, Ladybird, I’m looking for my house. Have you seen it, by any chance?"
Tortoise finds his home — original illustrated page 7, English text included
Ladybird said: "No, I haven’t, but I’ll help you look!" She hopped onto Tortoise’s back and on he went, with Snail and Sparrow and Ladybird sitting on his back. They looked and looked, but there was no sign of a house. A breeze started to blow.
Tortoise finds his home — original illustrated page 8, English text included
A little later they passed Mouse. He was making a garland of daisies. "Are you looking for something?" asked Mouse. "Yes, Mouse, I’m looking for my house. Have you seen it, by any chance?"
Tortoise finds his home — original illustrated page 9, English text included
Mouse said: "No, I haven’t, but I’ll help you look!" He hopped onto Tortoise’s back. "Wait, I can’t leave my flowers behind." Tortoise waited. Mouse stretched and stretched and scooped up his daisies. Tortoise walked on, with Snail and Sparrow and Ladybird and Mouse on his back. They looked and looked, but there was no sign of a house. The wind swept leaves off the ground and swirled them around Tortoise’s feet. Tortoise got tired. "You lot are heavy," he sighed.
Tortoise finds his home — original illustrated page 10, English text included
The wind got stronger. The sky turned dark. "Oh, where is my house?" asked Tortoise. Thunder roared in the hills. Lightning flashed in the distance. Drip-drip came the rain. "Oh, where is Tortoise’s house?" asked Snail and Sparrow and Ladybird and Mouse.
Tortoise finds his home — original illustrated page 11, English text included
The wind whirled and whipped. It blew Snail and Sparrow and Ladybird and Mouse right off Tortoise’s back.
Tortoise finds his home — original illustrated page 12, English text included
And then came the hail, tip-tip-tip. Tortoise got such a fright he shrank into his shell. It was warm and cosy there. "Oh, here is my house!"
Tortoise finds his home — original illustrated page 13, English text included
"Oh, here is Tortoise’s house!"
Tortoise finds his home — original illustrated page 14, English text included

Creators and open license

Written by
Maya Fowler
Illustrated by
Katrin Coetzer
Created by
Katrin Coetzer (Illustrator); Damian Gibbs (Designer); Maya Fowler (Writer)

Source: Book Dash
Original: Tortoise finds his home from Book Dash
License: CC BY 4.0

Original illustrated spreads and embedded English story text preserved; website layout and printable PDF assembled by Little Leaf. Age, level, theme and recommendation are editorial suggestions. Web and printable layout adapted by Little Leaf. Age and reading-level suggestions are editorial. Original stories and artwork belong to their credited creators. Website narration uses the selected synthetic Voice 7.