fishing when he came upon a group of children. They were all
screaming and talking at the tops of their voices, and seemed to be
in a state of great excitement about something, and on his going up
to them to see what was the matter he saw that they were tormenting
a tortoise. First one boy pulled it this way, then another boy
pulled it that way, while a third child beat it with a stick, and
the fourth hammered its shell with a stone.

Now Urashima felt very sorry for the poor tortoise and made up his
mind to rescue it. He spoke to the boys:

"Look here, boys, you are treating that poor tortoise so badly that
it will soon die!"

The boys, who were all of an age when children seem to delight in
being cruel to animals, took no notice of Urashima's gentle reproof,
but went on teasing it as before. One of the older boys answered:

"Who cares whether it lives or dies? We do not. Here, boys, go on,
go on!"

And they began to treat the poor tortoise more cruelly than ever.
Urashima waited a moment, turning over in his mind what would be the
best way to deal with the boys. He would try to persuade them to
give the tortoise up to him, so he smiled at them and said:

"I am sure you are all good, kind boys! Now won't you give me the
tortoise? I should like to have it so much!"

"No, we won't give you the tortoise," said one of the boys. "Why