This story was told to me by my mum. The story takes place on an island near Fiji.  The story teaches us to always be ready for what lies ahead.

The Turtles of Kadavu

A long time ago in this village in Kadavu there was a princess, all the villages loved her because she was very beautiful, kind and smart. One day, the princess and her daughter decided to go for a swim. Nearby, the local fishermen were fishing (the local fishermen were the princess and her daughter’s guards).

The princess and her daughter were having so much fun that they didn’t realise they were drifting farther and farther away from the fishermen. Meanwhile, at a canoe in the distance were two other fishermen from another village, enemies to the island of Kadavu. They quietly paddled towards them …and grabbed them! They quickly tied them up and threw them at the bottom of the canoe, paddling away.

The two fishermen were so happy thinking about the treasures they would get as a ransom from the princess’s father, who would do anything to get them back. The princess and her daughter cried, “Please let us go, the king will be heartbroken if he finds that we are missing!” Yet, the fishermen only laughed. The gods heard the cries of the princess and her daughter and were angry with the greedy fishermen. Then, the sky began to darken and the waves became rough and the fishermen struggled to keep their canoe afloat.

Suddenly, when the fishermen looked in their canoe the princess and her daughter had set themselves free and turned into two beautiful turtles. The fishermen knew that the gods were angry with them, so they threw the turtle overboard, and immediately the weather became calm again.

To this day when you go the island of Kadavu the people would go to the beach and call out to the turtles and they would appear. The turtles will not appear if anyone from the enemy village is on the island.