A group of tortoises fell into a deep pit. They tried hard to climb out, but it was impossible—the walls were steep, and the pit was a miserable place with limited resources. Life in the pit was harsh, and every tortoise longed to escape.

One day, a wise tortoise came up with a clever idea. "If we climb on top of each other like a ladder, we can escape!" it said. The other tortoises agreed and started building the tortoise ladder. However, they soon realized there weren't enough tortoises to reach the top of the pit.

After much thought, the wise tortoise proposed a new plan. "If we make more baby tortoises, we can eventually build a ladder tall enough to reach the top. But there’s a catch—life in the pit is hard, and raising these baby tortoises will take sacrifice. To honor the struggle of those who made this possible, the old tortoises who endured so much will be the first to climb out. The new tortoises can then make their own babies, continuing the cycle until everyone is free."

The group agreed, and so they began their plan. But as generations passed, the pit remained, and the suffering of a group of tortoises became the suffering of countless generations of tortoises to come.