In this YouTube video, author and educator Lois Letchford introduces herself, mentions her memoir Reversed: A Memoir, and explains her goal of encouraging children to love reading and listening. She then reads Dr. Seuss’s story Yertle the Turtle in an animated, expressive manner. The tale follows Yertle, a turtle king who, dissatisfied with his modest pond, builds a towering throne by stacking dozens, then hundreds, of turtles beneath him to see and rule over ever‑larger realms. The oppressed turtles, especially a low‑ranking turtle named Mack, protest the unbearable burden. Yertle’s hubris leads him to attempt an even higher throne, but Mack’s simple burp topples Yertle, returning him to the pond as “King of the Mud.” Lois concludes by highlighting the story’s moral about the dangers of greed and tyranny, celebrates the turtles’ freedom, thanks viewers, and prompts them to like, subscribe, and listen to more readings.
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Hello, I'm Lois Letchford. I'm back reading books for my students to encourage them to love reading and listening and watch them grow. I'm the author of the book Reversed: A Memoir, and today I'm reading Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories. Yertle the Turtle. On a faraway island of Salamisand, Yertle the Turtle was king of the pond. A nice little pond. It was clean. It was neat. The water was warm. There was plenty to eat. The turtles had everything turtles might need, and they were all happy. Quite happy indeed. They were until Yertle. The king of them all decided the kingdom he ruled was too small. I'm ruler, said Yertle, of all that I see. But I don't see enough. That's the trouble with me. With this stone for a throne, I look down on my pond, but I cannot look down on the places beyond. This throne that I sit on is Too, too low down. I ought to be higher, he said with a frown. If I could sit high, how much greater I'd be! What a king! I'd be ruler of all I could see. So Yertle the Turtle King lifted his hand and Yertle the Turtle King gave a command. He ordered 9 turtles to swim to his And using these turtles, he built a new throne. He made each turtle stand on one another's back, and he piled them all up in a 9-turtle stack. And then Yertle climbed up. He sat down on the pile. What a wonderful view! He could see almost a mile. All mine! Yertle cried. Oh, the things I now rule! I'm king of the cow, I'm king of the mule, I'm king of the house, and what's more beyond that, I'm king of the blueberry bush, I'm king of a cat. I'm Yertle the Turtle, oh marvellous me! For I am the ruler of all that I see. And all through that morning he sang He sat there up high, saying over and over, a great king am I, until about noon. Then he heard a faint sigh. What's that? snapped the king, and he looked down the stack. And he saw at the bottom a turtle named Mack, just a part of his throne, and this plain little turtle looked up and he said, beg your pardon, King Yertle. I've pains in my back and my shoulders and knees. How long must we stand here, Your Majesty? Please? Silence! The King of the Turtles barked back. I'm king and you're only a turtle named Mack. You stay in your place while I sit here and rule. I'm king of the cow and I'm king of the mule. I'm king of the house and the bush and the cat. But that isn't all. I'll do better than that. My throne shall be higher! His royal voice thundered. So pile up more turtles! I want about 200! Turtles! More turtles! He bellowed and brayed. And the turtles way down in the pond were afraid. They trembled. They shook, but they came. They obeyed. From all over the pond they came swimming by dozens, whole families of turtles with uncles and cousins. And all of them stepped on the head of poor Mack. One after another, they climbed up the stack. Then Yertle the Turtle was perched up so high he could see 40 miles from his throne in the sky. Hooray! shouted Yertle. I'm king of the trees! I'm king of the birds! I'm king of the beasts! I'm king of the butterflies! I'm king of the air! Ah, me, what a throne! What a wonderful chair! I'm Yertle the Turtle! Oh, marvellous me! For I am the ruler of all that I see! Then again from below, in a great heavy stack, came a groan from the Your Majesty, please, I don't wish to complain, but down here below we are feeling great pain. I know up on top you're seeing great sights, but down at the bottom we too should have rights. We turtles can't stand it, our shells will all crack. Beside, we need food. We are starving, groaned Mack. You hush up your mouth! howled the mighty King Yertle. You've no right to talk to the world's highest turtle. I rule from the clouds, over land, over sea. There's nothing, no nothing, that's higher than me. But while he was shouting, he saw with surprise that the moon of the evening was starting to rise up over his head in the darkening skies. What's that? snorted Yertle. Say, what is that thing that dares to be higher than Yertle the King? I shall not allow it! I'll go higher still. I'll build my throne higher. I can and I will. I'll call some more turtles. I'll stack them to heaven! I need about 5,607. But as Yertle the Turtle King lifted his hand and started to order and give the command, that plain little turtle below in the stack, that plain little turtle whose name was just Mack, decided he'd had enough. And he had. And that plain little lad got a little bit mad, and that plain little Mack did a plain little thing. He burped, and his burp shook the throne of the king. And Yertle the Turtle, the king of the trees, the king of the air and the birds and the bees, the king of the house and the cow and the mule— well, that was the end of the turtle Kings rule. For Yertle the King of Salamasson fell off his high throne and fell plonk in his pond. And today the great Yertle, that marvellous he, is King of the Mud. That's all he can see. And the turtles, of course, all the turtles are free as turtles. And maybe all creatures should be. Thank you. Enjoy. Hit like, subscribe, and listen.
