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Wayan and the turtles

Author - Yvette Bezuidenhout
Adaptation - African Storybook and Yvette Bezuidenhout
Illustr
Illustration
ation - Fabianus Bayu
Language - English
Le
Level
vel - Longer paragraphs
© African Storybook Initiative 2019
Creative Commons: Attribution 4.0
Sour
Source
ce www.africanstorybook.org
Original sour
source
ce www.wayan.blue

Wayan and the turtles

African Storybook
Fabianus Bayu

English
Eventually, the sea and beaches Wayan lived in a small village by the
returned to the way they were before sea.
Wayan was born.
The people there believed that when
The water was clean and full of life. you died, you returned to the sea.
People were no longer sick from
eating sick fish. The sea is a special place where the
ancestors live.
Wayan learned that when the sea is
polluted, we all suffer. When the sea is
healthy, we can all be happy.

12 1
Wayan's father and grandfather were fishermen. Most
men in the village were fishermen, and it was always
that way.

Every morning at sunrise, the men went fishing in

jukung boats. Every evening at sunset, they came back
with their boats full of fish.

People agreed to a ban on plastic

straws, plastic bottles and plastic
bags.

They agreed to throw their trash into

trash bins only, and to stop burning
and burying plastic.

They decided to stop fishing until the

sea was clean.

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The head of the village called a meeting and everyone
gathered to hear Wayan's story.

The villagers discussed the problem for a long time.

Finally, they agreed on important actions to save their
ocean and its animals and plants.

Wayan learned to fish just as

everything was changing for the
fishermen.

There were fewer fish, and they were

always small.

Sometimes, the boats came back

empty, even though they had been at
sea all day.

10 3
The beaches also changed. They were always polluted,
with plastic trash thrown on the sand.

When the tide went out, it washed plastic into the sea.

Gradually, people in the village began to get sick. They

could not get well.

Wayan promised that he would do his

best to help. Bintang carried him back
to the shore, and then swam away.

Wayan realised that the villagers

needed to clean up the sea and
beaches.

He ran to the elders to tell them about

the turtles.

4 9
"They ate plastic bags, thinking it was food. We turtles
cannot see very well. To us, a plastic bag looks like a
jelly fish," explained Bintang.

He asked,"We need your help. Please tell people not to

throw plastic on the earth or into the water."

One day, while Wayan was fishing, a

storm blew over. He was swept into
the waves.

A turtle saved him. "I am Bintang. I

will help you, climb onto my back,"
said the turtle.

"Maybe you can help me. My

grandfather is very sick and no one
knows what to do."

8 5
Bintang took Wayan to his grandfather. The old turtle
was very ill and finding it difficult to breathe.

Wayan saw something strange sticking out of

grandfather's nose. He said, "I will try to pull out this
thing, but it will hurt!"

Wayan pulled and pulled. Grandfather cried and cried.

Finally, the thing came out. It was a

plastic straw! The straw had stuck
down grandfather's throat.

Grandfather began to breathe more

easily. Bintang said to Wayan, "I will
take you to the others."

They went to Turtle Hospital. "What

happened to these turtles?" asked
Wayan.

6 7