Once upon a time, a soft-shell turtle was being sold at a market. He hung upside down on a string that pierced through his shell. His four legs kept kicking in pain. But the peddler ignored the turtle's struggle and yelled loudly, "Come and buy this soft-shell turtle! Eating its meat will prolong your life and enhance your health..."

A kind old man named Wu happened to walk past the market. Seeing the turtle in suffering, his heart went out to him. He decided to buy the poor creature and then set him free, so he asked the peddler how much the animal was worth.

The peddler knew Wu was always doing good deeds, so he intentionally set an exorbitant price. "Give me two thousand dollars and you can have the turtle. Otherwise, I'm going to cook it for soup!"

Wu paid without hesitation. He took the wounded turtle home, softly untied the string in his shell, gently cleaned his body, and daubed medicine on the wounds. When the poor thing regained his health, Wu took him to a lake and set him free.

"Bon voyage! I hope you will be careful and never fall into a fisherman's net again!" Watching the turtle swim away, the old man sighed with relief. Wu had once vowed to give timely help to all living creatures when they were in trouble. Now that the vow had been kept, he felt very content.

Not long after he rescued the turtle, something unexpected happened. During a tranquil night when most people were sound asleep, Wu heard a persistent knocking sound at the door. He asked his servant to see what was going on outside.

The servant came back and reported that a soft-shell turtle was biting firmly on the doorknocker. Wu hurried to the door and found that it was the turtle he had saved! The turtle raised his head and gazed at him with gratitude. "Thank you for saving my life. I'm here to return your favor. In a few days, the sea level will rise and flood the city. Please prepare a boat and I will come and lead you to safety."

Wu thanked the turtle for the warning. As soon as morning came, he reported the matter to the king. He beseeched the king to order people living in the lowlands to evacuate to higher ground as soon as possible. The king had great respect for Wu, and so he issued the order. Meanwhile, the old man started to build a boat.

Several days later, the sea level indeed started to rise. Just before the city was about to be swamped, the soft-shell turtle appeared before Wu and said, "Hurry up! The water is coming! Board the boat and I will lead the way." The man did accordingly and followed the turtle.

As the boat sailed on, a fox struggling in the water asked Wu to help him, and the old man did. As they went further, a snake that swam by also begged for help, and the old man saved him, too. A little further out, a man cried for help, but just as Wu was about to rescue him, the turtle said firmly, "No human beings, please!"

Wu felt this very strange. Why could he save a fox and a snake but not a human being? But he could not bear to see man swallowed up by the water, so he rescued him anyway.

The turtle led the boat to a safe place. Before leaving, he warned Wu, "The most unreliable thing in the world is the human heart, so please watch out for the person you just saved." Wu thanked the turtle. The fox and the snake also left with gratitude.

The fox rested on a piece of dry land. There, he happened upon a large treasure hidden in a cave. The fox hoped Wu could use the treasure to save more living creatures, so he hurried to the old man and told him of the discovery.

Unfortunately, the person saved from the water overheard the news and became greedy. He demanded that Wu give him at least half of the treasure, or else he would report to the government that Wu had stolen the treasure from some tombs.

Wu planned to use the treasure to help more lives, and so he refused the demands. The person burned with hatred and reported Wu to the local officials. As a result, Wu was put behind bars.

The snake found out about Wu's situation. Seeking to repay his kindness, the snake got some herbs and brought them to the jail. He told Wu to stow them away and when an opportunity arose he could use the herbs to leave the prison.

Soon, the prince of the kingdom fell ill and grew weaker day by day. The king announced that he would give half of his kingdom to anyone who could save the prince's life.

A long time passed, and still there was no one who could cure the prince. Wu heard about this and thought to himself, "Is this the opportunity the snake told me to wait for?" He called to the jailer, "I have medicine to cure the prince."

The jailer took the old man to the king and the snake's medicine indeed worked. True to his promise, the king gave half of his kingdom to the old man. As the ruler of his own land, Wu promoted policies of benevolence and realized his ideal of taking care of many living creatures.