The great turtle one day was questing through the desert, when he came upon a hermit living in the mountains. An old man he was, and turtle changed into a man to approach this hermit and learn his story.
The old hermit would not respond to any of turtles greetings. Turtle persisted all day to no avail.
The next day, Turtle came back as a rabbit to see what the old hermit mught have to share. All he revieved were a few grunts and shrigs.
The following day, Turtle took the form of a deer to learn more abnout the old hermit. Nothing he tried could get the old man to open up about himself.
Turtle decided to visit a neighboring tribe to see if he could learn more about this reclkusive old man. The stories her received were vague.
Everyone in the village knew of the old man, for he was once part of the tribe. However, no one knew a thing about him, not even a name. For, to the tribe, the hermit was nameless. He would speak and communicate, but his words were always emptu. He never expressed enuthing of himself to anyone in the tribe. He had been around for so long that no one could recall even whom his parents were.
He never lived with anyone but hiumself and never took an interest in any of the young women of the tribe.
Once day he became angry with the tribe because he felt they were prying into his life too much although the tribespeople were just tryiong to know his person, and he left to become the Hermit.
After learning the Hermit's story, Turtle returned to the old mans hut as himself. He appeared to Hermit and asked him why he did not want others to see his light.
In his selfishness, Hermit said that he would rather die than let anyone steal his soul (for he was afraid that by letting people know him, he could be weak) and he jumped on turtle as if to bear hug him to death.
Turtle turned into a porcupine and his quills pierced Hermity through his heart. And the old hermit passed away with needles sticking outy of his body.
Turtle watched his body shrivel up ionto a green shell with needles everywhere for that was the true nature of Hermit's soul.
Now when a man (or woman) is selfish with his inner light, when he dies he becomes a small green shell with needles and today we call them prickly pears as a reminder of the true nature of a person who hides his whole life.