The Tortoise and the Geese

In The Tortoise and the Geese the aforementioned animals live amongst each other on a pond. When the pond dries up and the geese decide to fly away, the tortoise begs them to save him as well. The geese agree, but say he must not say as word on their journey or he will forsake his life. In order to carry him, they must hold tight to a stick which he must hold clenched in his mouth. As they pass a village, many people laugh at the tortoise. His pride finally wins and he attempts to call out to them in order to save his image. In doing so he lets go of the stick and falls to his death.
The moral of this story runs along the lines of pride being less than virtuous. For the most part I agree with this. It seems little good comes from pride, but one must hold some sense of pride in themselves or there is the additional risk of depleted self worth.