 The eponymous story revolves around Yertle the Turtle , the king of the pond . Dissatisfied with the stone that serves as his throne , he commands the other turtles to stack themselves beneath him so that he can see farther and expand his kingdom . However , the stacked turtles are in pain and Mack , the turtle at the very bottom of the pile , is suffering the most . Mack asks Yertle for a respite , but Yertle just tells him to be quiet . Then Yertle decides to expand his kingdom and commands more and more turtles to add to his throne . Mack makes a second request for a respite because the increased weight is now causing extreme pain to the turtles at the bottom of the pile , as well as hunger . Again , Yertle yells at Mack to be quiet . Then Yertle notices the moon rising above him as the night approaches . Furious that something " dares to be higher than Yertle the King " , he decides to call for even more turtles in an attempt to rise above it . However , before he can give the command , Mack decides he has had enough . He burps , which takes away Yertle 's throne and tosses the turtle king off the turtle stack and into the mud , leaving him " King of the Mud " and freeing the others . 
