 Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories is a picture book collection by Theodor Seuss Geisel , published under his more commonly known pseudonym of Dr. Seuss . It was first released by Random House Books on April 12 , 1958 , and is written in Seuss 's trademark style , using a type of meter called anapestic tetrameter . Though it contains three short stories , it is mostly known for its first story , " Yertle the Turtle " , in which the eponymous Yertle , king of the pond , stands on his subjects in an attempt to reach higher than the moon — until the bottom turtle burps and he falls into the mud , ending his rule . 
