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 the book included "burp", a word then considered to be relatively rude, it was a success upon publication, and has since sold more than a million copies.

A turtle named Mack, who has a checkerboard-style shell and is at the bottom of the pile, is bearing the brunt of the suffering.

Mack makes a second request for a respite because the increased weight is now causing extreme pain and hunger to the turtles at the bottom of the pile.

Now wanting to surpass Lolla Lee Lou, she eats the entire vine, causing her tail to grow to an enormous size.

Her uncle, having heard her painful cries for help, sends for many other birds to carry her home and pluck out her tail feathers, which takes a few weeks, causing her to be sore.

[1] The third and final story tells of a rabbit and a bear, who both boast that they are the "best of the beasts", because of the range of their hearing and smelling abilities, respectively.

Yertle is a main antagonist in the first season of the 1996–1998 puppetry television series The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss (performed by Anthony Asbury), and in Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty's Broadway musical Seussical, Yertle serves as a judge and Gertrude McFuzz acts as Horton's love interest.

Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories is a 1992 animation directed by Ray Messecar and narrated by John Lithgow[14] (later released and cropped to widescreen format on Blu-ray part of Who's Who in the Dr.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers adapted the story in the song "Yertle the Turtle" on their second album, Freaky Styley, released in 1985.

The liner notes state "set to dramatic action personally by "Dr. Seuss" with music featuring Marvin Miller".