Context

This line is from the book Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories by Dr. Seuss (1958).

It's a name that strikes fear into the hearts of men. A name that could only belong to a fearsome dictator who crushes others in his iron fist. It's… Yertle.

Are you quaking in your shell? You would be, if you were being pushed around by Yertle the Turtle. Yertle literally stands on the shells of other turtles to get what he wants. (He probably dresses as Mario the turtle slayer for Halloween.)

But when he falls and is suddenly rolling around the mud with the rest of them, he's told that he's equal to all turtles. And no turtle should be stepped on.

Where you've heard it

You've heard this when you're helping a slow, little turtle cross a busy road, when you and a local gang of vigilante animal activists are freeing all the furry creatures from the zoo, or when you're throwing all your brother's Ninja Turtles action figures out the window.

Pretentious Factor

If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.

As long as you're not saying this line over a course of turtle soup, it's an unpretentious quote of wisdom.