One Painted Turtle’s Escape to Wetter Ground

Yesterday, a small painted turtle was making a long arduous journey down a warm asphalt driveway where lots of trucks and cars travel.

Lucky for her, a very talented stone worker stopped and scooped that Michigan turtle up. “The driveway is no place for you to lay eggs,” said the stone worker.

   

Isn’t she a pretty turtle? Just needs a little shell cleaning and renovation.

“Please, please,” said the turtle, “don’t eat me!”

“Silly turtle!” said the stone worker. “We’ll put your in our creek, so you can go and have more turtles.”

    After the stone worker set the turtle down in the grass at the edge of the creek, the turtle sat there, utterly confused and disoriented.

She sat there a very long time, waiting for the humans to eat her. 

Then she stuck her head out. “Where are they?” she whispered.  They were behind her watching and waiting for her to make a run for it.

                                                               

She looked one way.

 

   Then the other way.

 

She began to make a very slow run for it.

 

 

 

When no one chased her, she ran faster toward the creek.

        

 ”OMG!” she cried. “I’m nearly there!”

    “If only I can make it over this enormous log!”

 

  “Oh, oh, I did it. I’m the little turtle who could!”

And then the little turtle dived into the black murky water, happy and free at last!