Week 10 Story: The Turtle and the Lesson
The Turtle and the Lesson
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| The Little Turtle Source: Google Image |
Two boys were playing in a lake wrecking havoc. They were torturing all of the fish, ruining all of the plants and fauna, and killing all of the frogs they came across. The boys were suffocating a fish by holding it out of water when one of them came across a turtle sitting by the edge.
"Ahh! What is that!? It must be a demon! We have to kill it!!" yelled one of the boys.
The frightened turtle didn't know what to do so it hid in its shell and stood still. The boys cornered the little turtle and decided to take it back home to dissect it.
When the boys got home, they showed their father the turtle and said, "Dad! Look what we found! A demon!" The father screamed and said, "We must destroy it!"
Together they came up with ways to torture it, finally settling on two options: cooking it or throwing it back in the water. The turtle overheard the conversation and spoke up when he heard the options.
"OH NO! Please don't throw me in the water! That would be the worst thing ever!" exclaimed the turtle.
The three made an evil grin and together went back to the lack to "torture" the turtle. They threw him in the water, and the turtle swam away safe and sound.
A few days later, the man was proudly retelling the story to one his friends.
"I killed a demon this weekend! My sons and I threw it into the water after it begged us not to!"
After describing what the demon looked like, the friend was very confused and told the man, "I think what you are describing is a turtle."
"A what?" asked the man.
The friend drew him a picture of a turtle, and the man was shocked to discover he had been tricked!
He immediately went back to the lack and followed the path the turtle swam in order to find it and kill it properly. After following the lake for three hours, the man finally came across the turtle. He followed the turtle for another half hour planning on sneaking up on him and capturing him. The man was about to attack when the two individuals arrived at Turtle Village.
Turtles were everywhere. There were old turtles sleeping, young turtles playing, big turtles eating, and small turtles swimming. The man was mortified at first and was going to destroy them all until he saw three turtles in the corner. It was a dad and his two sons. The dad was teaching his sons how to catch bugs.
The man couldn't help but realize how much the turtles reminded him of his own sons. While reminiscing, the original turtle noticed the man and went into a panic.
"Oh no! You are back! Please don't hurt us!" said the turtle.
"Do not worry little one. I have come to the realization that you are harmless, and my way of life needs to change. I can no longer allow my sons to wreck havoc on such beautiful creatures simply because we do not understand. Thank you"
With that, the man left making sure to teach his sons the lesson he gratefully learned.
Author's Notes: This story is an extension of Babbitt's "How the Turtle Saved His Own Life." The first part of the story of how the turtle escaped is very true to the original story, but the extension is all added. Although the reader learned the lesson and was able to see why the man was wrong, I wanted the characters to learn their lesson too. In my version, the man sees how beautiful and innocent nature is dedicate his life to teaching others the lesson he has learned.
Hey Jasmine! The very first thing I noticed was the picture of the adorable little turtle you chose to include at the top of your page. I think the story was great, it kept me guessing and had an ending that made me leave feeling resolved as a reader. I hadn’t read the story you talked about in the author’s note, but the reverse psychology the turtle used on the men reminded me of the same strategy the monkey used in the story of The Monkey and The Crocodile.
ReplyDeleteHi Jasmine, I really like that this version of the story had an ending where the dude learned empathy. I always thought the original was kind of dumb because who doesn't know what a turtle is? So I'm glad you cleared that up too. I thought it was funny when the dad's friend told him the "demon" was really just a turtle. This was a very good re-telling, A+
ReplyDeleteHi Jasmine!
ReplyDeleteI really like that you made the story your own. In the original, the king sent his sons to go collect fish for the pond in the courtyard of the castle, but in your rendition the boys were causing chaos in the nearby lake. Changing little details like this shows your creativity. I also love that you used this story to teach lessons. All the characters learned from their mistakes which is a huge part of what life is. Well done!
Hey Jasmine,
ReplyDeleteI really liked your story and thought the picture of the turtle was adorable! I liked how you set-up the potential lesson at the beginning because you were able to build up to it. I also enjoyed the description of the little turtle village because it seemed like a cozy little place. I also found it funny how the friend knew it was a turtle, but the dad did not. Keep up the great work!
In these kinds of stories, if they happened in real life, the turtles would still definitely die. I think the turtle being able to talk to the man really helped his case. It's nice to see a happy ending for once, even if it's mostly the turtles who helped that happen by being smart enough to trick the man and sons. Humans really are dumb sometimes...
ReplyDelete