UPDATED version of this story can be found here.
On a day just like any other, two young sisters Hazel and Molly skipped to a pond near their house. The pond had become an every day adventure since a nearby ditch flooded into the pond and transported new aquatic life.
Hazel and Molly would watch the tadpoles buzz by, the dragonflies land on their lily pads and the sunfish with bright orange bellies scavenging for their next meals. Every day the young sisters would giggle and snicker as they watched the pond.
One day, as Turtle was fast asleep with his head under a rock he was woken up by the giggling of the two young sisters. This was the seventh day in a row that the sisters had woken them up by their loud and high pitched noises. Turtle had had enough.
Turtle slowly swam over to the side of the pond where Hazel and Molly were skipping and singing and made a small splashing noise with his front legs in the water.
Hazel asked Molly, "What was that?"
Molly answered, "Look over there! We've never seen a turtle in our pond before."
The girls were giddy with excitement because after all of this time they had spend at the pond, they had never expected to see a turtle.
"Wow! What a pretty turtle!" Molly said.
As the girls continued to fall head over heels over Turtle and lean in closer to him in the water, Turtle began slashing around in the water making a huge fuss.
Turtle's splashes sprayed water right into Hazel's eyes and Hazel began to cry.
Both sisters ran home to tell their dad about the awful encounter that they had with Turtle. Not long after, Turtle noticed a large man walking up to the pond with nets in hand. Turtle tried to swim as fast as he could away from the man but with his large net Turtle could not escape.
As Turtle was getting carried away he thought to himself, "He's probably going to boil me alive or worse, leave me so far away from water that I die from dehydration."
Soon enough the man stopped moving and plopped Turtle down on the ground. Turtle held his eyes shut and waited for something bad to happen. He waited a couple of minutes and still nothing so he decided to open his eyes.
When he opened his eyes, he couldn't believe it. He didn't know where he was but that didn't matter. There were other turtles everywhere. It was a turtle paradise.
Author's Note:
This story is based off of a tale told out of Jataka Tales by author Ellen C. Babbitt. The story is titled "How the Turtle Saved His Own Life." The story starts off with a turtle who was found by young princes in a lake that their father, the king, had made for them. The princes went to the lake to look at the fishes that their father got for them but they also saw a turtle. The princes had never seen a turtle before and thought it was a demon. The princes were afraid and told the king and the king ordered his men to find the turtle and kill it. The men who were ordered to kill the turtle suggested to throw the turtle into the lake where the water flowed into the river. The turtle spoke and objected trying to make himself seem as though he was terrified of that fate but in reality he tricked the man and was safe to live in the water.
I choose this tale to retell because I really enjoyed reading it. I loved how the majority of the story I thought the turtle was going to have a horrible death but ended up living happily ever after. That's why I kept that same theme with the retelling of my story. I hope you enjoyed.
Bibliography: "How the Turtle Saved His Own Life" by Ellen C. Babbitt. Web source.
On a day just like any other, two young sisters Hazel and Molly skipped to a pond near their house. The pond had become an every day adventure since a nearby ditch flooded into the pond and transported new aquatic life.
Hazel and Molly would watch the tadpoles buzz by, the dragonflies land on their lily pads and the sunfish with bright orange bellies scavenging for their next meals. Every day the young sisters would giggle and snicker as they watched the pond.
One day, as Turtle was fast asleep with his head under a rock he was woken up by the giggling of the two young sisters. This was the seventh day in a row that the sisters had woken them up by their loud and high pitched noises. Turtle had had enough.
Turtle slowly swam over to the side of the pond where Hazel and Molly were skipping and singing and made a small splashing noise with his front legs in the water.
Hazel asked Molly, "What was that?"
Molly answered, "Look over there! We've never seen a turtle in our pond before."
The girls were giddy with excitement because after all of this time they had spend at the pond, they had never expected to see a turtle.
"Wow! What a pretty turtle!" Molly said.
As the girls continued to fall head over heels over Turtle and lean in closer to him in the water, Turtle began slashing around in the water making a huge fuss.
Turtle's splashes sprayed water right into Hazel's eyes and Hazel began to cry.
Both sisters ran home to tell their dad about the awful encounter that they had with Turtle. Not long after, Turtle noticed a large man walking up to the pond with nets in hand. Turtle tried to swim as fast as he could away from the man but with his large net Turtle could not escape.
As Turtle was getting carried away he thought to himself, "He's probably going to boil me alive or worse, leave me so far away from water that I die from dehydration."
Soon enough the man stopped moving and plopped Turtle down on the ground. Turtle held his eyes shut and waited for something bad to happen. He waited a couple of minutes and still nothing so he decided to open his eyes.
When he opened his eyes, he couldn't believe it. He didn't know where he was but that didn't matter. There were other turtles everywhere. It was a turtle paradise.
(Dole of painted turtles basking in the sun. Image found on Super Fins)
Author's Note:
This story is based off of a tale told out of Jataka Tales by author Ellen C. Babbitt. The story is titled "How the Turtle Saved His Own Life." The story starts off with a turtle who was found by young princes in a lake that their father, the king, had made for them. The princes went to the lake to look at the fishes that their father got for them but they also saw a turtle. The princes had never seen a turtle before and thought it was a demon. The princes were afraid and told the king and the king ordered his men to find the turtle and kill it. The men who were ordered to kill the turtle suggested to throw the turtle into the lake where the water flowed into the river. The turtle spoke and objected trying to make himself seem as though he was terrified of that fate but in reality he tricked the man and was safe to live in the water.
I choose this tale to retell because I really enjoyed reading it. I loved how the majority of the story I thought the turtle was going to have a horrible death but ended up living happily ever after. That's why I kept that same theme with the retelling of my story. I hope you enjoyed.
Bibliography: "How the Turtle Saved His Own Life" by Ellen C. Babbitt. Web source.
I also chose to retell this story. It was really fun to read the same story from a third perspective. I chose to tell the background of the story, but you chose to tell the same story in a different time, with different characters (aside from the turtle). It was a fun twist that the turtle was rescued in the end. Instead of simply being returned to his home, the turtle was brought to a new, even better place to live.
ReplyDeleteI love how you retold this story. I think the main plot still remains. During the middle of the story, I was really worried for the turtle! But, I am glad he was placed in turtle paradise.I love how you retold this story. I think the main plot still remains. During the middle of the story, I was really worried for the turtle! But, I am glad he was placed in turtle paradise. I can't wait to read more stories! I can't wait to read more stories!
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