The Incredible Adventures of Myrtle (the Turtle)

There once lived a turtle. Her name was Myrtle, and she lived in a pet store on Longleaf Street. She lived a pretty good life for a turtle...she was given a nice big tub of water to swim in, rocks to climb upon and sun herself on warm days, and plenty of friends that lived close by. "This is a pretty good life for a turtle," Myrtle thought. However, Myrtle always wondered if there were something more to life beyond the tub of water that she called home. One fateful day, she got her answer.

This day began like any other. She woke up early, ate a wonderful breakfast, and then spent the rest of the day relaxing, alternating between eating and sunning herself on the rocks in her tub. She saw several people come in and out of the pet store. Some of them glanced over at her, but none did more than glance.

The day was over...the owners of the store were closing up shop, when a young couple entered the store. Myrtle eyed these two curiously. One, a woman, with brown hair and a pretty smile. The other, a man, with curly hair and kind eyes. They walked over to her tub, ("Probably just to look at me and pass by," thought Myrtle). All of a sudden, a hand came out of the air, picked her up, and placed her in a cardboard box! What was happening? Was this the end? Was she being taken to her doom? She heard the owner of the store talking to this couple, telling them what she ate and that she liked to swim and occasionally sun herself on rocks. She heard the couple talk of a little girl from New Jersey and an airplane. Then she was placed on the floor of some moving thing, and all was still for a while.

She woke as someone picked up her box. "This is it," she thought. She prepared herself for her demise. The box opened, and Myrtle glanced up and out from her shell. She looked up into the face of a beautiful little girl with dark hair. The little girl smiled. She called Myrtle's name. "How did she know my name?" Myrtle asked herself. Suddenly, she wasn't scared anymore. She somehow knew that this little girl was going to take care of her, love her, feed her, let her rest on the warm rocks. She realized that there IS more to life than her big tub of water at the pet store. She decided then and there that she was ready for whatever might happen next.

(Based on a true story! Taylor and I went yesterday to pick up a turtle for Ella, one of the little girls Taylor's mom nannies for in New Jersey. Ella wanted a turtle, but it's illegal to buy or sell then in NJ. Taylor's mom looked other places close by, and she found turtles. But they were $80! She then decided to look for one when she came to AR with Ella. We did look for one, on the roads, at the park...but to no avail. Finally, on our way to Little Rock yesterday to see Taylor's mom and Ella one last time before their flight this morning, we got a call. There was a pet store in Pine Bluff with a turtle for $7! Thus began the Great Turtle Adventure. We raced there, and fortunately, the proprietor of this shop stayed open 45 minutes late for us. We bought the turtle and transported her to Little Rock to Ella. Ella was ecstatic! It was a great night. I just wanted to be silly and write a story from Myrtle's perspective!)