A turtle sat still near the edge of the water, observing all the new fish that had been added to his lake. He had been the only creature inhabiting this lake, so it was nice to have some new company. No one ever even came near the lake before this day.
A few human boys began walking toward the lake. The turtle had never seen creatures like them before, but did not feel as if they were a threat because they quickly ran back into the woods after seeing him. He thought that perhaps they were afraid of him because of the way they ran off. He shut his eyes and began to rest after they left.
The turtle's nap quickly turned into horror, as he was hoisted up into the air. It was the creatures he saw by the lake from earlier. They were all shouting loudly. The turtle could not understand what the humans were saying, but the tone in their voice made it clear their intentions with him were bad.
The humans were fighting over his body, passing around his shell with no care for the turtle. The turtle felt ill and feared for his life. He wanted to go back into the water where he felt safe. This did not seem like an option as he continued to be passed around, getting further and further from the place he called home.
Suddenly, the shouting heightened and one human ran with the turtle to the water. The boy got knee deep into the lake and forced the turtle into the water. The turtle was confused that the boy was letting him return to the water because of the way they had been acting previously.
However, the boy did not let him go once he shoved the turtle into the water. He held his body at the bottom, as if he was going to float.
The turtle then realized that the boy was trying to drown him. Clearly the creatures were not smart enough to realize he was not going to drown in the water. Of course, he had to play it off to get the humans to leave him alone.
The turtle stood completely still at the bottom of the lake, even after the boys stopped holding his body down. After he heard the boys walk away, the turtle swam to the top and laughed to himself that these creatures could be so ignorant.
Authors Note. I began with the story "The Turtle and The King." The original story is told from the perspective of the humans. When the young princes went to add fish to a lake, they found a turtle near the water. They had never seen a turtle before and were horrified by it, which made the King order them to kill it. In order to kill the turtle the boys attempted to drown the turtle, not realizing that it is able to breathe underwater. I decided to change this story to the turtle's perspective because it gives a whole different meaning to the story. The turtle is simply an animal and does not realize that these people are royalty. In the end, the turtle just sees them as ignorant creatures since they tried to drown an animal who lives in a lake.
Bibliography. "The Turtle and The King" from Jataka Tales by Ellen C. Babbitt. Web source.
Suddenly, the shouting heightened and one human ran with the turtle to the water. The boy got knee deep into the lake and forced the turtle into the water. The turtle was confused that the boy was letting him return to the water because of the way they had been acting previously.
However, the boy did not let him go once he shoved the turtle into the water. He held his body at the bottom, as if he was going to float.
The turtle then realized that the boy was trying to drown him. Clearly the creatures were not smart enough to realize he was not going to drown in the water. Of course, he had to play it off to get the humans to leave him alone.
The turtle stood completely still at the bottom of the lake, even after the boys stopped holding his body down. After he heard the boys walk away, the turtle swam to the top and laughed to himself that these creatures could be so ignorant.
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| Turtle Near Lake Source: Wikimedia |
Authors Note. I began with the story "The Turtle and The King." The original story is told from the perspective of the humans. When the young princes went to add fish to a lake, they found a turtle near the water. They had never seen a turtle before and were horrified by it, which made the King order them to kill it. In order to kill the turtle the boys attempted to drown the turtle, not realizing that it is able to breathe underwater. I decided to change this story to the turtle's perspective because it gives a whole different meaning to the story. The turtle is simply an animal and does not realize that these people are royalty. In the end, the turtle just sees them as ignorant creatures since they tried to drown an animal who lives in a lake.
Bibliography. "The Turtle and The King" from Jataka Tales by Ellen C. Babbitt. Web source.
Hi, Kayleigh!
ReplyDeleteI retold the same story. I like how you are telling the story in the turtle’s perspective and taking out the stupid turtle’s story. I didn’t like the ending of the stupid turtle, so I changed the story a little bit too. The smart turtle in this story is not as smart as the turtle in the original story. However, he did realize that they were trying to drown him at the end. I am happy that he is still alive in your story too.
Hi Kayleigh,
ReplyDeleteI like how you told the story from the turtle's perspective. I read the story and I didn't like how they tried to kill him just because they have never seen something like it before. The turtle was smart enough to fool the boys and stayed happily ever after. I like happy endings so this was a good story to read.
I think it is somewhat bizarre a story told from the turtle's perspective, but not in a bad way. The story turns from a somewhat cautionary tale to a story about human arrogance which I think is a much more powerful message. I think you did a good job switching the perspectives and it added an element of mystery to the story.
ReplyDeleteHey Kayleigh! Wow, like everyone else said before me, I think it's cool that you wrote from the turtle's perspective. I felt bad for the turtle in the original story and this one, so it's cool that you stuck to the theme of the original story while also changing up the story at the same time. I think it's interesting that in the original and in this one, the humans haven't seen anything like a turtle before so they tried killing it. However, in your story, even the turtle has never seen anything like humans before, but he doesn't do anything harmful to the humans which is good on his part.
ReplyDeleteHi Kayleigh,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the perspective shift on this story. Reading it from the human perspective they seemed foolish. However, from the turtle's perspective they seem downright cruel and laughably stupid. Your story managed to highlight the royals arrogance in a way that I honestly don't think that the original story could have managed to do. Great job and I look forward to reading more!
-Elizabeth
Hey Kayleigh,
ReplyDeleteI like how you used a different perspective to retell a great story. Killing the turtle for no reason seemed like a stupid idea from the humans and according to the turtle they were very ignorant looking creatures themselves. It is funny that both sides of the story thought each other looked weird and it is just because they didn't know what each other were. Great job on your story and can't wait to read another.
Hello, Kayleigh! I like your modification to the initial story - I think you managed to perfectly preserve the nature of the turtle character, but changed it enough to add variety. The humans make me very sad in the story. If all humans were like those in the story, what a terrible place our world would be! But, the prudence of the turtle makes me feel satisfied. It makes me feel happy inside that the turtle did not die in this story like it does in the other story. Great rendition - I look forward to reading more of your stories in the future!
ReplyDeleteKayleigh,
ReplyDeleteI really like your version of the story, because it shows the mindless cruelty humans can show towards animals, even harmless ones like turtles. I also liked your writing style in this story, by giving the turtle personality through internal monologue, you made it easy to tell what the turtle's scared thoughts were, and how he was reacting to the situation. I look forward to reading more stories from you!
Brady
Kayleigh, it is clear that the wiser of the two species, man and turtle, is the one that is minding his own business! I also read this story earlier in the class, and I think that it is great that you wrote your story from the perspective of the turtle. This story really speaks about the harm that ignorance can do. This story is super relevant to our country today, and we see that ignorance can drive people to put up barriers between themselves and the ones they fear. Sometimes, this involves hurting other people for no good reason. Good job with this.
ReplyDeleteKayleigh,
ReplyDeleteI think you did a great job of retelling this story in your own way. I actually like your version better, as I really like that the turtle can't communicate with the boys, but has the intelligence and awareness to understand what they are trying to do to him. Your version shows him as much more clever than the original story. Great job!