The Great Escape

Sabbath afternoon, my little sister Hannah found a box turtle. Bringing him into the house, she placed him in a box to play with him. Seeing as he refused to come out of his shell, however, she soon tired of him and scampered back outside to play. Of course it wasn't long before he stuck his head out and decided to make his escape. I heard him clawing the side of his box, and called Hannah back in to take the poor turtle outside where I assured her he would be much happier. I warned her, though, to be careful to place him somewhere where our two dogs wouldn't find him. (They've been known to devour most anything.) Not long after, the girls and I were sitting on the front porch reading, when we heard a strange crunching noise. We looked out into the yard to see Sophie (one of the dogs) chewing on what appeared to be a turtle! I noticed right away that it was an empty, sun-bleached shell, probably belonging to some poor turtle from a bygone era. The girls, however, did not notice this... and I shall never forget the look on their faces. They sat there in stunned silence, their mouths hanging open in shock and disbelief. I decided to play along for a moment, and put my hand to my mouth in mock terror, exclaiming "Oh my..." Then Sophie picked up the shell in her mouth again, revealing its lack of contents. At this, Hannah breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Oh good!... he got away... So how long can a turtle live without his shell?!"

Even now I chuckle to myself, picturing this naked turtle making a break for it across the yard... leaving the poor, confused dog sitting there with nothing but a shell in his mouth... 

- Shannon