Tank the Traveling Turtle

Hello, everyone! Welcome! Today I have a short story for you!

The following story was inspired by our pet turtle who was discovered and rescued by my husband. I'm looking forward to creating many adventures for this little guy. In this, the first volume, I tell the story of how a wild baby turtle wound up as a pet. I know how annoying it can be to have a blogger go on and on about things that sometimes seem irrelevant to the post, so I won't do that today. Although based on true events, some of the details in this story have been altered or added for entertainment value. Enjoy!

Tank Travels Home

The sun shone brightly in the early morning. It was late spring, and there had recently been a heavy rain. All the ponds and rivers were flooded, the ground was soggy, and little droplets still clung to every blade of grass. To the baby turtles that lives in the area, it looked to be a fantastic playground.

They played in the wet grass, dug in the mud, and splashed and swam in the many puddles. The little turtles had so much fun that they soon began to forget about one another. Slowly, they drifted further and further apart.

Tank was probably the tiniest of the baby turtles. He found himself to be all alone. He was perfectly fine with that. He'd discovered a lovely puddle that, to him was like his own personal pond. There, in his favorite puddle, Tank had the most perfect basking rock. It was just his size. He half floated happily in the sunshine, clinging to his favorite rock. Life was good.

As the morning hours stretched on, a loud noise came down the path beyond. It was a truck. Tank had never seen one before. Two men got out of the truck and started working around the area. Then more trucks came with more men. Bigger trucks came too! The men worked and shouted, and played horrible music. Tank hid behind his little rock, hoping the men wouldn't see him.

The men worked and worked. It looked as though they were building something there. Suddenly, Tank saw one of the biggest trucks with the biggest tires coming straight toward his puddle. The baby turtle dove down into the muddy bottom of his little puddle and tried to bury himself the best he could. It was no good.

The tires were very large. As it splashed through Tank's puddle, the little turtle was wedged in between the treads of the enormous tire. He'd just managed to tuck his head into his shell. Quickly, he pulled his front legs inside. Just as he was about to secure his final hind leg, the tire turned and it was badly squished. Still covered in mud and unable to get free, Tank went for a ride.

Tank traveled for miles. He wasn't sure how far he'd gone. It felt like hours before he stopped. The mud dried around him. Tank himself began to dry. Tank was thirsty, and scared. He eventually didn't feel well. He dozed off into a sickly, dizzy slumber.

Tank, now encapsulated in a dry clump of dirt, was somehow dislodged from the tread of the tire. He was lying helpless in the middle of the floor of some kind of work shop with even more men. These men were working too. They walked by him so many times, and none of them noticed him.

Time went on, and the men worked on not noticing the little turtle. Then one man did see something strange. The man thought there was something odd about a clump of dirt in the middle of the shop floor. He walked over to examine it. That's how he found Tank.

"It's a baby turtle!" The man exclaimed.

The man knew the baby turtle was in trouble. He was a water turtle, and he was very dry. Tank couldn't move. The man thought it might have been too late to save the little guy. Still he walked Tank to a sink and started to rinse the dirt off of him. After a few minutes in the water, Tank finally started to move. He was alive! The man was happy he was able to save a baby turtle.

The man had planned to release Tank back into the wild. However, before he could, he noticed Tank's injured leg. The man didn't think that a turtle with an injury like that stood a very good chance at survival in the wild. He decided to take the turtle home with him. He called his wife and told her to find a container for the turtle.

With the help of his family, the man was able to create a nice environment for Tank. They researched the type of turtle and how to properly care for him for days. They improved his new home, and bought him some turtle food. Tanks new family loved him very much and made him happy in his new home.

And that is the story of how Tank the Traveling Turtle traveled home.

The End

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed my story. There's more where that came from so check back soon! Please share this story if you liked reading it, and leave me a comment to tell me what you think. I'll look forward to receiving your feedback. Until next time!

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