Fredarica (Fred) The Turtle
Copyright 1996
Hi everybody! I'm Fredarica Turtle, but
you can call me Fred. I'm a box turtle. My species are usually
brightly colored like I am. You can tell us box turtles apart
by our eyes. Boys have red eyes and girls have green or brown
eyes. I have brown eyes, so I'm a girl. (You can also tell by
my name).
I live in a hollow with my other turtle
friends. I have to tell you something. Don't believe that old
story that turtles are slow. Most turtles crawl pretty slow on
land, but a lot of turtles are super fast in the water. Most turtles
sleep in the winter but I don't. I'm too busy having adventures
or writing stories. I have a brother called Freddy and a lot of
other turtle relatives, one being Alleah.
Here is a story about me and my friends.
In it I meet Alleah's little cousin Bill. Bill wanders off one
morning, and Alleah, Freddy, and I have to rescue him from danger.
Also in this story I meet Sammy Jo and Killer for the first time.
ENJOY! ! !
"TOO WET FOR COMFORT"
PART ONE
I peeked out of my hollow log early one
morning. It was raining. Just like it was yesterday and the day
before and the day before that and.....you got the idea.
"It's not dry enough for anyone to
go out today," I said to my brother Freddy who didn't answer
because he was asleep.
"HI Fred and Freddy! Beautifully
day isn't it?" said my friend Alleah. I was wrong. Someone
really is stupid enough to go out today.
She had a little boy turtle beside her.
"Who's that?" I asked.
"This is my little cousin, Bill.
I'm turtle sitting him today." she replied." He likes
the rain, too."
"Are you spending the night tonight?"
I asked.
"Well, there's something I forgot
to tell you about that....he, he....um....Bill's spending the
night, too."
"WHAT?"
"His parents aren't home because
they are helping other turtles whose homes have been flooded,
so he has to stay here. "
"Oh. Well, that's all right....I
guess. Three teenagers and two adults can surely handle one little
turtle." I was wrong. Bill was harder to handle than we expected.
We played hide-and-seek and sardines and
other games all day. Bill wanted to play underwater tag, but the
creek was too high.
Later that evening we heard a knock at
the door. My dad answered it. It was the turtle in charge of F.
H. (Flooding Help). He'd asked my mom and dad if they would help
other turtles because the flooding was growing worse by the minute.
"Goodbye, children, be careful and
take care of Bill, " Mom said as she and Dad left with the
turtle from F. H.
"We will, " we called back.
"Lets play in the creek!" yelled
Bill.
"No, We're sorry, but its raining
and the creeks too high," we replied, not knowing that Bill's
nagging was not a good sign.
Pretty soon we went to bed. Bill sulked
because he couldn't go out.
Pretty soon it was morning. I got up early
and woke Alleah and Freddy. Alleah went to get Bill up.
"FRED! ! ! FREDDY! ! ! COME HERE
QUICK! BILL'S GONE!" Alleah screamed.
We both ran to where Alleah was standing.
Sure enough, the bed where Bill was sleeping was empty.
"He must have gone out to the creek!
What should we do?" Alleah sobbed. I tried to calm her down.
"We'll just have to go and look for
him," I said. "We'll start by looking the creek. "
We went to the creek. Bill could of gone
anywhere, so we split up. Freddy went one way, while Alleah and
I went the other.
Soon we we in the woods near the creek.
We looked around the creek and we saw....Bill! He was perched
on a log high above the water. He yelled down to us.
"Hey, Alleah and Fred, sorry I sneaked
out, but the view is so pretty to look at from this log,"
Bill said.
"Bill! How could worry us like tha-"
Alleah started to say. She was looking at the big crack in the
tree's trunk that was breaking apart under Bill's weight.
We both gazed up in horror at the tree
that was cracking in two.
"W-What's wrong?" Bill asked
because of the terrified expression on our faces.
"BILL! GET OFF THAT TREE! IT'S GOING
TO BREAK IN TWO! ! !"