I woke up in the middle of the night thinking about my first pet. He was a small turtle I named Toddle after a character in a book I read. I was 6 years old and had just started 1st grade. One of the perks of being in a higher grade was Show and Tell. I so wanted Toddle to come. My mother relented. It was such a big day. My excitement was contagious. At recess I wanted to take Toddle out for some air. Miss Leslie said no he would be just fine where he was in his plastic container with the palm tree. Despite my strong instinct to forego recess and keep Toddle company my teacher made me go outside. When I returned Toddle was no longer under his palm tree. I assumed Miss Leslie knew where he was. She did not. She told me he must have escaped. I believed her. We looked everywhere. No turtle. I was crushed. My first pet Toddle the Turtle was gone forever. I was inconsolable. It was not until waking up tonight, 55 years later, that I realized the turtle could not have escaped. He could not have scaled the walls of his home. Miss Leslie had spared me from the awful truth that some child had stolen him. RIP Toddle the Turtle.
Posted on: Fri, 23 Jan 2015 09:05:08 +0000