A Turtle Tale
A turtle stuck his head out
but when he saw the outside world
he tucked it right back in
for there was a man before him
wearing a big, wide grin.
He was drawing him!
He sat for an hour in his shell,
pondering, plotting, planning,
safe for the moment,
as if under a spell,
but then it started to smell.
A breeze beckoned
and nothing had happened
still that bearded man grinned,
waiting to welcome him.
“Go away, old man.”
“Come out, little one.”
“You’re scary to look at.”
“You’ve nothing to fear.”
“I’ll come out for a breath.”
“You’ll enjoy the fresh air.”
He stuck out his nose
then bulged out his eyes
to find the most unexpected surprise!
The man had drawn a most wondrous maze
of circles and rectangles.
Without knowing,
he gazed upside down at himself.
His shell.
His most beautiful, magical,
magnificent shell!
What an intricate creation!
What couture for him to wear!
He felt like a king
dressed in royal armor!
The sun shone.
A light current caught the scent
of coffee from the can he was sitting on.
The man smiled and
the turtle smiled back.
by Laura Richardson
Based on an original etching drawn from life circa 1998
when a turtle crossed the artist’s path.
“One day a turtle was wandering through our back yard in Virginia and I was intrigued with the patterns of its shell. I decided that I wanted to do a picture of it, and chose to do an etching. I took my turtle, who snapped at me, and placed him on top of a coffee can so his feet could touch no where. He hid inside his shell while I drew him and eventually was rewarded as slowly he peeked out at me for his portrait.”