By: Nathan Tse
In the big ocean, there was a turtle who had a dream of venturing off to look for humans hopping to amuse them. He knew that humans were interested in sea creatures, including turtles, because he had seen people on boats stopping by their home, and observing them. He had heard that a dolphin was taken hostage by humans, and an orca was sent by the big ocean to look for him. He found the dolphin had been put to work doing tricks in an aquarium. If the dolphin could amuse them, I can too, the turtle thought.
The problem was that he didn’t know how to amuse them but one day, a boat came with a baby on it. No, I’m serious, a man brought his baby to work and taught him English during his breaks! It’s laughing matter for us, but for the turtle, it was an opportunity to learn English. The turtle would hide close to the boat and listen as the man taught the baby. After that day, the man would bring his baby to work everyday teaching him how to speakand the turtle kept learning and learning. When the turtle went back to the ocean each night, other sea creatures cheered him on.
One day, however, the baby wasn’t there. The turtle overheard the man saying that his son could now speak and write. When the boat left, the turtle said good-bye to his friends, and followed the boat to the shore. When the boat reached the dock, someone found the turtle. They carried him in, and put him on a bed.
A woman with a clipboard set it down on the bed. The turtle grabbed the pen with his mouth and scribbled on a paper: “I understand English. Where am I?” The scientist gasped in shock before responding, “You’re on the coast of Monterey.” The turtle wrote: “Thank you. Could you carry me to the beach? I would like to write and play with the children. You can name me whatever you want.” The scientists named him Terry, and they introduced him to the children and their parents.
They had fun, and opened an exhibition on the other side of the island where you can now write with Terry! Terry achieved his goal to amuse humans, and he lived a happy life.