TOBY FINDS HIS WAY HOME

An unlikely friend provided comfort and help to this lost little turtle

Toby, the western painted turtle, felt as happy as sunshine. He sat quietly on his favourite sunning log with the smell of warm wood and warm water all around him. All of a sudden, Toby saw a boy on a paddleboard come straight towards him. “Yikes!” Toby said. He slid off his log with a plunk. Toby swam to the sandy bottom of White Lake and pulled his arms, legs and head inside his shell just like his momma taught him. A shadow darkened the water. Sand swirled all around Toby. The boy on the paddleboard reached down into the water and yanked Toby out of his hiding spot. When Toby stared into the eyes of the human, he was so surprised he squeezed out a squeaky little fart. Toby was even more surprised when the boy flipped him upside down and set him on his paddleboard. “Hi,” the boy said. “I’m Wyatt.” Toby didn’t say anything to the upside-down human. Instead, he thrashed his feet to flip himself over but the Wyatt turned Toby upside down again. “I don’t want you to swim away,” Wyatt said. “But don’t worry. We’re almost there.”

Almost where? Toby wondered. His momma told him to stay close to home. She’d worry when she didn’t see him near his favourite sunning log. A minute later, Wyatt flipped Toby right-side-up and plopped him on a dock. “You wait here,” said Wyatt. “I’m going to get Gramma.”

The boy dashed off. Toby peeked out of his shell. Noisy people splashed in the water close to the beach. Toby didn’t want to wait for Gramma, so he hurried to the edge of the platform and pushed off. Plunk. He sank into the water and paddled towards the reeds. When he was sure no one could see him, Toby searched for a log. With his front claws and webbed hind feet, he pulled himself up to the top of a big log and stretched his neck out to see where he was. “Hello,” someone said. Toby jerked his head inside his shell. A dragonfly peeked into Toby’s shell. “I didn’t mean to frighten you,” the dragonfly said. “I’m Debra. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Toby mumbled from inside his shell.

“What’s your name?” Debra asked as she peeked closer to see inside the turtle’s shell.

“Toby,” he whispered.

Debra landed next to Toby and licked leftover dinner off her flexible front legs. “What are you doing here?” Debra asked. “You don’t usually come to this end of the lake. You swam a very long way.” Toby peeked out of his shell. “I didn’t swim.”

“Well, I know you can’t fly and if you didn’t swim, we have a mystery,” said Debra.

“It’s not a mystery.” Toby shook his head. He told Debra how Wyatt caught him, paddled him across White Lake and put him on the dock. “He said he was going to get someone called Gramma.” Toby let out a big sigh. “So, I swam away. Fast.”

“Oh my,” Debra frowned. “Sometimes humans are inconsiderate.”

While Toby pondered his predicament, Debra’s wings whirred. She flew straight up, snatched a mosquito with her front legs and landed again. Before Debra stuffed the bug in her mouth she said, “I’m certain the human meant you no harm, Toby.”

“That may be so but now I’m lost.” Toby hung his head. “You can’t be lost. Turtles always know how to find their way home,” said Debra. “You have a homing instinct.”

“Well, mine must be broken.” Toby blinked fast to stop his tears. Debra tapped a front leg on her chin. “Tell me what your home looks like.”

“It’s got mud, water and my favourite sunning log,” Toby smiled. “And magic trees.”

“Magic trees?” Debra looked puzzled. “What do they look like?”

“They have black-and-white trunks,” Toby said. “And they have green leaves in the summer. Then the leaves turn yellow and orange and red.”

“Do they fall off before it snows?” Debra asked.

“Yes!” Toby nodded with excitement. “And when the snow melts, the green leaves grow back again. Like magic.”

“Those are poplar trees.” Debra flew and landed on Toby’s head. “Let’s see if we can find them.

They looked left and then right. “I can’t see them anywhere,” Toby said. “I have to keep looking.” Toby dove into the water. Plunk. He paddled through the reeds. Debra flew above him. The tip of Toby’s nose and eyes popped out of the water. He looked left and then right as he sniffed the air. Nothing. He swam some more, then popped his head back up again. He still couldn’t see or smell home. “If I don’t get home soon, Momma will be so worried,” Toby said. Even though he was getting tired, Toby dove into the water again and again. Debra flew above him. Toby surfaced once more. He blinked and stared at the shore. A tiny tingle tingled inside his shell like when he woke up from a happy dream. The tingle tingled louder. He dove into the water again. Toby swam fast. Debra flew faster to keep up. The next time Toby popped his head out of the water, he smiled a huge turtle smile. “I see my magic trees. And my favourite sunning log.” Toby shouted. “Hurray! I’m home.” Debra circled above and grinned. “My homing instinct works,” Toby said. He smiled another huge turtle smile, paddled to his favourite sunning log and called out, “Momma, I’m home.”

The next day, while Toby was sitting on his favourite sunning log, he spotted two humans floating on a paddleboard. “Yikes!” Toby stepped one foot closer to the water. He was about to dive in, when he heard the smaller human say, “Gramma, stop paddling. Look. There’s my turtle. He’s safe.”

“Do you think it’s the same turtle, Wyatt?” Gramma asked.

“I’m sure it is. This is exactly where I found him.” Wyatt smiled. “I’m so glad he’s home. I was afraid he got lost.”

“Can you take pictures from here?” Wyatt asked. “I don’t want to scare him again.”

“I sure can.” Gramma lifted her camera with the super long lens.

“I want to make a storybook about turtles,” Wyatt said. “Take lots of pictures, please.”

Toby stood as tall as he could. He stretched his neck up and turned his head, first to the left, then to the right. Click, click, click went Gramma’s camera. When Gramma was done, Wyatt waved to Toby and the humans paddled away.

The dragonfly flew after the humans. Debra dipped to the left and then to the right, just out of reach of Wyatt’s curious fingers. She flew right beside them, as if to accompany the small entourage across White Lake and far away from Toby. ■