A turtle lay on a large, flat rock next to the pond napping and basking in the sunshine of a warm June morning, his stomach pleasantly full of tasty tadpoles. This turtle was a half-grown pond slider. His friends called him Red Ears because of the small, bright red patches of skin on the side of his head about where a person's ears would be. Next to eating fat, juicy tadpoles, Red Ears liked nothing better than to lie in the sun on the large, flat rock next to the pond.
Rabbit, hopping along a trail near the water, spied Red Ears and decided to play a trick on his sleepy friend. He crept quietly up behind Red Ears and suddenly in a loud voice shouted, "Boo!" Red Ears awoke with a start, and in his fear and confusion, he fell off his rock into the cold water of the pond. Ordinarily, he wouldn't mind being in the water. He spent most of his time in the water. But he had been so enjoying soaking up the warm sunshine that falling into the cold water made him mad, just like you get when someone squirts you with cold water when you least expect it.
When Red Ears stuck his head out of the water and saw Rabbit laughing at him, he realized that his friend had played a mean trick on him, and he got even madder. He climbed out of the pond and began trying to catch Rabbit in order to pay him back.
But Rabbit just skipped easily away from Red Ears. "Can't catch me!" he teased. "Can't catch me!"
Red Ears grew more angry and tried even harder to catch him, but Rabbit stayed nimbly just out of reach.
"I could catch you if I wanted to," Red Ears panted.
"Sure you could. And I could swim the ocean if I wanted to," laughed Rabbit.
"Well, I could. You're just not worth the trouble."
"Get out of here," taunted Rabbit. "No turtle can catch me. I'm too fast."
Red Ears huffed and puffed just trying to catch his breath and he didn't answer.
"What's the matter? Frog got your tongue?"
"Go away and bother someone else," growled Red Ears.
"Ha! So you can't catch me after all," Rabbit laughed.
"Can."
"Can't."
"Can."
"Can't."
"Can. Can to!"
"All right. Let's have a race. I bet a whole pond full of tender tadpoles that I can beat you to that big oak tree over there on the hill," said Rabbit pointing.
Red Ears stuck his head far out of his shell to look over the grass. He could just barely see the tree that Rabbit pointed at.
"Hummph! Where are you going to get tadpoles?"
"You have to beat me first, slowpoke," Rabbit continued to tease.
Usually Red Ears was a level headed, good natured fellow. But by now he was so angry that he was willing to try anything to get Rabbit to quit bothering him. So without thinking too clearly, he agreed to the race.
"But we need a judge to make sure the race is run fairly," he insisted.
That suited Rabbit just fine, so he shouted out to a Crow sitting in a nearby tree. "Can you be a judge for a race between Red Ears and me?"
A race between a rabbit and a turtle struck Crow as rather amusing, which angered Red Ears still further, but he agreed to be the judge since he could both start them off and then fly to the big oak tree in time to see the finish of the race.
When Red Ears and Rabbit had lined up side by side on a line they had made in the dirt, Crow cawwed out, "One! Two! Three! Go!"
Off raced the two competitors, neck and neck for the first two or three millimeters. But Rabbit, of course, ran much faster than Red Ears, and he hopped straight to the big oak tree as fast as he could. He nearly beat Crow there. After Crow declared him the winner, Rabbit trotted back towards the pond to find Red Ears just a few feet from the starting line.
"What's the matter, Red Ears? Did you forget we were having a race?"
"Hummph!" growled the young turtle. "I'm just a little out of shape. Let's race again next Saturday after I practice some."
"Sure, if you really want to. I can beat you any day of the week, and twice on Saturdays, I don't care how much you practice. Next Saturday it is, eight o'clock in the morning. Now, I'd like to stay and chat some more, but I've got to dash off to a nice sweet clover patch I know of and get a bite to eat. See you, slowpoke."
Red Ears fumed at having been beaten so easily by Rabbit. So he spent the next week in training. He did exercises, he did sit ups and leg lifts, he jogged and ran wind sprints. When Saturday came, he was a leaner and meaner pond turtle.
Crow served as the judge of the race again. "One! Two! Three! Go!" he cawwed after Red Ears and Rabbit had taken their places at the starting line.
And off raced the two competitors, neck and neck for the first two or three millimeters. But once again, Rabbit raced ahead to the big oak tree, and after Crow declared him the winner, he trotted back to find Red Ears about five feet from the starting line.
"You are so slow!" Rabbit laughed at Red Ears.
"I just need to train harder," responded the turtle breathlessly. "And I don't think I got enough sleep last night either. Let's race again next Saturday, but let's start at noon instead of early in the morning."
Now noon was just the time that Rabbit like to be taking a nap. But he was so enjoying tormenting Red Ears that he agreed.
"All right, all right. I can beat you any day, any time." And then he raced off to find more sweet clover to munch on.
Once again, Red Ears spent the week exercising and jogging and running wind sprints until he knew he was much faster than before. Friday night he went to bed early and had a good, long, restful sleep. He awoke refreshed and full of energy.
"I'm going to win today. I'm going to win today," Red Ears kept repeating over and over to himself as he made his way to the place where the race would begin. "I'm going to win today."
By the time Red Ears arrived, Rabbit was grumpy and impatient. "Come on," he said crossly. "You're late and it's too hot today to stand around here. Hurry up!"
Red Ears did not reply. He just confidently took his place at the starting line while Rabbit continued to grumble.
"One! Two! Three! Go!" Crow cawwed.
This took Rabbit by surprise, since he was still complaining about the heat and about Red Ears being late. So Red Ears sped off toward the big oak tree, leaving Rabbit behind. But, after Rabbit recovered, he leaped quickly ahead, even chuckling out loud as he raced past Red Ears and out of sight.
Rabbit was still laughing to himself as he jumped over a small log about three quarters of the way to the big oak tree. "There's no need to be in such a hurry on such a hot day," he said, "especially with Red Ears so far behind. In fact, since I missed my usual midmorning meal, I believe I'll stop over here and eat some clover for awhile."
After he had eaten his fill of tender, sweet clover, Rabbit lay down in a cool shady spot to take a nap as he usually did this time of day and after every meal.
Meanwhile, Red Ears kept plodding along, one slow step after another. He couldn't understand why he hadn't heard Crow declare a winner of the race or why he hadn't seen Rabbit come back from the big oak tree to taunt him. But he kept saying to himself, "Anything can happen. I'm going to win today. I'm going to win today."
After what seemed like hours to Red Ears (and, in fact, was hours), he came to place where Rabbit lay sleeping. He smiled to himself as he went quietly past, and with renewed hope and energy, he continued to plod towards the big oak tree. At last he could see Crow on a low branch cawwing out encouragement. Red Ears was almost at the finish line now, just a few more yards to go. He felt like he was actually running. He looked over his shoulder. Rabbit was not in sight. He was going to win! He was actually going to beat Rabbit! He was going to . . .
Suddenly, a shadow crossed over Red Ears and he felt himself being lifted into the air. Then he found himself looking squarely into the face of an eight year old boy.
"I guess this one will have to do," mumbled the boy wearily. "I don't have time to hunt for another one. I wonder what he's doing so far from the pond. And I wonder what that crow's upset about."
The boy put Red Ears into a cardboard box and shut the lid.
Red Ears was frightened. He had been in the dark before. The bottom of the pond was pretty dark, especially at night, and that's where he spent a lot of his time. And when he buried himself under the mud, that was really dark! But he had never been picked up by a human before, and he had never been trapped in a cardboard box before, and he didn't have any idea what was going to happen to him. And so Red Ears was frightened. Terrified, even.
"What you got in the box, squirt?"
The Boy turned to face another boy a couple of years older.
"A turtle."
"Oh yeah? Let's see."
The Bully grabbed the box from the Boy and opened it. Red Ears blinked at the bright sunlight.
"Ha!" laughed the Bully. "You call this a turtle?" He tossed the box down on the ground and Red Ears landed with a hard thump. "That little turtle doesn't have a chance. I've got the world's fastest turtle right here." He held up a large turtle whose legs flapped wildly in the air. "This turtle's won this race the last two years, and he's gonna be even faster this year. No other turtle can even come close."
The Boy shrugged his shoulders as he picked up Red Ears. "Well, this is the only one I could find. Maybe next year . . ."
"Wait 'til next year. Wait 'til next year. That's what they all say. Well, you know what? Turtles can live for 50 years, and I'm gonna keep my turtle. And since he's the world's fastest turtle, he's just gonna keep on winning this turtle race forever."
A man approached the Boy. "You got a turtle for the race, kid? Here, write a number fourteen on his back with this red marker."
The Boy nodded and took Red Ears out of the cardboard box. Red Ears looked around at the crowd of people and the buildings and a lot of other things he didn't recognize. He heard all sorts of sounds that made him scared and nervous. Where was his pond? The big oak tree? Rabbit?
A loud voice boomed through a speaker. "All contestants for the Callaway County Kingdom Days Turtle Race line up over here in front of the grandstand. Quickly, now!"
Red Ears found himself with 15 other turtles, scratching and clawing at the pavement of the street. The Boy held tightly onto him like the other kids held their turtles.
"Hey, I'm glad I'm next to you, squirt," said the Bully as he swaggered up to the starting line next to the Boy. "That way, I can be sure there won't be another turtle in my turtle's way at the start. "
Before the Boy could reply, the voice from the loud speaker boomed again. "Everybody ready? OK, now. One! Two! Three! Go!"
All the kids let go of their turtles, and the Bully's turtle quickly outdistanced the others. Red Ears just stood at the starting line, blinking and trying to understand what was going on. He looked around, confused.
"I told you that was a sorry excuse for a racing turtle!" the Bully jeered. "Ho, boy. Look at my turtle go! You know, my turtle's so fast, I call him Harry."
The Boy stared blankly, not understanding, embarrassed that his turtle wasn't even moving.
"Get it, squirt? Harry. Hare--y. You know like the tortoise and the hare stuff. Hey, look at him move!"
Red Ears looked around at the other turtles moving down the street and slowly he began to follow them. One step, two steps, three steps, then into a jog, finally into a full gallop. He felt the wind rushing past his face as he clawed his way over the pavement. He seemed to understand that he was in a race, like with Rabbit, and he ran with all the speed he could muster.
A hush fell over the noisy crowd as Red Ears galloped down the street, passing first one turtle and then another. In the 100 year history of the Callaway County Turtle Races, no one had ever seen a turtle move with such speed and agility. Only Harry remained in front of him now, but Red Ears barely felt the pavement as his feet flashed back and forth. And even Harry was no match for this lean, mean pond turtle. They had only reached the halfway point in the race when Red Ears blasted past Harry and sped on towards the finish line.
Harry stopped short as Red Ears passed him. He had never seen the back side of a turtle this late in a race, and he didn't know what to make of it. He looked around in confusion while the Bully yelled and screamed at him to run. But he had no chance to catch Red Ears. The crowd broke into a cheer at the little turtle's incredible performance and the noise spurred Red Ears on to even greater speed.
After the race, the Boy put Red Ears back into the cardboard box. At the fair grandstand, he accepted a fifty dollar savings bond for winning the turtle race.
The Bully finally caught up with the Boy. "Hey, squirt, I'll buy that turtle from you for five dollars."
"No, thanks. I'm going to turn him loose back where I found him."
"What? Turn him loose? You got to be kidding. A turtle like that? I can't believe it. He's the fastest turtle in the world. He could be winning this race for the next fifty years. You can't just turn him loose. Let me buy him from you."
"No. He's a wild animal."
"He's not a wild animal. He's a dumb turtle. Ten dollars."
"No."
"OK, then. I'll just catch him myself after you turn him loose."
"Maybe. But I don't know if you're fast enough to catch this turtle."
That evening the Boy took the cardboard box out to the pond and opened the top. He took Red Ears out and set him gently on the ground next to the water. The Boy looked at the turtle for a moment. Red Ears looked back at the Boy, and the Boy thought that the turtle actually smiled at him before he eased into the cool water of the pond. Then the Boy turned and walked back toward his house.
The next morning, Red Ears lay on his favorite rock napping and soaking up some warm sunshine. Rabbit came hopping up.
"Red Ears!" he cried. "You're back. I was worried about you. Crow said you were captured by a human."
"Yes," said Red Ears slowly, "but he let me go yesterday evening."
"What happened? What's that red stuff on your back? What did he do to you?"
"Oh, I'll tell you all about it sometime when you have the time for a long story. Hey, how about finishing our race?"
"You want to race again? After what you've been through?"
"Sure, I'm all right. Anyway, I almost beat you last time and I'm feeling particularly fast today."
Rabbit shook his head. "Well, OK, if you really want to."
Red Ears nodded. "I'll start us off. One! Two! Three! Go!"
Red Ears and Rabbit started off neck and neck‹for the first two or three millimeters. But Rabbit quickly raced to the big oak tree and then jogged back to find Red Ears about five feet from the starting line.
"I don't know," he teased Red Ears. "I think you are just as slow as ever."
"Perhaps you are right, Rabbit," agreed Red Ears.
But this time he didn't get upset or angry. He just smiled to himself. For he had learned that no amount of training can make a rabbit out of a turtle.
But it can make an exceptionally fast turtle.