I'd promised the turtles at the Irrigation Ditch a story a long time ago. This is what I could come up with, using the characters of a turtle and baby red carp that used to swim there:
* * * * * * *
"Maybe I'm not the prettiest animal in the park, like the bright blue Kawasemi all the photographers want to get a picture of. And I don't have a rich voice heard clear across the pond, like Mr. Toad. And I'm not real smart, like the crows and ravens who can figure out everything about the skies, trees, grasses."
"But you'll still be glad to call me a friend."
The fish looked up at him. "Why?"
"Because I can save your life from herons."
Quasi the turtle knew the little carp was afraid of herons who loved to eat baby carp. But the herons thought of Quasi as a hero and did anything she asked. So if she said this red carp was her friend so please leave her alone, they would.
"What happened?" The fish wanted to know. "How come you're their hero?"
"It was an accident," Quasi began explaining. She had gotten used to telling this story. "I was digging for bugs and pulling at berries on a bush on a hill when I lost my balance and came falling down,
crashed into the face of a cat who was about to pounce on heron chicks that fell out of their nests. I was going to thank the cat for catching me, but it thought I attacked it and saw the muddied berries around my mouth as victims' bloodied meat so screamed and ran away. Herons came then and thot I protected their chicks, call me a hero and won't listen to any of my explanations."
Sheepishly, Quasi asked, "So, can I call you my little carp friend?"
"You can call me whatever you want," the first seemed to reply; "just let me stay by your side!"
