PERIDOT POWER・まねっこ

Why are all the turtles looking at the small turtle Peri, I wondered one morning when I came to the pond.

Peri was only as big as a grape, but ohhhhh I get it now. There is an even smaller baby turtle, maybe as big as half a peanut, next to him, staring up at him. Everyone is wondering what he is going to do.

"You all alone, sweetie?" Peri asks.

But the baby turtle thinks Peri looka like Superman to her, so she only giggles and tries to touch him.

Peri sees he needs to get this baby turtle back to her mother. "Where be Mama?" Peri asks, trying to look like mother turtle.

"Ooh!" more giggling.

"I can't even talk to her! Now what?" Peri plops down with a frown.

The baby turtle also plops down next to Peri, wearing a big frown. Peri sees this, then jumps up with, "Got it!"

Peri walks in circles, while the baby turtle follows him. He stops and lifts his hands. The baby turtle copies him.

"Good girl!" Peri laughs. "Now do as I do!" He plops into the water and so does the baby turtle. Peri swims to the nearest shore, and the little one follows him, where the grateful mother turtle waits.

After this day, I say maybe we can call this turtle Peridot.

But he says "Peri" is okay for a while.