I opened my parents’ pool filter today and there was this turtle, just barely afloat, with two resourceful friends riding the crown of her back. In the chlorine around them, dead frogs and insects bobbed belly-up, not nearly so lucky.
I saved your ass!
My mom said this scenario would make a good children’s story, so here goes:
Once upon a time, there was a baby turtle who lived in a back yard in Virginia. One August day, her dumb ass crawled into a swimming pool. Then some other dumbass animals jumped into the water after her even though it was obviously a swimming pool made for human beings and not a pond or lake or whatever made for amphibians.
Eventually all the animals got sucked butt-first into the pool filter.
Crickets and frogs swelled, then drowned, when they grew tired of treading water in this fatal lagoon. But not the turtle. The turtle didn’t know that her cause was hopeless - that she might as well be trying to swim across the Pacific Ocean - so she kept paddling in the inescapable filter. An exhausted baby toad swam up to the turtle’s buoyed shell.
“Please, turtle,” said the toad, “may I climb on your back and rest my poopy legs?”
“Do I have a choice?” said the turtle.
“No, you definitely do not,” said the toad.
“Whatever,” sighed the turtle, and the toad hopped on her back. But the toad’s weight was not much of a burden, and eventually the two of them got to talking in a friendly way about gas prices and Obama and the lawn mower that routinely tried to decapitate them.
Then a little spider swam up to the turtle. “Do you mind administering my Last Rites and then killing me in a way so that I won’t suffer?”
“I have a better idea,” said the turtle. “Climb on my back.” The spider crawled up the turtle’s shell. She was high and dry. It was a miracle. With her hairy arms she made the sign of the cross on her cephalothorax.
The toad also wanted to be heroic. “Climb on my back,” she said to the spider. “I’ll save you.” Even though the spider had already been saved, she climbed on the toad’s back so the toad would feel useful. Then they bobbed up and down in the filter for several days chatting about the DNC and cannibalism.
Finally, a beautiful princess wearing a bikini opened the pool filter to check for cool dead stuff that she could ask her dad to dispose of later. “You guys, c’mere,” she said in her mellifluous voice. “You’ve got to see this shit.” Then a crowd of human faces was peering down at the miserable, bloated totem pole of turtle, toad, and spider.
“She must be an angel,” said the spider.
“Hold on - don’t take them out of the water yet,” said the angel. “Let me get my camera first.”
After a round of digital pictures, the creatures were released into the wilds of the back yard. Like three scoops of disgusting ice cream, they held formation as they rode. And they all lived happily ever after.
The turtle is currently writing a memoir that she hopes will be optioned by Pixar.
30/08/2008 at 10:23 pm Permalink
what a cheerful, comforting children’s story! good god, but seriously, that is an amazing photo and heartwarming as all hell. it hurts. my hot heart, that is.
31/08/2008 at 9:47 pm Permalink
I never realized you were so bitter. Is that an “Easton thing?”
01/09/2008 at 1:06 am Permalink
Darren’s account is sweeter.
01/09/2008 at 3:09 am Permalink
ouch. you are too funny. no, it really hurts. will you read that story to my children one day?
now to read darren’s…..
03/09/2008 at 9:15 pm Permalink
that is too cute. i love it.
04/09/2008 at 12:13 am Permalink
Hilarious story!
04/09/2008 at 4:30 pm Permalink
Thanks, guys. I’m so glad I didn’t mention that I crushed all three later with my car. They were so squishy!
Just kidding. . . They’re alive and well as far as I know.
04/09/2008 at 5:36 pm Permalink
Thought it was hilariusly funny,like that frogs cool wig LOL!!!
07/09/2008 at 9:03 pm Permalink
I had to come back and read it again. seriously, thank you for being born.
08/09/2008 at 6:26 pm Permalink
Great story, except that is a tortoise in the picture. Turtles can swim.
15/09/2008 at 10:18 pm Permalink
no, its a turtle…a tortoise would have drowned
17/09/2008 at 6:04 pm Permalink
My inner child is so happy right now. There was excitement, drama, power plays and brotherly love all rolled into one. Thanks Wist One!
16/10/2008 at 5:01 pm Permalink
20 Combinations of Animals Riding Other Animals. Thanks Dominic.
13/03/2009 at 2:27 pm Permalink
thank you for this story, it made my day
12/02/2010 at 7:04 pm Permalink
This is a very interesting story and I love the photo of the animals/arachnid. Too cute.
24/09/2010 at 10:51 am Permalink
That’s freakin’ hilarious. Great picture, too. =D