Amanda was
really excited. They had waited many days, but finally, that night, the
baby turtles would hatch out on the beach.
And her Daddy was going to take her to see them!
So, Amanda and her father got up when it
was still dark, took their torches, and carefully
made their way to the beach. Her father made her promise
to respect the baby turtles, not to make any noise,
and to do what he told her.
Well, Amanda was willing to do almost
anything if it meant that she could go and see the turtles hatch. She
didn't really know what it would be like, but her older brother had
told her that the turtles are born on the beach just a few meters
from the water's edge.
After hatching they quickly scuttle
towards the sea. All that sounded very exciting to her.
Crouching quietly, by
the dim light of only one of the torches, Amanda and
her Daddy waited. She looked all over, hoping to see Mother Turtle, and
she almost missed the appearance of the first baby
turtle.
It was so tiny!
It moved very clumsily,
like most babies; and without waiting for either its brothers or
sisters or mother, it started to scuttle towards the sea. Gradually,
more and more baby turtles appeared, and all ran towards the water.
Amanda and her Daddy stayed hidden and quiet, watching the wonderful
show of that crazy race to the sea.
But then something happened which, to
Amanda, seemed terrible. Some seagulls
and other birds arrived, and they started eating some of the little
turtles. She kept looking everywhere to see whether Daddy Turtle would
turn up to give those birds a good hiding. But he never came.
Amanda was watching all this with tears
in her eyes, and when the first group of baby turtles finally reached
the water and were safe from the birds, she gave out a little cry of
happiness.
Even with the birds eating quite a few
little turtles, in the end many more reached the sea, and Amanda was
very pleased that they had managed to do so.
On their way home, her father, who had
noticed the tears in Amanda's eyes, explained to her that turtles were
born that way. Mother Turtle lays many eggs, hides them in the sand,
and off she goes. When the baby turtles hatch out, they have to try to
reach the sea on their own. That's why so many are born, because lots
of them get eaten by other animals, and not only on the sand, also in
the water. He explained to her that the few turtles who manage to
become adults live for many, many years.
Amanda was really glad to have learned
so much about the turtles that night, but as they continued home all
she could think of was how happy she was to have a family; happy that
her parents and her brothers and sisters had helped her and cared for
her so much right from the day she was born.
THE END
Story courtesy of Bedtime Stories.
