Sally ~ The Little Box Turtle

**GUEST BLOGGER**

 ~ Sarah Hendrickson  and Mommy~ 

Sarah ~ The first time we got the turtle from James and Ruth I was at school.  When mommy picked me up she told me there was a surprise at home for me.  When we got home I ran in the door for my surprise.  It was the little turtle.  Me and Phoebe wanted to hold him.  He was a cute turtle.  We took it outside.

He was roaring like a lion, but he didn't really make a sound.

He didn't get to crawl around a lot cause here's why, I kept picking him up a lot cause I liked him.

He was a good water drinker.  I kept on trying to play with him but he wouldn't play with me

Mommy ~ This Box Turtle was about the size of a dinner biscuit.  It was the smallest I have seen alive in my life.  And, Sarah is right it was pretty cute!  It was also the most active little Box Turtle I have ever seen.  It didn't seem to be scared of us at all.  It did not tuck into its shell many times.  Instead, it stayed out and crawled all around the box we put it in and in our backyard, (except for when Sarah or Phoebe wanted to pick it up and inspect it a little bit closer.)  Phoebe was certain this turtle was a girl from the get go, and named it Sally.  Sarah thought it probably was a boy.  If it was a boy we all thought a good name for it would have been Stickers.  (Sally and Stickers are names from the Disney movie "Cars".)  

This little Box Turtle went back and forth between our house and our next door neighbor's house about 4 times!  They would find it in their yard or their dogs would find it, "play" with it awhile and carry it inside the house, then the neighbors would bring it back over to us.  We would watch it and play with it for a few hours then let it go in our backyard.  Somehow it would make its way out of our backyard and right back into their backyard...with their 3 little dogs!  The last time she was brought back to us, we thought about keeping her until Spring.  After reading about Box Turtles and talking with a friend about Box Turtles Eric and I decided the best thing to do was to go ahead a let the little turtle go so that she could find a good spot to hibernate for the winter.

Sarah ~ The fourth time we got her i didn't like how her shell looked.

The shell was all beat up.  But she still looked cute.

She kept on trying to climb out, but I said, "no!no!no! little turtle!"

I liked to stare at her and watch her and love her, but best of all I liked to hold her 

When we gave her a tomato salad she wouldn't eat it.  She would just walk through her food and around her box. Then at dinner we gave her a gross earthworm. She didn't eat the gross worm either.  I couldn't eat my dinner either after we gave her that worm.  I thought my food tasted like a gross worm.

When we gave her a another salad of cabbage and grapes the next day she didn't eat it either.  The next day we gave her another kind of salad.  I thought it looked yummy.  It had watermelon pieces and banana pieces.

Mommy told me to go get some leaves so she could hide and lay in them.  When I went out I picked up a lot of wet leaves then put them in her box.

We visited Popee and Nanee and went to the zoo.  We saw big and small animals but best of all we saw big and small turtles in a pond.  We got to play at the zoo park.  We saw a big turtle that we could climb on.  I pretended to be turtle of the mountain, then mommy snapped the adorable picture of us.

We went to go let the turtle go so she can be free.  I was feeling sad but when we let her go I realized I was happy.  She didn't want to be cooped up in a diaper box or glass aquarium.  When we let her go we put her by a log.  From now on I'm happy for that turtle cause she's probably found some friends and family.  She probably loves them all.  I hope she remembers me and my family.  I love that turtle.

I hope the turtle likes her new forest home.