But, you had best believe,
That I’ll drag something home with me;
From the largest creature,
To something like a small tree.

Today…to the lake…I was heading,
Surely I’d find something there;
Polly-wogs were all hatched-out,
They’d be swimming around…everywhere.

Maybe, if I waded…out deep,
Just maybe…I’d find something new;
So, off with the shoes and socks,
Roll up the jeans…that’s what I’ll do!

I brought a plastic jar,
And, perhaps…I can fill it;
With just what…I’m not sure,
But, hey…for me…there's no limit!

My Mom had stopped asking,
For me to leave ‘them’ in the lake;
She was thinking ahead…because,
Maybe a good zoologist…I would make!

What was this…something quite different,
And, it was swimming right towards me;
It was small…granted,
Still, unlike anything I did ever see.

It had a pointed head,
With a back that was pointed…too;
Even its tail had pointed ridges on it,
What it was…I hadn’t a clue!

So, I scooped it up…into my jar,
And, we shall see…what we shall see;
It was a tiny turtle,
Its big eyes looked straight at me!

Awww…it was so different,
Unlike the painted turtles in the stores;
This turtle…definitely the wild kind,
Unlike any I had seen before.

I ran home…all excited,
My ‘find’…I’d like to show;
Maybe I’d find its kind in a book,
Or maybe somebody would know.

Well, it wasn’t in any of my books,
So, maybe I had found something rare;
I hadn’t a picture to go by,
Nothing, with which to compare.

It was feeding time at my ‘zoo’,
So, I fed each pet…their meal;
Some had dog food…cat food…sardines,
Which they gobbled-up…with zeal!

My tiny turtle delighted in hamburg,
And, soon its plate was clean;
A hardy eater…this one,
The fastest eater…I had ever seen!

The next day…I named it “Tiny”,
And, it was beginning to feel at home;
But, a neighbor passed by and saw him,
Now, things were about to change.

“What you gonna do with the SNAPPER?”
I asked him…just what he meant;
“You’ve got yourself a SNAPPER!”
As on and on…he went!

“They grow mighty fast,
“Their jaws are awfully powerful”;
“One day he will be friendly”,
“The next day…he’ll bite off your finger!”

It seemed that “Tiny” would not stay tiny,
Neither would he become a pet;
Right now…he was okay,
But, someday soon…he’s be a threat.

Well, Mom wasn’t too happy to hear this,
And, neither was I;
So, what to do…was soon decided,
Back to the lake…and wave “Bye-bye”.

Some critters are better left in the wild,
In their natural habitat;
A lesson that I learned early,
And, so…enough of that!

********

June 26, 2004

Aimee Love
(LHG)