A wise turtle lived by the river in a rocky home, not far from a whirlpool. He lived quietly and spent his days sunning himself on a log in a shallow cove. A few blackberries here, some water hyacinths there, now and then, a minnow— he ate well and wished for nothing.

On occasion, animals from the forest came to ask his advice. “Shall I make my home in the tall pine or mighty oak?” the squirrel asked. The turtle adjusted himself on his sunny bank. “Which will be better when it snows?”

“The pine,” said the squirrel. “The pine needles provide more shelter for my nest.”

“Which gets more sun?” asked the turtle.

“In the summer, both are shaded and cool. In the winter, the oak, because its leaves are gone.”

“Might the sun warm your home in winter?”

The squirrel considered. “Yes, I think so.”

“Which has more food for your family?”

“The oak. I like pine cones, but acorns taste better.”

The turtle yawned. “I don’t know,” he said. “Which one do you prefer?”

“The oak is best, no doubt,” said the squirrel and he scurried off. The wise turtle smiled to himself and slid into the water.

One day, a young dog appeared at the edge of the water. When he saw the turtle, he ran to him. “You’re the wise turtle, aren’t you?”

The turtle opened his sleepy eyes. The sun was warm on his shell and the water lapped softly on the beach. Some days, he wished there were other wise turtles in the neighborhood, but there weren’t. “Yes,” he answered.

“I’m lost,” said the dog. “I don’t know how to get home.”

The turtle sighed. “Which direction is home?”

“I don’t know,” said the dog. “I’ve never been there.”

“Then why do you call it home?”

The dog explained that he had just been adopted from the SPCA. When his people stopped the car to give him a break, he jumped out to chase a rabbit and couldn’t find his way back to them.

“What did they name you?” the turtle asked.

The dog hung his head. “I don’t remember.”

“Did you hear them calling for you?”

“I heard a lot of noise, but I was scared, so I hid.”

“Oh my,” the turtle thought. “This is a tough one.” The turtle didn’t travel too far from the river, but he knew from the crows that roads and houses weren’t too far away. Even so, he didn’t know what questions to ask to help the dog find his people. Then the turtle had an idea. Maybe the people would find the dog.

The turtle knew if the dog kept moving around, his people would never find him. The dog should stay in one place and wait. “I need time to think,” said the turtle. “Stay by me.”

The dog walked to the water’s edge and drank, then splashed for a little while. He found a frog and jumped at it. He sniffed weeds and tree trunks. After a while, he wandered back to the turtle, stretched and fell asleep. 

The turtle heard footsteps coming near and slid into the water. A boy come out of the woods. “Dad!” he called. “Over here!”

The boy approached the sleeping dog slowly. “Don’t be scared, boy. It’s all right.” He grabbed his collar.

The dog woke up. His people! He licked the boy’s face. 

The turtle watched from the water as the boy and his father picked the dog up and carried him away.  

“Wise turtle! Wise turtle!” a blue jay cried from a tree.

— Valerie L. Egar lives in Cornish. Her poetry has appeared in Yankee Magazine, The Christian Science Monitor and other journals. During summer weekends, she operates Blue Barn Antiques in Cornish.