Shell Doubt

By Elizabeth Butler

 

 

Poor little tortoise who didn’t think she could do anything.

Lily the tortoise, was a confident little reptile at first,

She was hopeful, she was proud,

She never let anything get her down.

From her domed, smooth shell, up to her miniature nostrils.

If only she could travel into space one day,

The ultimate dream, not too big to imagine,

A brave adventure into the unknown.

Lily knew, deep inside her bones,

She would be the one, the one to dare,

The one that could make this a possibility.

One afternoon, basking for a while,

This wide-eyed tortoise met,

Large and fluffy with a set of deadly sharp teeth,

Bernard the old sheep dog, who came running.

“I’m going into space!” the tiny reptile exclaimed.

To which the large dog chuckled,

“A tortoise, in space!  I’ve never heard of anything so silly!”

“You’re too slow, you’re too clumsy! You’ll never make it up there!”

Poor Lily tortoise, she felt blue, she felt untrue.

Wandering around with her head pulled inside her shell.

Trotting away as far as her legs could carry her.

In the undergrowth she fell asleep,

Under the twinkle of the star gazed light.

The morning arrived,

And to Lily’s surprise, in front of her eyes,

A fellow reptile friend,

Though she had no shell upon her back,

Scales instead,

Teeth pointy sharp,

Enormous and smiling.

“What’s wrong little Lily?”

Asked the crocodile named Milly

Lily sighed in sadness,

Explaining she wanted to travel to the moon,

But hearing Bernard the dog chatter,

Made her feel unsure about her dreams.

“I’m slow and too clumsy, space is no place to be, for me.”

Milly shrugged and showed her toothy grin.

“My dear little tortoise, so small and true,

You are so much more than you think you are,

You could climb trees and mountains,

Fend off waves in the oceans,

You can do anything you set your mind to.”

“But a tortoise in space? Isn’t that absurd?” the shelled girl asked.

“Absolutely not!” the smiling crocodile cried.

“In fact, the first animals in space were tortoises you see.”

The tortoise couldn’t believe her ears,

Jumping up for joy,

When shown the pictures of years ago,

Two tortoises travelling to the moon!

Oh, little reptile,

It’s a delight to see you so happy!

One day you will reach the stars above,

Stepping upon the moon of dust,

Lily the tortoise was unafraid from that day on,

Believing in herself with everything she puts her mind to!

- Total nr. of readings: 466 Copyright © The author [2020] All Rights Reserved. This story may not be reproduced without the express written permission of the author except for personal use.