Ever since the powerful Thunder Bird caused the demise of his poor turtle friends, Turtle would always remain in the water during a thunderstorm. He didn't dare to leave when this weather event happened, for fear of encountering the Thunder Bird himself and meeting the fate of the late crowd of turtles. As soon as a thunderstorm would begin, Turtle would shuffle to the lake and there he would stay until it was over. Eventually, it became routine and Turtle became very used to it. It became as normal as eating.
One day while out on a beautiful, sunny morning, Turtle saw something nibbling at his usual eating spot. He shouted, "Hey! What are you doing there? That's my spot and that's my food!"
He noticed that the figure turned out to be a female Turtle. She turned to look at him and replied, "Well, I apologize. I am not from here and I was just looking for a place to rest and eat! If you want me to leave, then I will."
"Yes, I think that that would be best," said Turtle. After seeing and talking to her, Turtle began to develop some feelings. However, he was stubborn and pride got the best of him so he stood firm and stared at the girl, waiting for her to leave.
Suddenly, thunder roared overhead and the sky that was once stunning and shining turned dark and gloomy. Turtle looked up and with immediate fear he exclaimed, "Oh, no! Another thunderstorm. I have to hurry and get back to the lake!"
The Girl Turtle asked, "What's the rush? It's just a little thunderstorm. Why are you hurrying off so quickly?"
"I must-I must go, I have to get back before-," mumbled Turtle.
"Before what?!" the Girl Turtle inquired. Curious, she followed Turtle to the lake that was not too far off. Turtle liked to keep his eating spot close by to the lake in case of incidents like this one. Turtle and the Girl Turtle waited out the thunderstorm. Once it was clear, they both returned to land. When the Girl Turtle asked what that was all about, Turtle reluctantly told her everything that had happened involving the Thunder Bird and his new friends.
"That's awful!" the Girl Turtle cried. "Why, we shouldn't let that dumb, old bird get away with that. We should come up with a plan to get him back. What do you say? You can't let that bird control you and keep you in fear for the rest of your life!"
"I guess you're right," said Turtle. "Okay, let's do it."
For weeks Turtle and his new friend became very close while devising a plan to take down their common enemy. They spent hours planning, perfecting, and practicing. Soon enough, their plan was complete and ready to be executed. With the help of some other friends, they got set up on a particularly rainy day. Turtle and the Girl Turtle stood by a very large tree which had a net concealed at the top and a rope that led from the net to them. Squirrel sat at the top of the tree positioning the net just right. From across the way, Bear stood at the top of a cliff, hiding behind a large rock.
As soon as they heard the loud sound of flapping wings, the Girl Turtle yelled, "Hey, Thunderbird! Come fight me fair and square. If you're really so sure of your strength, fly down to my level and let's have at it!"
The Thunder Bird, always up for challenges, flew to the ground. With a menacing look on his face, he began to approach the tree where Girl Turtle stood firmly. Once he got close enough, Turtle released the rope, Squirrel stepped back, and the net felt over the Thunder Bird, trapping him. He struggled and screamed, furious at being tricked. Positioning himself just right, Bear pushed the rock from the cliff and it landed on one of Thunder Bird's wings. Thunder Bird screeched, managed to free himself from the net, and slowly took off. Turtle and the Girl Turtle thanked their friends for the help as they nodded and began to leave.
"So, should we return to the lake?" asked the Girl Turtle.
"No, I think I'd like to stay out here and enjoy the rain for a bit more, if you'd like to join me."
And so the Turtle and the Girl Turtle went off together and lived happily ever after as more than just friends.
Author's Note: The story that I retold this week is called
Turtle and Thunder which is an Ojibwa legend. In the original story, a turtle living in a lake continued to get hit by something and didn't know what it was. So, he eventually went out and asked around for help from other animals. He asked a Deer and Bear to show him how they can fight. They both seemed an unworthy fit for the turtle because of little incidents. So, he asked again for help and a crowd of turtles came out to show him how they could fight as well. The turtle saw them able enough to protect him but when he returned to the lake, a big stone fell on the small turtles and they were killed. For this reason, Turtle decided to stay in the lake whenever there is a thunderstorm because he found out the Thunder Bird was the cause. In my retelling, I wrote it as sort of a continuation of the original story. In my story, Turtle meets a Girl Turtle and although he doesn't seem to want much to do with her at the beginning, they end up falling for each other in the midst of planning a way to take down the Thunder Bird. I wanted to add a female character to give the main character a love interest but still also having a resolution to the problem and helping Turtle overcome his fear as well.
