The Great Turtle Race -- The Tale of Three Tortoises
The Great Turtle Race: The Tale of Three Tortoises
Once upon a time, there were three young turtles (or tortoises - take your pick), named Ploddie, Quaddie, and Cubie. These turtles were friends since they were midgets, and they all had unique disabilities that bonded them all together.
Ploddie was a rather obese turtle, and he lived to eat flies and watch the pond’s “News at 4”. He suffered from asthma and congestive heart failure, but he was in denial of his gluttony and deprivation of physical activity.
Quaddie was a very sweet and pretty turtle, and aspired to be a reporter for “News at 4”. She was pretty physically fit, but her one downfall was her curse of short-term memory loss. She frequently forgot things of relatively new importance, such as new names, homework assignments, and lastly, directions. Once she was on the right track, though, she would finish whatever she started.
Finally, there was an odd fellow named Cubie. He was genuinely one-of-a-kind. He was very supercilious, and thought he knew everything. Cubie always created competitions between his friends, and nine times out of ten he would be crowned victorious. This turtle could have been perfect, but there was just one problem: Cubie was a victim of ADHD and advanced Tourette’s syndrome.
So, it was no surprise when one warm summer day by the local algae pond, these turtles were frolicking and basking in the sun. Cubie proposed a competition. “It will be the Great Turtle Race,” he said. “Whoever wins, will be justly awarded with the Great and Glorious Blue Orb, from which I stole from the snow-colored prancing beast of the valley!” Ploddie and Quaddie gasped in awe, because the Blue Orb was very difficult to obtain. Although it was Quaddie stole it from the Prancing Beast, Cubie had persuaded her that it was he who conquered the beast and rightfully won the Orb. Thus, it was his to do what he wanted. Anyways, the other two turtles agreed to the race, but Ploddie was slightly perturbed when he realized it was an actual running race. All three of them had their eyes on the Blue Orb, but Cubie figured he would beat them all at the race, because he was the fastest out of all of the turtles in the local area. Little did he know that his two pals would put up a fight.
So the next day, the three turtles met and decided on where the race would. The group decided on a triathlon: one event was through the mud, the following event would be the dirt road, and finally, the last stretch would take place in the water. Also, since Ploddie put up a hissy fit about his incapability to run, Quaddie and Cubie decided it would be fundamental to let Ploddie skip the mud event, and allowed him to simply start the race at the dirt road. They got their bird friend Blueboy (a bluejay) to referee the race, and he decreed: “On your mark, get set, RACE!” Thus, the Great Turtle Race began.
Ploddie was delighted that he didn’t have to get dirty in the mud, and decided that since he was so far ahead to begin with, he would have no trouble defeating his friends, and decided to take a nice, consistent pace throughout the race. By keeping this linear pace, he felt that he could win the race no matter what. Quaddie, however, started off badly - as a matter of fact, she started off in the wrong direction! She actually forgot where she had to go! This was absolutely horrible for her, but eventually she figured out which direction she needed to go. And, as to be expected, Cubie started off very quickly, and quickly made his way through the mud and easily passed Ploddie at the snail-like pace.
Then, catastrophe hit Cubie. Something was happening to him, it was like a sensation that he couldn’t remember what he was doing, or where he was going. Then, out of nowhere, he started cursing profusely and screaming quite loudly. It was then that he remembered that he forgot to take his medication for his slew of disorders. He had to run back home, beyond the race, and take his medication. He recovered relatively quickly, but he knew that - somehow - he just had to win the race. He couldn’t lose his Blue Orb to someone as stupid and Quaddie or as slow as Ploddie. He just had to run fast.
Meanwhile, Quaddie was just beginning to head in the right direction, and her speed was picking up quickly. She left the mud a while ago, and was making it down the dirt stretch of road. She knew that she definitely stood a chance of winning, even though Ploddie was pretty far ahead, yet she also knew Cubie could put up a pretty decent fight, so long as he could win a competition.
About seven minutes into the race, Ploddie was starting to feel very anxious. He glanced behind him to see the progression of his friends. He found it odd that they were so far behind, but he knew he had to just keep going. He was approaching the last stretch - the swimming section, and he wasn’t very good at swimming. Quaddie was not far behind, either, and she entered the water a little bit after Ploddie. She was gaining on him so quickly, but neither Quaddie or Ploddie could have possibly imagined what Cubie had up his sleeve. Since Cubie’s abode was right on the pond, he just jumped right into the water to catch up with the rest of the race - he had to win at all costs. Since swimming was his absolute best event, so he accelerated to catch up with his friends at a remarkable pace.
Nine minutes into the race, things were coming to a close. Quaddie was swimming her absolute hardest ,and Ploddie was struggling to keep his consistent pace. They thought the race was going to be a duel between the two of them., but out of nowhere, Cubie swam up right next to them right after the ten-minute mark. Blueboy was having no trouble in keeping up with them, but he was flabbergasted with everyone’s progress. He waited for his reptilian affiliates at the finish line, where the margin of victory and defeat were immensely difficult to see with the naked eye. But, it was decided: after a neck-to-neck battle, Quaddie defeated Cubie by 1/100 of a minute. Ploddie put up a good fight as well, but he lost by a thin margin by his other two friends. Blueboy was utterly amazed - as were the other turtles with their agility during the race.
So, Quaddie was awarded the Great and Glorious Blue Orb, although at this point she didn’t remember for what. However, Cubie didn’t take advantage of her downfall, and he didn’t try to take the orb back. After all, it was hers to begin with. He just figured he would get her next time - particularly on a day when he remembered to take his medication. And as for Ploddie: he was just happy he was in time to watch the “News at 4”, complete with Fly Chips and his slop-plop couch.
The End.