Week 13 Story: The Scorpion and the Tortoise
Author's Note: I am retelling the story in my own words. I also added my own twist to the story by giving them names. I also added to the ending of the story.
Though very different, a scorpion and tortoise became fast friends. The scorpion's name was Shane and the tortoise's name was Tom. They made a pact to stay best friends and never leave each other's side. If one of them had to leave, the other followed.
The friends started on a journey and they came across a river. Shane could not swim, but Tom could. Shane was upset. He knew Tom could cross but he could not. Shane started to complain. Tom stopped him and told him that he could help Shane across the river. Shane was delighted. He was so grateful for his new friend. Without Tom, Shane would have never gotten across.
Tom told Shane to hop on his back and he would carry him across. Shane did as directed and hopped on Tom's back. Tom hopped in the water and began to drift across the river.
When they were about halfway across, Tom began to hear this noise. It was a buzzing noise. He asked Shane about the noise and Shane responded by saying he was trying to see if he could pierce his shell. Tom was furious. He yelled at Shane for being ungrateful. Knowing Shane could not swim, he took himself underwater and began to swim. Shane was unable to swim to the surface.
Tom went on the rest of the trip alone.
When Tom finally crossed the river, he found a tree. He nested under it and fell asleep. He awoke to a sudden shaking. The ground became to rumble. Earthquake. Tom did not know what to do. He saw the ground breaking apart and needed to get above the ground.
A bird named Jared saw Tom and decided to help. Jared had been circling around the river for a while and saw that Tom had drowned Shane. Jared had a plan.
Jared helped Tom and flew them to safety. When they reached the peak of the mountain, Jared pushed Tom off the mountain.
Source: http://www.gatewaytotheclassics.com/browse/display.php?author=dutton&book=tortoise&story=scorpion
I really liked that you created new names for the animals as it gives the reader more ability to create a relationship with the characters even though they are animals. I liked being able to see the different perspectives of each of the characters as well. The ending was pretty hysterical. I enjoyed the little twist you put on the end of it as Jared played Tom into thinking he was helping him only to Tom's demise, he was being avenged for his previous murder of his friend Shane. Justice was nice to see in the end and I enjoyed reading this piece.
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