THE HATCHING OF THE TURTLES 131 



chain. A hole in the edge of his shell fur- 

 nished a secure place to fasten the snap, and 

 for many a day the old turtle dreamed of his 

 mate in the little pond. Finally, tiring of his 

 pet, the Naturalist released the turtle on the 

 hill, instead of returning him to his home in 

 the pond. The pond was half a mile away, and 

 to get there it was necessary to pass several 

 woven wire fences, and to cross the river. The 

 fences presented many difficulties, for they 

 were built to turn small pigs which were not as 

 large as the old turtle. Just how many hours 

 of patient looking to find a way through were 

 necessary would be hard to tell. The young 

 Naturalist supposed that one pond would be as 

 good as another for a turtle, and like most 

 boys, gave little heed to the difficulties that lay 

 in the way of finding any water at all. How- 

 ever, when he visited the pond again some days 

 later, he was much surprised to find the old 

 turtle there again in his accustomed place. As 

 the Naturalist grew older, he came to under- 

 stand that wild creatures have many things in 

 common with us. Love of home, freedom, and 

 kindred is stronger in some than in others, but 

 all have feelings worthy of respect. As years 

 passed by and he learned more and more of 



