Grandma's Original Stories 2007

Story to Scottie- May 3, 2007

Once there was a boy who wanted to be a superhero. He loved to think about flying and saving the world from the bad people. But he was just a boy and didn't have superpowers. So he just went to school and played with his friends and took care of his brother and sister.
When he was nearly eight years old, he was out riding his bike. He was going to cross the street to go to see his friend when he nearly ran over a turtle that was in the middle of the road! He stopped quickly and looked down. The turtle was moving its mouth! He picked it up and went back to his own lawn. He sat on the grass. Of course by this time the turtle had pulled its head into its shell. The boy was patient and just sat and watched until the turtle peeked out. When it saw that the boy was not going to hurt him, its head came all the way out and its mouth began to move again! The boy gently picked up the turtle and put its head by his ear to see if he could hear any sound. Sure enough, the turtle was talking!!! The boy tried to understand the language but it was turtleese and he couldn't figure it out.
He was about to go into his house when suddenly he could understand the language of the turtle! The turtle was thanking him for saving its life and said that he would grant him three wishes because he was a magic turtle. The boy was so surprised!!! He said he would have to think about that. The turtle said that he could have until the next day to think about it. And could he please have some water and a little food because he was so hungry and thirsty. So the boy took him to the backyard and put him in a nice cool place under the stairs and ran up to get a bowl with water in it. Then he wondered what turtles ate. He thought maybe it would like some nice lettuce so he took some from the fridge and ran back out under the stairs. The turtle had moved to a corner and called out, "Here I am"!
After the turtle had eaten, he told the boy that he would stay there overnight. The boy was to have three wishes ready by the morning.
Then the boy's mother called that it was time to come in for dinner and so he had to leave. Then he had to do homework and go to bed. He wondered if the turtle would keep its promise and still be there in the morning.
When he woke up the next day, he ran down the outside stairs and called to the turtle. The turtle answered and the boy ran over. The turtle wanted more food and water before they could talk about the wishes.
So he ran up and filled the bowl and got more lettuce and ran down. "I have decided what I would like to wish for", he said. My first wish is ---
but then his mother called that it was time to get ready for school!!! The turtle promised to wait until after school so the boy left him.
All day, he daydreamed about the turtle and even got in trouble at school because he wasn't paying attention. Finally, he got home and raced to the backyard. "I have my wishes!", he shouted. "All right", said the turtle. " What are they?"
"My first wish is that my brother wouldn't have coughing spells every night", he said. "My second one is that I could always be brave, even in the dark". "And my third one is that I could be a superhero!"
The turtle thought for a minute and then said, "You have made very good wishes and they will be granted".

The magic turtle that the boy had found had just told him that his wishes would be granted.
"Your first wish that your brother won't have such awful coughing spells will take a while to happen. He will have to grow a few more years and his lungs will develop and get stronger", said the turtle. "Oh, that is what happened to me", said the boy. "And the second wish that you can be brave all the time even at night will take a while too", said the magic turtle. "But each day will be better and by the time you are eight, you will be much better".
"Now about the third wish to be a superhero", the turtle said. "You already are my hero for saving me from the road and bringing me food and water. But I know that you want to be a real superhero. Do you want to be a Ninja Turtle? Or how about a Superspider or an Aquaman who lives in the water?" The boy thought about it for a while. "Could I be a boy superhero?", he asked. "I would like to be an ordinary looking boy who has secret powers and who can help people when they are in trouble".
"That is possible", said the turtle. "You can still live at home and go to school, but when you see someone in trouble, your heart will beat faster and you will feel yourself getting stronger. You will have thoughts come into your mind that will tell you what you need to do. You will be able to move very quickly - but not fly. If you flew, your secret would be out and people wouldn't leave you alone. They would want you to do all sorts of silly things like jumping off buildings. Your superpowers will be invisible but you will have them and be able to be very strong when you need the strength. You will be able to solve difficult problems very easily. You will be able to see things clearly and know what needs to be done. BUT if you every use these powers to hurt anyone or to show off, they will be taken away from you. You must use them to help people."
The turtle was gettig tired and wanted to pull its head in and take a nap. "So, do you understand how your powers will work?", he asked. The boys was very excited and said he did but wondered when he would start getting the powers. "You already have them! But now that you know about them, you will be able to respond to trouble very quickly. But you must keep learning new things like how to swim and first aid and all about animals. Everything you learn will help you and when you need the information, it will be easier to use. Your superpowers will get stronger as you grow. When you are a man, people will say, "That guy is a super man! He always seems to know just what to do and he is so strong!"
Then the turtle said that he needed to rest. The boy had to go in then too. "Will I see you after dinner?", he asked the turtle. "Well, I am tired and can rest here for the night. But tomorrow, could you take me to a place where there is a little pond? I used to live out in a field but they are building new houses there now and I had to leave. It took me so long to just get to the road where you saved me. I would like to find some more turtles. My whole family got separated."
The boy said that he would do that for the turtle. So the next morning, he got up really early and brought more food and water to the turtle and then put him in his lunch box. He took the turtle to school. He took the turtle over to the edge of the playground and let him out. There was a field there and a little stream. "How is this?", the boy asked. "This is perfect. And once in a while, I will come over by this rock to see you. It won't be every day because it takes me so long to get places. But if you come every day and just look, sometimes I will be here", the turtle said.
And so the boy said goodbye to the magic turtle and went into school. At recess, he ran over by the rock and thought he could see the turtle moving in the tall grass. He concentrated and squinted his eyes and he could actually see the turtle through the weeds and grass! "My superpowers are already working", he thought. He didn't want anyone to know so he pretended that he was just looking for a ball.
In school, he had a chance to use his superpowers again. He heard someone say something mean to a smaller child. He just looked very hard at the mean boy and started walking very fast towards him. The boy was surprised and ran away.
When they were outside playing in the afternoon, he saw the same mean boy push another boy. He glared at him again and started towards him. He felt his heart beating faster and faster. He could feel his strength and knew that he could have punched the bully. But he just kept walking towards him and suddenly the boy just started to run.
And so, he used his powers for many good deeds and helped people and animals. He grew up with many friends who didn't know that he had such strength. He was careful to use it for good. And people did say, "That guy is a super man!"