Lucy the tortoise wanders away from home after following a bunny and gets lost. She meets many animals on her journey like frogs, praying mantises, prairie dogs, and a firehouse dog. Though scared at times, the animals help her. However, a woman throws Lucy into a lake. A turtle rescues her but she remains lost. Eventually, a farmer finds Lucy eating corn on his property and returns her safely home.

2. Lucy the Turtle Tortoise
My Big Adventure
(Based on a true story, as told by Lucy)
by Sheila Rockley, PhD
Cover and Book Design by: Taillefer Long
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any electronic or mechanical means in-
cluding photocopying, recording, or information storage and retrieval without permission in writing from the author.
www.LucytheTortoise.com
Email: Lucy@Lucythetortoise.com
Printed in U.S.A

3. Lucy the Turtle Tortoise
My Big Adventure
(Based on a true story, as told by Lucy)
by Sheila Rockley, PhD
Illustrated by Taillefer Long

4. DEDICATION
This book is dedicated to everyone that’s ever wanted to make
the world a better place. To everyone that cares deeply about
our planet and the animals that share it with us. And lastly to
Lucy, for being brought back home safely and for now being a
role model to our youth. Thank you!

6. Lucy the Tortoise
Well, hello there! My name is Lucy and I’m going to tell you a
story about how I wandered away from home and almost didn’t
make it back! Let me start by telling you that I’m a tortoise, not
a turtle. What’s the main difference between me and a turtle?
Swimming. Turtles are great swimmers and spend most of their
time in ponds, lakes, and other water habitats. But tortoises, like
me, can’t swim and like to stay in grassy areas far away from deep
water. So you can imagine how scared I was when I was thrown
in a lake!
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8. Lucy the Tortoise
But I’m going to back up and tell you the story from the begin-
ning, which starts with my family. Oh boy do I have great family! I
live with my human mom and dad, my brother Neptune the dog,
and my brother Rizzo, a funny-looking cat with no hair! We play
together all the time.
On the morning of my great adventure I woke up, shrugged off
my blankie, and stretch my short legs. Then I got ready for my
day with a big breakfast of grass, lettuce, and lots of vegetables.
Doesn’t that sound yummy? Well, you may not eat that every
morning, but I like it! Vegetables make me big and strong.
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10. Lucy the Tortoise
Did you know, I live in a house that looks just like a castle and has
lots of rooms where I play with my brothers? I love to pretend
I’m a princess and Neptune and Rizzo are my castle guards. And
it’s a great place to play my favorite game: hide-and-seek. Since
I’m so short, I’m great at hiding. I can crawl under all sorts of stuff
where my brothers can’t find me.
I also love to play outside in the backyard! There is grass I can
walk through, hills I can climb over, and big pine trees that I dig
holes under and hide inside so nobody can find me.
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12. Lucy the Tortoise
But most days, like the day of my adventure, I love to just lie in
the sun and feel its warmth on my shell. Oh, it feels so nice. I
could lie outside all day. On the day of my great adventure I was
laying in the sun when my frog buddies, Hopper and Lump came
over to talk to me.
“Hi, Hopper. Hi, Lump. What are you guys up to today?” I asked.
“We were swimming in the river, playing leapfrog. Hopper was
hopping over me and then I’d hop over him. And then he’d hop
over me and then I’d hop over him again. It was lots of fun!” said
Lump.
“That sounds like a great game. I wish I could swim in the river!
But I think my legs are too short for leapfrog,” I said. “What are
you guys going to do now?”
“We are going over to the pond to catch bugs,” said Lump.
“Well, have fun,” I told them. “I hop, I mean hope, to see you
both later.”
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14. Lucy the Tortoise
After they left, I spied some pretty flowers that had newly sprung
in the garden. So many colors! Purple, my favorite, and yellow
and red! And they smelled so nice, just like honey.
Suddenly, a strange looking bug appeared from behind the flower.
“Hey, get your nose out of the way,” said the bug.
“Oh excuse me,” I said. “Who are you? WHAT are you?”
“My name is Matilda. I’m a praying mantis” she said. “Be careful
with your nose, you could hurt me.”
“I am sorry. I didn’t want to hurt you. I was just getting a good
sniff of the flowers. My name is Lucy and I’m a tortoise,” I said.
“What is a praying mantis?”
“I’m a bug,” said Matilda. “I help to keep pests away so they don’t
bite you. And I can blend in to my surroundings, like this flower,
so that other creatures can’t see me.”
“Wow! I wish I could disguise myself. You must be great at hide-
and-seek!” I said.
Then, Matilda’s eyes got really big and she said, “I see a yummy
grasshopper,” and she buzzed away.
“Bye, Matilda!” I called after her.
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16. Lucy the Tortoise
After Matilda left I saw a bunny doing flips in the air. Boy was he
a good jumper! After a perfect flip, he looked at me and said, “Hi.
I’m Bunny.”
“Hi, Bunny, I’m Lucy and I’m a tortoise,” I said.
“You mean you’re a turtle,” said Bunny.
“Nope, I’m a tortoise, and I’m different from a turtle because tur-
tles like the water. Tortoises, like me, don’t like water, and we
can’t swim!” I explained. “So, Bunny, what are you doing?”
“Oh, I’m learning how to do running flips in the air. Can you do a
flip, Lucy?” Bunny asked.
“No,” I said. “I’m a tortoise, and I have really short legs. Plus, my
shell would get in the way.”
“Well, how about I do the running flips and you follow me?” asked
Bunny.
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18. Lucy the Tortoise
Now, Mom and Dad said that I should NEVER leave the backyard
without them. But, Bunny’s jumps and flips were so amazing and
I wanted to play more with him. So when he hopped over the
fence, I followed him. I grunted and pushed my way through the
fence behind him for what I THOUGHT would be just a little while.
Just on the other side of the fence, I met the bunny.
“Wow, it’s pretty neat out here, but it’s so big! Where should we
go Bunny?” I asked. But when I looked around I did not see Bun-
ny anywhere.
“Bunny, where did you go?” I asked. I looked this way and that
way. “Is that you hopping over there?”
“Lucy continues to look for Bunny but just can’t seem to find him…”
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20. Lucy the Tortoise
I walked forever and still saw no sign of Bunny. I didn’t know what
to do! It was getting pretty dark, and I was getting sleepy, so I de-
cided to sleep under a nearby tree and hoped Bunny would find
me.
Wow, was it dark! It was the first time I ever slept outside. There
were noises that sounded like monsters, and weird eyes shining
out of the dark from every direction. I thought they were coming
to get me, so I hid in my shell and did not come out until morning.
I sure wish I had my blankie to cover me up.
When the sun came up, there was still no sign of Bunny. And I
didn’t know how to get back home. So I walked over to a big stack
of hay in the field.
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22. Lucy the Tortoise
By the haystack, I saw a furry creature. I hoped it was Bunny, but
he turned out to be another fella. “Hi…I’m Lucy. Are you a nice
animal?” I asked.
“Oh yes, my name is Lil’ Squirt and I’m a prairie dog. We live out-
side in fields,” said Lil’ Squirt. “What kind of animal are you?”
“Oh, I’m a tortoise. I was following a bunny, but I lost him. Is this
your home?” “Yes, this is my home and my family is all around us
in the field,” said Lil’ Squirt. “I have over one hundred relatives
who live with me. I have brothers and sisters and cousins, and my
mom, dad, grandma, and grandpa too.”
“Wow!” I said. “You sure have a really big family.”
“Yes, I sure do, and we do everything together. We make dinner
and clean. We play hide-and-seek. And we love to play Protect
the Colony. Lucy, did you know we have our own secret language?
Yep, we sure do,” said Lil’ Squirt. “So when you see us standing on
our back legs and barking. We are all talking to each other.”
“Do you live nearby? I don’t see a house,” I said.
“Oh sure, Lucy. Our houses are underground, I’d show you, but
your shell wouldn’t fit,” said Lil’ Squirt.
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24. Lucy the Tortoise
“An underground house, how cool! You must be really good at
hide-and-seek if you can dig underground. I love hide and seek,
it’s one of my favorite games. Speaking of hide-and-seek, have
you seen a bunny?” I asked
“Sorry, I haven’t seen a bunny,” replied Lil’ Squirt.
“I don’t know where he went! Oh well, I should really walk home
now. I know my mom and dad must be very worried,” I said.
So I continued my journey and saw a big red building on the other
side of the haystack.
“Maybe there’s someone there who can help me,” I said.
I walked toward it and saw the field stop. A black road lay in be-
tween me and the red building. I had never crossed a road be-
fore, but I carefully looked both ways and stepped out onto the
hot, black surface.
“Lucy walks carefully across the road and makes it safely to the
building on the other side.”
“Hello? Is anyone here?” I asked.
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26. Lucy the Tortoise
“Hi, my name is Keno, and I’m the firehouse dog,” said Keno.
“Wow!” I said. “This is really neat. What’s a firehouse? Do you
live here?”
“Yes, I help the firefighters put out fires and this is where we keep
the fire trucks,” said Keno.
“Can I see the fire truck?” I asked.
Keno and I walked over to the fire truck. The stairs were tall, so he
gave me a boost up them. There were buttons all over the dash-
board, a siren, and even a very big water hose.
“See that water hose, Lucy? That’s for putting out fires,” Keno said.
“Sometimes people aren’t careful and they start a fire, which is
very dangerous. Then the fire truck comes and puts out the fire.”
Keno has such a cool place to live and I loved seeing the fire en-
gine. But I knew I needed to head home. I didn’t want to spend
another night outside.
“Keno, I really had a lot of fun seeing your fire truck! Thank you!”
I said and then left.
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28. Lucy the Tortoise
Remember the first time I crossed that road? Well, I had to cross
it again. It was so scary the first time. I just need to make sure I
look both ways and be very, very careful.
I looked left, I looked right, and then I looked left again. And in-
stead of a clear road I saw a car stop. Before I knew what was
happening, a lady got out of her car and picked me up!
“Please put me down. I don’t want to go in your car!” I told her,
but she seemed not to hear me. I didn’t know what to do. How
would I ever escape?
I was so scared as she drove me away from the firehouse, Lil’
Squirt’s field, and the fence around my backyard.
The lady eventually stopped her car and carried me through a
field to a lake.
“No! I don’t like the water,” I shouted. “I’m a tortoise and I can’t
swim!”
But she couldn’t hear me and threw me into the lake!
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30. Lucy the Tortoise
I hit the water with a huge SPLASH! “Help!” I yelled. “Please help me!”
Just as I went underwater, I felt something below me. I opened
my eyes and saw a nose and two big eyes. It was a turtle. A really
BIG turtle, almost as big as me.
“Mr. Turtle, please help me. I can’t swim,” I said.
“I can see that,” said Mr. Turtle. “You were sinking like a rock!
Here, just stay on my back and I’ll swim you over to shore.”
“Thank you, Mr. Turtle. You saved my life,” I said, happy to be
back on the land.
“No problem, little tortoise,” said Mr. Turtle. “Just remember to
stay on dry land and leave the swimming to us turtles.”
I promised him to be more careful and wandered up into the field.
I was glad I met so many nice, helpful animals on my journey.
As I shook the lake water off my shell I heard someone calling my
name. “LUCY… LUCY…. LUCY!” A voice called.
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32. Lucy the Tortoise
I followed the voice and saw a news cameraman!
“I’m right here!” I yelled. “I’m right here. Look this way! No …
Don’t walk that way! Please don’t walk away from me!
But he didn’t see me and he didn’t seem to hear me yelling ei-
ther. I felt so alone and so much farther from home. But I just
kept walking. Surely, I would meet someone who would help me.
Boy was my tummy growling at that point. No dinner, no break-
fast. I hadn’t eaten any vegetables in over a day!
By the lake I saw a big farm house and smelled something yum-
my. Right beside the farm house was a field of corn. CORN! I love
to eat corn.
I was gnawing on a fallen corncob, when a man came out of the
farm house. He spotted me and picked me up.
“Oh no! Please don’t put me in the lake!” I said. “Tortoises can’t
swim!”
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34. Lucy the Tortoise
“You must be Lucy the lost tortoise that everyone is looking for,”
said the man. “Here, let me take you inside my feed store.”
He took me inside what looked like a shop for animal food and
put me onto his checkout counter. He called the news and said, “I
think I found the Lucy who was on TV last night.”
Wow! I was on TV. I had no idea that a bunch of people were
looking for me. They put out a LUCY ALERT!
“Your mom and dad should be here real soon,” said the nice man.
“Don’t worry.”
I gave him my best tortoise smile. I was very excited to finally get
to see my family.”
“Mom! Dad!” I squealed when I saw them. “Lucy! I’m so glad we
found you,” said Mom as she picked me up and gave me kisses.
“Ok, that’s enough kisses mom,” I said. “Take me home! I’ve had
enough adventure to last for a long time!”
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36. Lucy the Tortoise
It’s so nice being back home. My adventure was fun and scary all
at the same time. I sure won’t follow that bunny again! And I’ll
never leave my yard again...at least not right away!
The End
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37. Visit Lucy at www.LucyTheTortoise.com to read more about her
real big adventure and follow Lucy the Tortoise on Facebook.