A Place for Mabel

Reading Comprehension for May 23

"Grandpa," asked Shane as he squinted his eyes, "what's that dark lump moving in the garden?"

Grandpa picked up the field glasses from the table next to his rocking chair. He lifted them to his face and focused the lenses. He smiled.

"That's Mabel. She's an eastern box turtle. Every couple of years or so, she comes out of the woods and makes a nest in the garden for her eggs."

"A nest?" asked Shane. "You mean a nest like a bird builds?"

Grandpa shook his head. "That would be a sight, wouldn't it? Box turtles like Mabel dig holes in the ground. I walked down to watch her do it one year."

"She didn't run away?" asked Shane, his eyes wide.

"Nope, turtles don't run anywhere. She was almost done digging the hole when I got there. They are really amazing animals. They dig the hole using their hind legs and never see what they are doing. Anyway, she laid about ten eggs that time. That's a lot for a box turtle. Then, she used her hind legs again to scrape in bits of old dead leaves and grass into the hole and then filled it up with dirt."

"Do you think we could go down and watch Mabel right now?" asked Shane.

"I think we could manage that," said Grandpa. "We have to be quiet, though, and not touch her."