Tornado

Pete says that the three of hearts story always reminds him of the turtle. The narrator says they’ve never heard that story and encourages Pete to tell it.

Pete recalls when his sister, Emma Lou, was watching a turtle that belonged to one of her classmates, Carey. The turtle was “about the size of a silver dollar” (22). Emma Lou was very meticulous about caring for it, making sure he had fresh water, and the rest of the family stayed away from it. One day, when Emma Lou puts the turtle on the porch to sunbathe, he disappears. She is distraught, shouting about someone having stolen Carey’s turtle. Emma suspects Pete and Sammy, though they swear they didn’t do it.

Pete looks over and sees a turtle foot sticking out of Tornado’s mouth. Sammy sees the same thing and tells Emma Lou where the turtle is. She tells the dog to drop it and that the turtle “better be all right or you’ll be sorry” (24). He doesn’t, but Pete says, “Drop it,” loudly in his father’s voice, and Tornado does. The turtle is unharmed. Tornado begins to run around the yard, and Pete runs with him, thinking that “sitting there for an hour with a turtle in his mouth and not knowing what to do with it must have been the worst thing that could happen to a dog” (26).