Once upon a time, there was a small, clear pond in the middle of a small forest. Lots of the animals in the forest lived near the pond. One of the animals who lived by the pond was a little, green turtle who was very different from all the others.

He had a very special talent. He could talk. Because none of the other turtles could talk, the little turtle was lonely and very sad. All day, he would lay at the edge of the pond and watch the other turtles wishing he could talk to them.

One day, a little girl, who lived in a small town on the edge of the forest, went exploring and stumbled upon the pond where the lonely turtle lived.

The little girl loved the pond right away and decided to explore every inch of it. After exploring for a long while, the girl was tired and sat on a small stump to rest. Suddenly, she heard a small voice calling out, “Hello? Hellooo?” The girl looked around, but couldn’t see anyone anywhere. Still, she heard the voice quietly saying hello. 

Finally, the girl looked in the bushes near the stump  she was sitting on and saw a small, green turtle looking up at her.

“H-hello?” The little girl said. 

“Hello!” replied the turtle. “I’m very happy to meet you. I’ve never gotten to talk to anybody else before.”

The little girl was still very surprised but decided that she liked the turtle. 

“I didn’t know turtles could talk,” said the little girl with a smile. 

“Well, I’m the only turtle that can talk." said the turtle, "A long time age, I found a glowing, purple flower in the woods. It looked so pretty, I just couldn’t help eating it. As soon as I ate the flower, I was suddenly able to talk. Now, I don't have anyone to talk to. I am very lonely." 

“Oh! Well, what if I found another flower and fed it to a girl turtle so that you could have a friend? I could start looking right away!” said the girl. 

“Oh, thank you! Thank you!” the turtle said happily.

“I’ll go start looking for the flower and I will bring it to you tomorrow!” the girl decided. 

“Thank you! I will see you tomorrow!” the turtle replied. 

“Goodbye! See you tomorrow!” the little girl said as she walked away into the woods.

The little girl ran into the forest and started to look for a glowing, purple flower. Even though she looked for the rest of the day, she couldn’t find a single flower. The next day, she kept looking for the flower. She didn’t go to the pond because she was determined not to return until she had found the flower that the turtle needed.

The little girl looked for the flower every day for a whole week but she still couldn’t find one. The turtle, having not seen the little girl in over a week, was sadder than ever. The girl had been his last hope to have a friend and it seemed she wouldn’t be able to help him.

Finally on the tenth day of looking for a flower, the little girl was walking in a cool, dark part of the forest when she saw a bright, purplish light a little further in the woods.