The Worst Mama in the World - Part #1

One hundred turtle eggs, freshly laid in a big hole on a sandy beach, were thrilled to be out in the real world at last.

Sure they were inside their white shells for now, but they were eager to hatch.

Their Mama, a lovely green turtle, began to cover them with sand. “You’ll hatch in a few weeks,” she said. “If the weather is warm, you’ll be a girl. If the weather is cool, you’ll be a boy. If you’re a girl, you’ll return to this beach to lay your eggs when it is your time. Now I must say goodbye because it’s dangerous for me to be out here.”

“Goodbye?” Egg #45 asked. “Aren’t you going to sit on us? Keep us warm? Hatch us?”

“No.”

“Aren’t you going to take care of us once we come out?”

“No.”

“Why not?” Egg #45 said, horrified. "We are your eggs! Your kids! Your babies!"

“One more word and I won’t even cover your hole with sand!” Mama Turtle threatened. “Then you'll all crack and drip and turn into a sloppy, goopy mess! You'll dry into yellow flakes that birds will lick up and poop out! You want to be turtles or yellow dandruff?"

“This is terrible!” Egg #45 whispered to Egg #87. “She’s threatening us AND leaving us in a hole. Just our luck. Of all the mothers in the animal kingdom, we get a turtle. Uh, excuse me, Mama. If you are not going to stay with us, can you at least give us a few tips? Like, for instance, when we hatch, how do we get from this hole... to the ocean?”

“You will know when the time comes,” Mama Turtle said. "Just run in the right direction."

“But…” Egg #45 said, doubtfully. “What's the right direction?”

“You'll know when the time comes.”

“What if we head in the wrong direction?"

“Birds with big talons will pluck you off the sand and tear you to bits.”

“She's dreadful! Worse than I thought!” Egg #45 whispered to Egg #87. “A good contender for the worst mama in the world!"

“What do you know?” Egg #87 whispered back. “She's warning us. Not scaring us. Mama! I’ve a question. What if I’m a girl turtle? You said I must return to this beach to lay eggs when my time comes?”

“Yes.”

“What if I’m far from this beach?" Egg #87 asked. “Like VERY far? Like... on the other side of the world?”

“It doesn’t matter!” Mama Turtle said. “You must always return to the beach where you were born to lay your eggs.”

“You’re right,” Egg #87 whispered back to Egg #45. “She is no help at all. She scares me to death. Gives the worst answers ever."

Then something strange happened. The turtle eggs heard human voices. There were words the turtle eggs could barely understand. The eggs heard panting, wrestling, groaning. Sand flew in every direction. Humans gathered, all of them excited... about turtle soup.

“Mama?” Egg #87 said, when everything had become quiet. “Did you see that? What happened?”

But Mama Turtle didn't speak to them anymore.

"MAMA?" Egg #87 yelled. "DID YOU LEAVE WITHOUT SAYING GOODBYE?"

The turtle eggs shivered and knocked against each other, as the truth dawned on them.

“So… yes, she was a terrible mom,” Egg #45 said. “But she was our Mom... and now she's gone!"

“I don't want to be a girl turtle,” Egg #87 said, howling. “She came back to the beach to lay her eggs and before she could finish, the humans got her. Why, oh why did you have to ask her questions? I’m not coming back to this beach ever. I hate it. I HATE it."

“No matter how far we go,” Egg #45 said, sobbing. “We'll have to return to this horrible beach to lay our eggs.”

“Only if we are females, not otherwise!"

"I WANT TO BE A MALE!"

"ME TOO!" said Egg #11.

"ME TOO!" said Egg #34.

"ME TOO!" said Egg #59.

And so... all the eggs joined in. Naked, uncovered, the eggs loudly prayed. "MALES! MALES! WE WANNA BE MALES!"

But Mother Nature had an entirely different plan in mind.

TO BE CONTINUED.