Diego the tortoise slowly stretched his wrinkly grey head out into the morning, and—
“Oh, Diego, Diego! You won’t believe it!” A little brown finch zoomed through the air, twittering, “My first Spring is here! I didn’t know it was spring — then I saw little green leaves, and my Mama told me that spring was here! Aren’t you excited?” Penny the finch hopped up and down.
“Well yes, my little friend. I’ve lived for many, many springs.” answered Diego slowly and steadily. “I’m a hundred and thirty years old.”
“Wow!” cried Penny, her head cocked to one side, trying to comprehend the magnitude of it all. “You must be very wise. Everybody says that you’re a hero!”
Penny chirped, “I want to be a hero, too! How do you do it?”
Diego sighed gently. “Lots of people call me a hero. But I’m very happy to say I’m only an ordinary Hood Island Galapagos tortoise.”
“You are?” said Penny.
“Of course. I weigh eighty kilograms, have wrinkly skin, and a lovely shell, if I do say so myself,—just like any other Galapagos tortoise.” Diego sighed sadly. “Back then, only fourteen of us remained. Humans had brought us close to extinction.”
“But there’re many of you now!”
Diego’s eyes twinkled, and began his story. “When I was about ten years old, I had my first boat ride. Some humans took me to a nice new home, with shallow pools, hidey holes and juicy cactus. Everyday, my human friend would play with me, and little humans fed me lettuce.”
“Didn’t you miss home? I would never leave Mama.” Penny hopped closer.
“Sometimes I would feel lonely. I didn’t stop thinking of home. I thought hard about what I could do to help. Maybe I could reproduce and protect the young.”
Diego munched on a cactus leaf, before continuing, “Until one day, when I was in my forties, I took another boat ride back. This time I was accompanied by many, many humans. I saw my old tortoise friends again.”
“Soon, I had hatchlings with other tortoises. Everytime I had a batch of eggs, I would whisper to them stories of surviving the dangers and foraging for food. Now, I have nine hundred children.”
“Amazing! Is that why you’re a hero?”
“I suppose I did save the Hood-Island Galapagos tortoise species from extinction.
But I didn’t do it to be a hero. I just did what was right.”
“I want to have nine hundred children, and SAVE THE WORLD!” Penny launched into a confident hero’s pose.
Diego laughed. “Heroes are just ordinary people who make things better. You don’t need to save the whole world from disaster to be a hero. You just have to give your best in whatever you do, like working hard, doing your part, or even brightening someone’s day with a smile.”
Diego paused and smiled. “In fact, you can be a hero too, Penny. One small step at a time.”
Penny echoed, “One small step at a time.”
Footnote:
*I chose to write my story about a finch and a Galápagos tortoise because these two animals have a mutually beneficial relationship in nature. Finches help keep Galápagos tortoises clean by eating dead skin and parasites from their shells and bodies.
** This is based on a true story of Diego the Tortoise, who is currently still alive and living in the Galápagos Islands.