A Turtle Bedtime Story: The Bridge With a Middle

Read this original turtle bedtime story: Tessa builds a garden bridge and discovers that the crossing is also a pleasant place to stop. The complete story appears below, followed by a small personalization idea for your next reading together.

The Bridge With a Middle

Tessa the turtle wanted a bridge across the shallow channel in her garden. The lettuce grew on one side and the watering can lived on the other. Every morning she walked around the long way, passing the same stone twice.

She drew a straight bridge on a scrap of paper. Her neighbor Newt looked over her shoulder. "Very efficient," he said. "Where will we sit?"

"It is for crossing."

"Of course," said Newt. "But where will we sit while crossing?"

Tessa put down her pencil. Newt often stopped halfway through things to look at something else. It made walking with him rather slow. "We can sit on the bank."

They laid two sturdy boards across the narrow channel and secured them to the garden blocks. Tessa tested the crossing with her empty watering can. Four steps, a small turn and four steps back. Excellent.

Newt tried next. In the middle he stopped. Beneath him a leaf turned slowly in the current, caught against a pebble. "Look at that," he said.

Tessa waited with the watering can. Newt watched the leaf. A beetle arrived behind Tessa carrying a tiny rake. Soon the bridge had a queue longer than the crossing itself.

"Could you move?" Tessa asked.

Newt stepped off at once. "Sorry. The leaf was almost free."

Tessa crossed, filled her can and came back. At the middle she looked down. The leaf had folded around the pebble like a green hat. She stopped. Behind her, the beetle cleared his throat.

That evening Tessa took out the drawing again. She added a square beside the bridge's middle, supported on another garden block. The next day they built it together. Newt held the pieces steady while Tessa checked every fastening.

Now someone could stop on the little side platform while everyone else passed. Newt brought a cushion. The beetle leaned his rake against the rail. Tessa carried her watering can across, filled it, and set it down beside them.

The leaf had finally floated away. In its place a bubble moved around the pebble, catching a tiny piece of sky.

Tessa settled onto the cushion. The lettuce could wait for a moment. She had saved all that walking, and she knew exactly where to spend the extra time.

A detail your child can choose

Your child can choose what grows on either side of the little channel. Keep the bridge's middle wide enough for both visitors, since that change resolves the disagreement. If they want to act it out, use two strips of paper and a wider paper square on a flat surface. The pretend bridge needs no climbing or real water.

Day2Tale creates personalized, narrated stories.

Sources: Day2Tale support and product features