Riding Tortoises - A poem

Car-Hartley’s farm, in Rumeruiti- Kenya, was our home in the holidays in the 1950's.  There were two very large tortoises on the farm.  We loved to ride them, in fact, we tried riding everything we could, rhino, buffalo and even ostriches. Getting the tortoises going could be challenging, but once we got the knack we could enjoy a short ride. They were wiley critters and as soon as we were aboard they made a bee line for the fence knowing the wires would knock us off as they forced their way under it.

 

Here is a picture of my sister Roida, having a ride on a huge tortoise, while Ewan seems perhaps a little dejected that his pedal propelled jeep doesn't go so well.  You can see a huge Giraffe box in the background. 

Tortoise Toe-Jam

A tortoise, as every one knows,

Takes his home with him where ere he goes.
And he’s terribly strong and can take you along
But you have to watch out for your toes.

You are not going any where quickly
The view is not anything high,
You might find your ride is just hidden inside,
Its shell, but you give it a try.

A nudge with the toe of your sandal
To the back foot, just under the rim,
Should do the trick, but you have to be quick,
And not get pinched as legs are drawn in.

The thing about children and sandals,
Is they wear them until toes are bunched,
It’s with razor to go, that, you cut off the toe-cap,
So on tortoise rides toes might get crunched.



   

When our feet got too big for our shoes they cut the toecap off.