The Little Turtle – Vachel Lindsay

---

There was a little turtle.
He lived in a box.
He swam in a puddle.
He climbed on the rocks.

He snapped at a mosquito.
He snapped at a flea.
He snapped at a minnow.
And he snapped at me.

He caught the mosquito.
He caught the flea.
He caught the minnow.
But he didn’t catch me 

 

Q: Where did the little turtle live?
Ans: He lived in a box.

Q: Where did the turtle swim ?
Ans: He swam in a puddle.

Q: What did the turtle climb on ?
Ans: He climbed on the rocks.

Q: What did the turtle snap at ?
Ans: He snapped at a mosquito, a flea, a minnow, and me.

Q: Which creature did the turtle not catch ?
Ans: He didn’t catch me (the speaker).

Rhyming Words
Word	Rhyming Word
Box	Rocks
Flea	Me
Minnow	(near rhyme: window, although not exact)
Turtle	Hurdle (not in poem, but rhyming)

 

Opposite Words
Word	Opposite
Little	Big/Large
Caught	Missed
Climb	Fall
Swim	Sink
In	Out