The Turtle of Oman by Naomi Shihab Nye

the water just then. “Is that a Loggerhead? A Green? A Hawksbill?” Aref knew their names, but couldn’t always tell them apart.
    â€œI don’t think it’s an Olive Ridley. It’s too big,” said Sidi.
    If it were midnight during nesting season, there might be hundreds out there. If the babies were hatching, there would be countless tiny turtles scrambling around covered with sand. Aref knew that the Green Turtle would return to the exact same beach for egg-laying for decades. Turtles had invisible maps inside their shells.
    â€œI think there’s a better viewing spot up that little hilltop,” Sidi said. “Come on.”
    Aref kept staring at the sleeping turtles on the beach as they climbed. Turtles weren’t just cold-blooded reptiles. They were miracles.

Candle on Your Back

    W ere the sleeping turtles dreaming? Were they aware, through tiny reverberations in the earth, when cars, trucks and buses passed by on the roads? Aref had learned that turtles had intricate systems of tactile perception—they could feel the thudding of your feet on the ground, if you got close enough.
    â€œI wish I could be here when all the baby turtles crack out of the eggs,” Aref said. “That is what I wish most.” But it was summer right now and the eggs had already hatched. The babies were out there swimming around in the sea, going to Somalia, stopping for holidays on little islands.
    Older kids from his school had talked about seeing the eggs hatch. They carried bedrolls and tents and spent the night in a camping ground at Ras Al Junayz.
    Sidi had seen the baby turtles hatching long ago. “I know,” he said. “It’s one of the wonders of the world. I can’t believe how smart those little turtles are, the moment they are born. They know exactly where the water is, by smelling it. They must have imprints inside their cells—turtle directions. No one has to tell them. It pulls them right in. And it pulls all of them back and back to the same beach for years.”
    â€œThey are really smart.”
    â€œAnd think of all the things they have to avoid—crabs, birds, hungry foxes, people . . .”
    â€œTheir lives aren’t easy,” said Aref.
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    Turtle Life Is Not Always Easy
    1. People hunt turtles for their meat. Yucko.
    2. People hunt for turtle eggs in sand—this is all illegal!!
    3. People hunt turtles for their shells to make stupid things that could easily be made from plastic, like eyeglasses and combs.
    4. People hunt turtles for their oil. ?? I don’t really understand this one but I read about it.
    5. People hunt turtles even for their leathery skin but my mom said she would never carry a purse or a wallet made from turtle skin. Illegal, people!
    6. The first turtles lived more than 185 million years ago. They saw dinosaurs. They saw dinosaurs become extinct. Maybe this is why they look a little like dinosaurs—they remember them.
    7. Fossils of ancient turtles have been discovered in Oman.
    8. Some people say turtles allowed the whole earth to be born on their backs. They were here first. Anyone who does something mean to turtles is very, very bad.
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    Sidi was raising his head high like a turtle in the sun, pushing its neck far out from its shell. “Can you smell the water?” he asked.
    â€œYes. Can you?”
    â€œYes. We will come see the babies hatch someday,” Sidi said. “I promise you. You may camp with your school, but we will also come together and stay longer.”
    â€œWe will do everything,” said Aref. He spun around on his tiptoes. The sand on the turtle beach was covered with wide turtle tracks.
    Sidi pointed. “Look there, far up at the crest of the waves! When a wave rolls over, you can see big turtles inside it, paddling hard.”
    Aref looked and saw blurred, beautiful turtles, suspended in the moving water. It was a wet, blue-green world out there. The turtles