Slowpoke and Speedy
by Winona Rasheed
Speedy McAlester was a funny little character, dressed in a blue shirt and his favorite red pants with the black suspenders that held them up. His baseball cap with the initials S M sat on his head, right between his long, flippy, floppy ears.
Today was picture day. Speedy was looking clean and sharp as he looked at himself in the mirror. He was indeed a fine looking rabbit.
Speedy grabbed a carrot and headed out the front door, munching on his breakfast as he hopped up the street.
Chester Turtle was also coming down the sidewalk, moving slow as molasses; heading towards Animal Town’s elementary school, just a few blocks away.
"Hey there, Slowpoke," yelled Speedy. "You better get a move on, school will be over before you can even get there," he said with a laugh. "Is your shell too heavy for you to carry?" he teased.
"I’m not worried," replied Chester, in a low, deep, dragging voice. He spoke as if he didn’t have a care, or worry in the world.
"I’ll race you there," said Speedy with confidence, knowing that he would win with his fast hopping rabbit legs.
"No thanks," mumbled Chester. "I have other things to do this morning before going to school. Besides, I think you are in too big of a rush, pal."
"Ha, ha!" laughed Speedy, "you are just afraid to race me, because you know I will win."
"I’m not afraid," said Chester, "it’s just that…"
"It’s just what?" asked Speedy.
"Never mind," said Chester. "What will I get when I win this race?"
"You can wear my red cap," said Speedy with a broad smile, he knew Chester admired his hat.
"Well then, the race is on," said Chester.
"Yes, if you win, you can wear my cap when we have our pictures taken," said Speedy. "You know this is my favorite cap."
"And when you loose, you will have to wear my shell on your back, when we have our pictures taken," replied Chester.
Speedy gave a hardy laugh. "This is going to be an easy race to win," he said out loud. He watched as Chester headed across the street, moving slow as ever. He must know a short cut, thought Speedy. "I don’t need a short cut to beat Mr. Slowpoke."
Just then it started to rain. Big drops of water fell on top of Speedy’s head.
"Oh, no, my cap is going to get wet! I must go back home and get my umbrella," said Speedy. He took another look at Chester, who was almost across the street. "I can go back home, and still beat him," Speedy said as he raced back up the street toward his house.
Speedy hippity hopped up the steps to his front door. He stopped long enough to take another look at how far Chester was before entering his house. This time the turtle was turning the corner and going out of sight. Speedy watched him disappear on the other side of Miss Goosey’s dress shop.
Speedy raced into the house, and began pulling out things in the hall closet. He looked for his rain coat and umbrella. They were not there. He hopped upstairs to his bedroom, and began looking through his closet, but still, he couldn’t find what he was looking for. When he decided to look under his bed, it was there that he found his raincoat and umbrella, and a bunch of other things.
"This is what I get for not putting things away, where they belong," he said as he jetted out of his room and down the steps.
"Oh good, there you are," said his mother as she stopped him before he got to the front door. "You need to take the trash to the alley, before you go out."
"But Mom, I got to go," he insisted.
"Not before you empty the trash," his mother answered. "You know the rules, trash out everyday, before you go out to play," she reminded him.
Speedy pouted as he grabbed the small trash can and went out the back door to the alley.
"Now I am on my way, for picture day," he said. "And I bet I’m still going to beat old slow poke Chester."
Speedy, hippity hopped as fast as he could, all the way to Animal Town’s school. He couldn’t wait to see his friends and tell them about the race.
But, when he arrived at school he was in for a big surprise. He did not see any of his friends; Robert Squirrel, Billy Raccoon, not even Ralph Chipmunk. He looked at his watch, it was five minutes before eight 0 clock.
"Boy, I beat everybody to school this morning, I could have won Robert’s marbles, Billy’s baseball cards, and Ralph’s whistle," he said, as he tried to turn the handle to the door of the little school house. But, the door was locked. "Oh my goodness, even the teacher is late this morning," he said.
Speedy sat down on the front step, and waited in the rain, but he was not getting wet because he still had his umbrella.
Sometime had passed, and when Speedy looked at his watch again, it was eight thirty. He could not understand why no one was at school, no other animals and no teacher.
"Well, at least I won the race, "he said. "Slowpoke Chester isn’t here either; he barely makes it to school by eight-o-clock anyway."
Speedy continued to sit on the step of the empty school, until he got bored. He didn’t understand why no one was there on a Monday morning and on picture day too. Everyone loved posing for the camera. He got up to leave, and started hopping back home with a worried look on his face. Surprisingly, he ran into Chester again, going in the opposite direction of the school.
"Hey, Slowpoke, school is this way," said Speedy.
"I know what direction the school is in," replied Chester slowly. "If I was going to school today, I would be heading in that direction."
"Well, why aren’t you going? I just left there, and no one is there, I been at school since five minutes before eight."
Chester began to laugh with a slow, dragging deep chuckle.
"Ha, ha, ha, hee, hee, hee, since when do you go to school on a Sunday morning?" laughed Chester.
Speedy was flabbergasted, "I thought today was Monday, picture day."
"Oops!" said Chester, with a turtle kind of grin.
"I guess I didn’t win the race, since it’s not Monday," said Speedy with a sigh.
"You wouldn’t have won anyway," said Chester.
"I would to," said Speedy. "You never heard of a turtle out running a rabbit," Speedy argued.
"Well," said Chester, "the test will be tomorrow, see you on the front steps at eight-0-clock. Oh, and bring your red cap, I want to wear it when I get my picture taken."
"Fat chance," Speedy answered.
The two animals went their separate ways as the rain clouds slowly disappeared.
The next morning, Speedy woke up early, and got ready for picture day and the race to beat Chester. He was laughing out loud when he left his house, and didn’t see Chester no where in sight.
"He hasn’t even left his house yet," laughed Speedy. "He thinks he is going to beat me, silly turtle!" he said.
Speedy took his time hopping to school; he even stopped to pick some pretty purple flowers for his teacher.
"I’ll just be sitting on the steps when Slowpoke comes," he said with a laugh, but when he got to the school, the first animal he saw was Chester.
Speedy couldn’t believe it, and Chester sat there with a proud turtle grin on his face.
"I won!" said Chester with pride, "I was here first."
"How did you do it?" asked Speedy.
"I camped out on the playground. You see my friend; I can take my house where ever I go. So, I just moved closer to the school. It took me all night long to move here, but I did it. And now, it is eight-o-clock, so I won!"
Speedy handed his favorite red cap over to Chester. "I guess you will be taking your picture in this," said Speedy with sadness.
"Oh, don’t look so sad," said Chester. "You are the one that made this deal."
"I know," said Speedy. "A deal is a deal."
"Oops," said Chester as he placed Speedy’s red cap on his head. "I guess you just have a big head, because this hat is too big for me."
Speedy laughed at the sight of Chester in his too big hat.
"I guess it is too big for your head," said Speedy.
"I guess so," replied Chester.
"Well, instead of you taking a picture with my cap on, why not take a picture with me?" Speedy suggested with a happy grin.
Chester liked that idea, so that is exactly what they did, and if you ever get a chance to look in the Animal Town’s picture day book; you will be sure to see Slowpoke and Speedy smiling proudly on picture day.