‘Napping Turtle

No less formidable creature would dare to be as ugly as a snapping turtle.

But I’m not going to point that out, not even to this little one, caught napping in Fontenelle Forest, Nebraska, last week.

There are certain traditional phrases that are obligatory whenever you talk about these strong turtles. They’re always “as big as a washtub,” and they can always “snap a broomstick clear in two.” There are some big ones out there, but somehow I suspect that the thick handles of household implements have little to fear even from them.