The Little Turtle Poem

When kids get the chance to interact with animals, it serves far more purposes than simply awakening their senses. For a very long time, educators have embraced animals as a useful tool for enhancing and supporting children's learning, and many schools and childcare facilities include resident animals that offer priceless opportunities for kids—and adults, too! One such animal that kids will learn about through this poem is a turtle!

You can download The Little Turtle poem PDF and recite it with your kids. Let’s read ahead to learn more about this fascinating creature, turtles.

The Little Turtle Poem Lyrics

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.

- Vachel Lindsay

The Little Turtle 

The Theme of the Poem

The Little Turtle is a poem about a turtle with rhyming words that kids will surely enjoy reading.

The theme of the poem "The Little Turtle" by Vachel Lindsay is the idea of power and powerlessness. The poem describes the actions of a small turtle living in a limited environment, a box and a puddle, and its attempts to exert control over its surroundings by snapping at various creatures. The turtle can capture the mosquito, flea, and minnow, symbolizing its perceived power and control. However, when it snaps at the narrator (you), it cannot catch them, symbolizing the turtle's lack of true power and control over its environment. The poem also touches on the theme of the fleeting nature of power and how one's actions can be perceived as powerful or powerless.

About the Poet

In the US, the province of Illinois is where Vachel Lindsay was born. The town of his upbringing, Springfield, had a big impact on many of his early writings. Lindsay envisioned a career in poetry or painting.

His nomadic way of existence was reflected in the title of the 1912 collection of poems Rhymes to Also being Traded for Bread. His national fame was established by publishing "The Congo" and Other Poems in 1914. Lindsay's poems were motivated by his passion for music and theatre.

Lindsay maintained his success as a travelling poet throughout the 1920s but found it increasingly challenging to make ends meet due to his ill health and the 1929 financial crisis. 1931 saw his passing.

Vachel Lindsay

The Literary Meaning of the Poem

Your little child would quickly comprehend the traits of a turtle by reading  "A Little Turtle,” a short English poem in English about animals that perfectly communicates thoughts and feelings. The poem "The Little Turtle" by Vachel Lindsay is a simple yet powerful poem that uses imagery and repetition to convey its meaning. The poem describes the actions of a small turtle living in a limited environment, a box and a puddle, and its attempts to exert control over its surroundings by snapping at various creatures. The turtle can capture the mosquito, flea, and minnow, symbolising its perceived power and control over its environment.

The poem also has a deeper meaning that is not obvious from the surface; it reflects on the human condition and how we see ourselves. The turtle, living in a limited environment, symbolises how people can feel trapped in their own lives and how they try to exert control over the things around them. The turtle's attempts to catch the mosquito, flea and minnow represent how people try to exert control over small things in their lives, thinking they can gain some sort of power over their environment. However, when the turtle snaps at the narrator, it cannot catch them, symbolising the turtle's lack of true power and control over its environment, just as people have limited power over their own lives.

The poem also emphasises the fleeting nature of power and how one's actions can be perceived as powerful or powerless. The turtle's actions can be seen as powerful because it was able to catch the mosquito, flea and minnow, but in reality, it is powerless to change its circumstances, as it's living in a limited environment, just like how people think that they have power, but in reality, they are powerless to change the bigger picture.

Overall, the poem reflects on the human condition and how we see ourselves, try to exert control over our lives, and perceive power and powerlessness.

The Little Turtle Poem Summary

Short lines that describe the turtle's characteristics are used in this animal's poem description. The turtle introduces himself in the poem. The poem also describes how it moves slowly while dragging its shell behind it. Additionally, it informs the reader that if it gets sleepy, it simply rests inside that shell with its head, legs, and tail inside. This poem stresses the actions and general activities of the turtle in its natural habitat.