Three Turtles


Three turtles, Joe, Gerry, and Ray, decided to go on a picnic. Joe
packed the picnic basket with cookies, bottled sodas and 
sandwiches.  The trouble is, the picnic site was ten miles away, 
so the turtles took ten whole days to get there.
     
By the time they arrived everyone was exhausted.  Joe began to 
unpack.  He took out the sodas and said, "Alright, Gerry, gimme 
the bottle opener."

"I didn't bring the bottle opener," Gerry said.  "I thought you 
packed it."

Joe looked worried.  He turned to Ray.  "Ray, do you have the 
bottle opener?"

Of course, Ray didn't have it either.  So the turtles were stuck 
ten miles away from home and unable to drink their sodas.  Joe 
and Gerry begged Ray to turn back home and retrieve it, but Ray
flatly refused, saying that he knew they'd eat everything by the 
time he got back.  

After about two hours, the other turtles managed to convince Ray 
to go, each swearing an oath on their great-grand turtles' graves
that they won't touch the food.  So, Ray set off down the road, 
slowly, but steadily.
     
Twenty days pass, but no Ray.  

Joe and Gerry were getting hungry and puzzled, but a promise was
a promise.  

Another day passed and still no sign of Ray. 

BUT a promis IS a promise so they did not eat anything.
     
After three more days passed without Ray's return, Gerry started
getting really restless.  "I NEED FOOD!" he cried, with just a 
hint of dementia in his voice.

"NO!" Joe retorted.  "We promised Ray and we're going to keep our
promises."
     
FIVE more days passed.  

By now Joe came to think that Ray had probably skipped out to the
diner down the road.  So the two turtles weakly lifted the lid of
the picnic basket, took out a sandwich apiece, and opened their 
mouths to eat.

At that instant, Ray popped out from behind a neaby rock, and 
said, "I KNEW IT!  I'm not f**king going!"