F. It doesn’t seem to be as strong, though, and the first turtle is putting an increasing amount of distance between them.

G. The baby turtle seems to be taking a break from his attempts to free himself from the nest.

H. We hurry back to the nest, where a few other beachwalkers have been drawn in as well.

J. I can tell her mind is on my little brother, Charlie.

A. He is consumed by his thoughts about the first turtle’s destiny.

B. He doesn’t have the patience to observe such a long process.

C. He is concerned that his mother has started worrying again.

D. He doesn’t want to ruin the experience for the little girl.

F. The young must make their own path in life.

G. Home is wherever a person feels accepted.

H. People have a responsibility to protect nature.

J. Strangers can bond while sharing an experience.

A. While on vacation the narrator and his mother come across a nest of hatching sea turtles. The narrator listens as a woman explains to her young daughter that the small turtles will travel far across the ocean. A small crowd watches the turtles make their way across the sand. The narrator tries to continue watching the first turtle after the waves pull it out to sea, but the creature is soon hidden from view.

B. The narrator is on a family vacation in Florida. While on an evening walk along the beach, the narrator and his mother have the opportunity to watch baby sea turtles hatch and struggle toward the ocean. The turtles remind the mother of her younger son, who is traveling alone to Los Angeles. The narrator hopes that the first newly hatched sea turtle will overcome the odds and survive in the ocean.

C. The narrator and his mother decide to walk on the beach at sunset, but it soon becomes dark. They meet a little girl and her mother, who explains that a nest of sea turtles has unexpectedly begun to hatch. The woman asks whether the narrator and his mother have a cell phone so that she can call her husband, but they do not. The narrator and his mother leave, but they return when the little girl yells that a turtle is out of the nest.

D. A little girl tells people walking on the beach that some baby turtles are hatching. The narrator and his mother join the girl and her mother in watching the turtles, which are hatching about 10 days earlier than expected. The girl asks her mother where the first turtle is going and learns that it must swim to the Sargasso Sea. The narrator admires the small turtles’ determination to cross the sand and reach the water.

F. people are leading the turtle to the ocean

G. the crowd wants the turtle to succeed

H. the narrator feels like part of the crowd

J. the narrator wishes more people could see the event