The sewers of New York City were dark, damp, and smelled of rot, decay and mildew. Fifteen years ago, four ordinary small turtles were dropped down a storm drain and came into contact with a green ooze that caused a mysterious transformation. The tiny reptiles had become humanoid. They walked upright, formed opposable thumbs, and even gained the ability to speak. Similarly, a rat immigrant from Japan received the same fate. He particularly grew in intellect, and trained the turtles in the martial arts he had learned from his human master in Japan. There in dark sewers, the turtles trained for fifteen years. They trained to defend the world above from evils they knew could attack at any moment. Evils they knew would attack at any moment.

Eventually, the evil struck and the turtles battled long and hard to defeat it. After several years of fighting -- of defending the city, good conquered evil. All the while, the turtles concealed themselves in the city sewers. The citizens of the city were never the wiser. They kept their routines of everyday life, never knowing what had occured. The turtles were pleased with their triumph. They didn't need praise from anyone. Just the feeling of accomplishment provided enough satisfaction for the four turtles.

One day, the mayor of the city sent his surveyers to map the tunnels of the city's sewer system. The surveyers were in a union, and the mayor was content with their work. As the surveyers descended into the depths of the winding pipes and tunnels, a sense of terror fell about them. They had never known anything but the blue skies of the world above or the brightness of the glass skyscrapers of downtown. Beneath the streets felt like hell. There were vermin, garbage and human wastes floating in the bogs. The stench of carryon filled the dank air of the black tunnels.

As the surveyers went deeper into the darkness, their fear grew stronger. At last they had come to a bright light signaling an open drain pipe. The surveyers crawled through the tiny hole and surfaced in a large room lit with severaly flourescent lights. They figured they had come into a maintenance warehouse, and so they headed toward a door. As one of the surveyers reached for the handle, he noticed it had begun to move. He knew he had not touched it, and a fear of what may be on the other side arose within him. The handle turned, the hinges squeaked, and the door swung open. Standing on one side of the doorway were four petrified surveyers, staring straight ahead wide-eyed and gape-mouthed. On the other side of the doorway were four startled humanoid turtles. They were so surprised in fact, that they drew their weapons and assumed attack positions. The four surveyers came to their senses and immediately lost them again when they figured that these turtles must be demons -- messengers from hell meaning to take the four of their souls. Each of the surveyers shrieked in terror and ran as far and fast as they could. As the tunnels were surveyed, they had left markings to show where they had been. This allowed them to retrace their steps accurately, and soon the four surveyers were out onto the streets of the city.

One by one, the surveyers piled into a maintenance van and sped to city hall. Here, they found the mayor in his office. They explained with great exasperation the sight they had seen. Fearing for his immortal soul as well, the mayor called a press conference. He meant to alert the people of a potential danger in the city. It took but one hour to gather a team of people willing to go in and remove the menace from their fair city. They followed the surveyers maps, and soon arrived in the lair of the turtles who had once rescued the city. The turtles fought harsh and fiercely, but were greatly outnumbered. They were taken into custody and brought before the mayor himself. The mayor knew the no cell made by man could hold these demons. The turtles even claimed they were not demons, and tried as best they could to explain what had happened to cause their abnormal growth. The mayor even felt a little compassion for them. Soon, the surveyers were brought in to identify the creatures as those they had seen in the lair. They cried out in horror at the site of the turtles, and pleaded that they be put to death. Some felt they should be crushed or decapitated. And because the surveyers worked in a union, the mayor feared that an uprising could come from the workers' fear and outrage if he should dare let the demons go free. At last the head surveyer screamed, "Let them be thrown back into the hell they came from. Throw them into the sewers with all the other filth and disease of the city!"

When the turtles heard this, they all stared at each other. The leader of the turtles spoke up, "Sir, please there is no worse place to discard us than the sewers! It is dark, crawling with vermin, and oozing with decaying matter! No! Please do not send us to that hell!" The crowd was speechless. The surveyers knew first hand at how awful the sewers were, and vowed never to return. The citizens all agreed and chanted, "SEWER! SEWER! SEWER!" The mayor decided and sentenced the four demons to eternity in the sewers -- the bog that bore the wretchedness of the city. And so, the turtles were returned to their home, and lived contently for the rest of their lives.

Adapted from the ancient fable How the Turtle Saved His Own Life
retold by Michael E. Perez

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