Moveable assets.(Short Story) From: Queen's Quarterly | Date: September 22, 2004| Author: Swart, Ginny | COPYRIGHT 2004 Queen's Quarterly. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan.  All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group.Copyright information

ONE NIGHT, when I was ten, my father came home from work carrying a tortoise under his arm. With difficulty. It was the biggest tortoise I'd ever seen.

He placed it on the kitchen table and the seven of us watched as it slowly pushed out its ancient head and surveyed its surroundings. Then, faster than we expected, it extended its legs and tried to walk away, slipping and scrabbling on the plastic surface. My sister Ansie leaned forward and stroked its shell. A stream of...