George is helping The Man with the Yellow Hat dig in the country garden when he finds a pile of worms and wants to keep them. But The Man tells George about a similar experience with a turtle from back when George first learned how to dive in the lake. George remembers how Bill had first taught him how to dive in Lake Wanasinklake to locate a lost throwing disc. George finds a turtle trying to go into the lake and tries to remind it that it needs to hold its breath when it goes in. After it does not listen, George decides that is trying to clean itself, so he takes it home to give it a bath and decides to keep it as a pet. But it seems like whatever George does, he can't get the turtle out of its shell.