The Snail and the Slugs
A fable about the burdens we envy in others
After the rain, four slugs gathered beneath a fern and watched a great snail make his way across the moss.
Upon his back he carried a magnificent shell, striped with rose, copper, and gold.
“What a wonderful thing,” sighed the pink slug. “He never has to search for shelter.”
“He carries his house wherever he goes,” said the green slug.
“And it is beautiful,” added the little golden one.
The blue slug gazed at the shell. “Imagine having everything you need upon your back.”
The snail heard them and stopped.
“You admire my shell?”
“Of course,” said the slugs. “Who would not?”
The snail smiled.
“Then walk with me.”
So they followed him through the wood.
When the path climbed over a root, the slugs slipped easily across it while the snail strained beneath his shell.
When they squeezed between two stones, the slugs passed without slowing. The snail had to turn sideways and search for another way.
And when a sudden shower began, the slugs hurried beneath a broad mushroom.
The snail simply drew himself into his shell.
For a while, nobody spoke.
At last the pink slug said, “Your burden became your shelter.”
“And your lack of one became your freedom,” replied the snail.
The green slug looked thoughtfully at the winding path ahead.
“So which of us has the better life?”
The snail began moving again.
“Perhaps,” he said, “that is the wrong question.”
And the five travellers continued through the wet forest together—one carrying his home, and four carrying nothing at all.
Moral
Do not envy another creature’s gift until you have also understood its weight.
