The Tortoise and the Snail

Once upon a time, there was a tortoise and a snail. I know what you’re thinking. You think I have it wrong. You think that the story should say the tortoise and the hare. Well, it’s right, and you’re wrong. This is a story you have probably never heard before, so pay attention, okay?

Let’s try this again, shall we? Once upon a time, there was a tortoise and a snail. The two were arguing about who was faster. The tortoise was bragging that he was extremely fast. After all, he had just recently bested a rabbit in a small 5K run. No one, he argued, was as fast as him. Imagine his surprise when a small snail spoke up. “I’ll race you, Mr. Tortoise, and I’ll beat you,” stated the tiny snail.

Smiling at the chance to prove once again what a great racer he was, the tortoise agreed to race the snail. When the race began, the tortoise took the lead, leaving the snail only inches from the start line. The race looked as if it was over before it had even begun.

As the determined snail slowly inched its way forward, the crowd all left to follow the progress of the tortoise. A bird flying overhead spotted the snail all by itself, and it swooped down and grabbed up the snail for a tasty snack. The snail was held tightly in the claw of the bird. The bird flew across the sky. The snail could see through the cracks of the bird’s claws and knew just what it needed to do. Using its tiny antennae, the snail tickled the feet of the bird, causing the claws to lose their grip. The snail fell to the earth, protected by its hard shell. He landed right on the finish line, where he sat patiently waiting for the tortoise to come into view.

When the tortoise saw the snail already at the end of the race, he didn’t know what to say. He was that surprised. “Don’t worry,” the snail said to his new friend. “Slow and steady can still win the race, but luck and circumstance don’t hurt either.”