The Snail Who Was Never Late
In a busy garden, everyone was always in a hurry. The ants rushed. The bees buzzed. The beetles scurried. “Faster! Faster! We’re late!” they all cried.
Everyone, that is, except a little snail named Sherman.
Sherman never hurried. He glided along at his own slow, gentle pace, his little house upon his back. Sliiiide… sliiiide.
“You’re too slow, Sherman!” the ants scolded as they zoomed past. “You’ll never get anywhere in time!”
But Sherman only smiled. Because going slowly, Sherman noticed things that everyone else raced right past.
He noticed the dewdrop on the rose petal, sparkling like a tiny diamond in the morning sun.
He noticed the ladybug’s shy little smile, and stopped to say a kind hello.
He noticed the way the afternoon light turned the whole garden warm and golden, and he paused just to enjoy it.
And when evening came, and all the busy creatures were worn out and grumpy from rushing about, Sherman was calm and content and full of wonder from his lovely, slow day.
“You know,” said a tired little ant, flopping down beside him, “maybe slow isn’t so bad after all.”
“Slow,” said Sherman gently, “means you never miss the good parts.”
And as the moon rose over the peaceful garden, Sherman tucked himself snug inside his little house, unhurried and happy, and slept the sweetest sleep of all.
The end. 🐌
Talk about it together
- What wonderful things did Sherman notice by going slowly?
- Is it always good to hurry?
- What is something small and lovely you could slow down to notice?