"THE MAN AND THE SNAIL"
by Chima Dickson
A Short Moral Story.
One day, a snail saw a man walking into the woods, then he began to scream for attention,
The man suddenly stopped and walked towards the snail, asking,
"What's the matter with you?"
The snail whistled,
"Get me out of my shell, please. I'm so uncomfortable inside it. Please, get me out!"
The man stood, wondering for a short moment, then asked,
"But why? Isn't that funny? Why do you want to come out of your protective shell?"
The snail snapped,
“I told you I feel very uneasy inside it! It's a heavy burden for me to carry all alone! I want freedom! Please, pull me out of this nasty shell!"
The man leaned forward, then whispered,
"You're not serious, are you?"
The snail hollered suddenly,
"Well, I am very serious! I want to be free like other creatures, such as: the slug, the worm, the squid, the octopus, the snake, etc. I wish to move around freely in my environment, but I feel so trapped inside my cursed shell! So will you help me get out of my shell?"
The man paused for a moment, then uttered silently,
"Listen, while you seek freedom, you should understand that your shell is a gift from God to you, a unique gift. It protects you from the harsh environment and even from predators. However, if you choose to come out of it, you will lose that precious gift forever and you will never be able to get back inside it."
Unable to keep the impatience out of his voice, the snail wailed,
"Oh, Mister... I don't care about that, with all due respect! I just need you to do what I told you. Get me out of my shell, please. Now, please!"
The snail persistently begged for a long time, until the man agreed to his request. He picked him up and gently pulled him out of his shell. Although, the process was a bit painful, the snail was happy to have finally gained freedom.
However, as the excited snail began to crawl away, a hungry bird suddenly flew down, struck it hard and swallowed it immediately. Upon seeing that, the man shook his head in pity and walked away.
How easy it is for us to take our blessings for granted. We find it easy to complain and be ungrateful for what we have. We have been blessed in so many areas, yet so often, we dwell on what we don't have and strive to be someone else. We compare ourselves to others, forgetting our innate ability that makes us unique or stands us out from others. We shouldn't be desperate, selfish and cruel to ourselves. The truth is, when we don't understand our worth and value our lives, we tend to lose something special. We need to cultivate a culture where we count our blessings more than we complain. If we sat still and started counting our blessings and naming them one by one, we would never have time to complain or try to be like someone else.
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Author: Chima_Dickson Official
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