Article January 1, 2001 Issue

One tiny snail

By Lyn Littlefield Hoopes,—USA

A little snail woke one night to stars. The tide had gone out, farther than it had ever gone before, and he saw, for the first time, stars. Winking, blinking stars, twinkling in the sky and shining on the sea.

All around him, snails lay with their round, brown backs to the sky. The little snail lay tummy-up, wondering at stars. Stars, stars, stars. So many stars. He began to count them.

"One, two, three...." How many stars were there? he wondered. "Four, five...."

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