A Snail Named Patient

Patient was a very small snail who was very, very fast.

She went from flower to rock to flower, so fast that all you could see was her pink shell zipping by.

Zip, zip, zip! went Patient.

“Slow down,” said her friends. “Come play snail princess with us!”

“I don’t want to be a snail princess,” said Patient. “I want to zip!"

“Slow down,” said two old snails Patient almost ran into. “You’re going too fast!”

“Sorry!” said Patient as she zipped past.

“Slow down,” her mother said. “You won’t see anything if you keep zipping around like that.”

“But I want to see everything!” said Patient, and she zipped to a flower that was pink, just like her.

One morning Patient decided she would go faster than she had ever gone before. Zip, zip, zip! Patient went so fast that she went farther than she had ever gone before. She was at the very edge of the garden. Everything was so beautiful. And so big!

Patient looked around. She felt very small and very lonely. But then she saw a little girl with brown hair and blue eyes, and a pink shell, just like Patient! The little girl was going very fast. Zip, zip, zip!

Patient wanted to play with the little girl, but the little girl was faster than Patient. Patient went as fast as she could, but she only made it to the next flower. Patient wasn’t the fastest any more—she was the slowest!

Patient was sad. The little girl would never play with someone as slow as Patient. Patient watched her zip around the garden. Sometimes the girl would run, and sometimes she used a pretty pink scooter.

“Maybe if I had a scooter the girl would play with me,” thought Patient. She started to move toward the scooter, but the girl’s mom put it away in the car.

“Maybe if I show her my pink shell,” thought Patient, but the little girl was getting hot, and took off her shell. Underneath was a pretty blue shirt.

“Now we’ll never be friends,” thought Patient.

But the little girl stopped running around. She sat down on a log, and her mom sat down next to her. Her mom was holding another little girl, a baby girl who was too small to zip around. “Oh Claire,” said the little girl to the baby, “you are so beautiful.” And the girl hugged Claire.

“That baby can’t zip around!” said Patient. “Maybe we can still be friends.” Patient waved her eyes at the little girl, hoping she would see her.



“Look, Mommy,” said the little girl, and she pointed to Patient. “She has a beautiful pink shell too!”

The little girl stooped down to look at Patient. “My name is Abby. Do you like to go fast too?”

“I do!” said Patient.

“We’re going to go really fast!” said Abby. “Hold on!”

Abby picked Patient up, and then Abby’s mom picked them both up. And they all went Zip! Zip! Zip! together.

. . . . .
Story by Sarah Jenkins