Lango, the snail

Pic Courtesy: Google Images

Lango was a little snail, with a lemon yellow shell with black bands which he carried on his back. Did you know this was his house? Whenever he wanted to sleep, he would curl into his shell and take a long cosy nap. And everytime he went someplace, he would carry his shell on his back. Maybe that's what slowed him down? Snails crawl from one place to another, very very slowly.

 Lango was a happy, go-lucky snail who lead a very carefree life. As is the way of life with snails, during the winters he would  just tuck himself up in his shell and go to sleep for many  days. His favorite season was Spring and he would love coming out on rainy days and in the nights.

Pic Courtesy: Google Images

Lango loved  school and hanging out with his friends.When he came back home his Mama would be waiting for him with a big hug and something nice to eat. It would be either a small piece of mushroom, or some green leaves, fruits or flowers she had picked and sometimes a piece of limestone or wooden bark to keep his shell strong. She would ask him about all the stuff he did at school. And in between mouthfuls of food, Lango would tell his Mama about his day.

Pic Courtesy: Google Images

After coming back from school and spending time with his Mama, Lango would  crawl straight to the sweet-pea bed in the big garden where they lived. He would make his way up the plant chomping on the leaves and the peas. Yes, he could surely eat a lot. He would climb right up to the topmost branch. From here he could see very well  all the happenings in the garden. This was his favorite spot.

 He loved to see the children of the house - 3 of them - playing together and having fun. They played catch-catch, sometimes rough and tumble football, had picnics and read books at times. He liked it best when they played hide-n-seek, also his favorite game. Sometimes, Coco the puppy, would join in. Their games would become quite noisy and then their Mama would often come out to see what was happening. At other times, Coco would bring out his rubber bone and play with it endlessly or sometimes try to catch his own tail. Shasha, the cat, was more dignified. She would sit very still like a statue almost and make a sudden leap on the birds sitting on the fence. Though, she never did manage to catch any whilst Lango was watching.

He would also see the Gardner, stomping about in his work shoes carrying a watering can, sometimes a spade, grumbling and muttering at the snails, amongst other things. He always blamed them for attacking his sweet pea plants. Lango made sure that he stayed away from him. After spending his time in the garden, Lango would crawl back home and curl into his shell next to Mama and sleep.

Pic Courtesy: Google Images

One day, after he returned from school, Mama called out to him in great excitement. She parted a few leaves behind a small nest made of leaves and twigs  and showed him eggs which looked like small glistening pearls. Well, in a few weeks you will have brothers and sisters to play with, she said. How many, asked Lango, jumping with joy. One of his friends at school had reported 10 babies being born at home. Well, really, I can't say, said Mama, we have to wait and see and keep praying.

Pic Courtesy: Google Images

Why do you think she said that? Because in Nature, sometimes eggs are swept away by the wind or the rain, sometimes other animals and birds eat up the eggs, sometimes they are trampled upon. Everyday, Lango would come back from school and rush to Mama. Wait, she would laugh. After about 3 weeks, Mama was not waiting for Lango when he got back. He rushed to the shelter and there she was, looking over 4 baby-snails, each with a tiny transparent shell.. Come here, Lango, she said, you have 3 brothers and 1 sister. Lango was in awe, they are so tiny, he said. His young siblings paid no attention, they were busy eating their egg shells.

Lango was very happy to tell his friends in school about his baby brothers and sister. He waited to come back home so that he could watch over the baby snails. A few weeks later, after the babies had become strong and their shells had turned yellow with dark bands just like Lango's, Mama decided that Lango should take over his brothers and sister to the garden and show them around. Lango very happily led them, marching in a single file to his favorite spot - the sweet pea bed. The little snails had a lot of fun looking at so much happening around them. They found everything fascinating - the spotted ladybug, the busy black ants, the playful children and the dog and the cat, and they loved the sweet peas too. This time, the Gardner muttered louder than ever about the naughty snails and so many of  them too.

Pic Courtesy: Google Images

Soon, it was time to get home and the little ones were eager to get back home, they had had a long day. They told Mama all that they saw with wonder in their eyes and settled down to sleep. Mama hugged Lango and said she was proud of him for taking good care of his brothers and sister. She gave him a goodnight kiss and settled him to sleep in his shell. This is a small peak into the life of  Lango, the little boy-snail.

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This is a story from my head - as Big G calls stories that I don't read out from a book :)