MAIL

One fine morning I received an invitation in the mail. The Snail Man usually passes me by but not today. I don't get letters that often so I was very curious to see who had written me. I ripped open the letter as if it were a Christmas present.

Dear Sheldon,

You are cordially invited to my Birthday party next Saturday afternoon at 3 pm. There will be food, balloons, and refreshments. I really look forward to celebrating my birthday with you.

Yours Truly,

Shelly

xoxo

Oh boy! Oh joy! What a wonderful thrill! The girl that I fancied had invited me to her birthday party. Next Saturday? I better get moving as I had so much to do. I wanted to get the perfect gift to let her know just how much I liked her.

After a long search I found the perfect gift. She's going to love it and maybe I'll finally get a kiss. While I was busy shopping for her present, I totally lost track of time. Next Saturday morning had arrived and I had a long trip ahead of me.

Ah, there is nothing I enjoy more than taking a stroll in the garden in the crisp morning air. I can hear the birds chirping and everything smells so fresh. But things are not always as calm as they seem.

There are quite a few creatures in the garden that would like to have me for breakfast so I had to be careful. I knew that if I did get into trouble I could always hide in my shell. I had fingers, they would be crossed that everything went well.

Yikes! Here comes a garter snake. I'm going to hide behind this rock so everybody be quiet okay? He's not that big compared to most snakes but I'm sure that I would make a tasty treat for him to eat. Is he gone yet?

It's dangerous being a little snail here in the garden. We're at the bottom of the food chain and it seems like every creature here wants to make us a snack. Well, off I go to the party. What was that? Who's behind me? A frog! Oh no!

Gotta get to the grass! I motored as quick as I could to escape the hungry frog. I curled up into my shell and rolled until I reached the lawn. I was going to have to take a longer route to the birthday party now and... Yikes! A giant foot! "Hey! Down here!"

"Oh, like, sorry snail dude. I almost totally squished you. Here you go, back into the garden" the kid said as he tossed me in the air. I appreciated not ending up on the bottom of his shoe but did he realize that snails can't fly?