Snail & Boy
Gal Kleinman
Copyright 2014 Gal Kleinman
Contents
Dedication
Prologue
Snail
Shell Sliding
Boy
No Hope
Know Hope
Freedom
Happiness
Passion and Peace
ABC's
The Apple Tree
Air
Girl
Music
Recruitment Center
The Bakery
Meet My Friends
Spring
The Oak Tree
The Human Spirit
Dreams
The Wall
The Awakening
About The Author
"There is one thing stronger than all the armies in the world, and that is an idea whose time has come."
--- Victor Hugo
Dedication
To Lulki, Nivi, and Sarit
and
to you, dear reader.
May you know and live in peace.
Prologue
I recommend reading this book slowly,
preferably while munching on a
luscious green leaf or fruit.
--- Snail
When I am kind to others and myself,
when I follow my heart,
it is then that my heart is peaceful.
--- Boy
Snail
Snail rested snugly in its shell. The sun warmed its house and slowly thawed out the night's winter chill. Snails can hibernate in their shells for long periods of time, especially when climate conditions are tough. But Snail was extremely curious and tended to stick its body out of its shell, while its other snail friends slept away, protecting themselves from the harsh conditions. Snail just couldn't resist filling its senses with the outside world, exploring and learning about its surroundings.
Maybe it's because Snail was no ordinary snail. You see, snails can't really see that well; mostly they see shades of light and dark. But Snail could see clearly and in color too. Snails can't hear, either. But Snail could hear and was fascinated by the sounds of nature and especially by human language. When put together with the fact that snails naturally have a great sense of smell and touch, all this made Snail very special indeed. I guess you could say that Snail was a kind of super snail with keen senses and insights.
"Insights?" you may ask yourself. "What do insights have to do with this creature?"
Well, Snail was a perpetual wonderer and wanderer. Snail liked learning, investigating and asking questions, especially about human nature. Human nature fascinated and perplexed Snail.
Interestingly, snails are hermaphrodites, which means they have both male and female reproductive organs, and they produce both eggs and sperms. So you, dear reader, are welcome to choose the gender of Snail in this story if you want to.
It was a bright lovely morning. The sky was clear blue, and the air as crisp and clear as Snail's thoughts. Snail slowly inhaled fresh cool air, looked at the sky, and slowly exhaled air up to the sky. But just as weather changes so did Snail's mood. In the distance, Snail heard thundering rocks exploding into fire and giant turtles rolling in its direction, spitting fire from their mouths. This calamity had been going on over the past few weeks. It greatly disturbed and bewildered Snail. Once in a while, Snail could see men with long black sticks that made noise and killed other men. The sky was full of giant birds dropping rocks that exploded in a blaze of fire, destroying land and inhabitants. These forms of destruction were referred to by young humans in the neighborhood as "bombs," "tanks," "guns," and "planes" as they staged mock fights.
"What a strange animal humans are," Snail thought to itself.
"I can't grasp why they kill each other. If they could just see that living peacefully is much more simple and fun."
Snails may be slow, but they are one of the oldest living creatures on the planet; they've been around for 500 million years! Snail's forefathers had witnessed how humans have been gradually destroying the world and oftentimes themselves.
"Humans believe they are the supreme crown of biological evolution," said a passing ant to Snail one day.
"Yes, I agree with that," said Snail. "And they are playing out that role of supreme beings in what they call modern civilization really well. But nature has laws of its own and because humans are part of nature, I hope they relearn to live with nature."
"Yes, I hope so too," said the passing ant, who then hurried off to join its mates.
At first Snail didn't understand human language and yearned to know it. So Snail had secretly attended school near the boys' orphanage. Every morning Snail would sneak up on the high window ledge, where no one could see it. Snail had attended grades 1 through 7 and could now understand what was being said in the classroom. Snail was proud, as it thought it did pretty well in school.
In geography class, Snail noticed something that perplexed it. Humans had maps with lines designating borders. These boundaries enclosed and defined what humans called countries. Wars were being fought on some of these borders. Some of them had high walls or fences that were meant to keep other humans out; some were meant to keep other humans in, and escape was punishable. Snail was saddened.
Snail thought about its own small world, where home was anywhere, because it carried it on its back. Snails are loners, but they often come into contact with each other on the feeding grounds, where they find plenty for all of them to share. They aren’t aggressive towards each other, and they tend to live their own existence without bothering each other.
Snail thought to itself about the wind - oblivious to human borders, blowing free. Humans, unlike the wind, aren’t really free, thought Snail.
Snail was 8 years old, an old age in snail terms. Snail was considered by other snails to be a wise elder. In fact, Snail was considered the only expert on the subject of humans amongst the snails in the area. Snail often shared knowledge on humans with other snails and found this teaching enjoyable.
Snail taught itself to write using snail slime as it slithered. The protective slime snails excrete allows them to move on any type of surface in any terrain without being injured. Imagine yourself being able to walk barefoot on glass or sharp rocks without hurting your feet!
Snail couldn't speak though. If it could, Snail would surely ask those pressing question that bothered it. Why do humans wage war and live in hatred? Why couldn't humans just live in peace? Snail dreamt of asking these questions and telling humans what it thought.
"What could there be if humans got their act together?" Snail asked the wind.
"Perhaps a better life; certainly a better world," Snail heard the wind answer.
Shell Sliding
"Try saying 'Shell Sliding' really fast ten times."
--- Snail
Snail was perfectly fine getting around with its slow, mosey pace but was intrigued by speed.
"I wonder what it would be like to fly through the air at screeching speeds like the birds," Snail thought to itself.
The first time Snail took a plunge from a foot-high leaf to the ground was a scary and painful experience. Snail curled up as tightly as it could in its shell, while still holding on to the leaf, and then slowly let go of its sticky hold on the leaf. The letting go part was hard, and it took Snail about an hour just to bring itself to let go of its hold on the leaf's edge and free-fall to the ground.
"Why am I doing this?" Snail asked itself a hundred times, and really couldn’t find a reasonable answer.
The moment Snail let go, against all reason, it slid off the leaf and started free-falling to the ground. Snail suddenly felt a rush of freedom. Its heart racing, weightless, Snail plunged to the ground and landed on a s
oft spot of leaves, exactly as planned. But then things went wrong, and it continued to roll, battering itself hard on a rock and finally stopping. Snail's shell cracked, and it could feel the pain pierce through its body. Snail felt dizzy, injured, and very vulnerable. With the last ounces of energy left in it, Snail slid under a few leaves for cover and lost consciousness.
Night passed. When Snail awoke, it suddenly remembered what had happened as pain shot up its body. It was painful to move, painful to breathe. But Snail had a smile on its face.
"I did it," Snail though to itself. "I actually did it."
Snail noticed the crack in its shell wasn't too bad, and with plenty of rest and a healthy diet, including munching on limestone with its rich source of calcium, Snail's shell eventually mended, leaving just a small scar.
Snail continued to experiment with different types of plants in what it called "Shell Sliding." Snail still feared failure and pain, but it knew that it could control fear by becoming friends with it and accepting it as part of its being. Snail turned each failure into a valuable lesson and each pain into wisdom.
Snail preferred broad-leaved plants, in which it could glide from leaf to leaf in a succession of free falls. Taking into consideration parameters like wind angles, height, speed, and the landing ground, which had to be soft with no hard objects around. In time, Snail became a master at Shell Sliding.
Other snails looked on with admiration, but they also thought that Snail was crazy. Snail would choose a slippery leaf, angle itself accordingly, make sure the ground was soft enough below, and let itself roll. Gravity took care of the rest as Snail tumbled down, screeching at high