A Fable

There once was a small snail who tried to cross the road. The going was very difficult and, after a few inches decided that it was too dangerous and turned back. Now, on the other side of the road was a pond with water and food and everything that the snail could ever want or need. Still, the snail could not see any way to get across. Slowly, the snail wandered back to the mud puddle from which it came and waited there for the water to dry up. That would surely be the end of the snail.

Then, a duck came along and flew down to the mud puddle. It was a small duck and was interested only in what the mud puddle could offer in the way of a bath and maybe a quick drink.

At first the snail was offended. “What are you doing?” said the snail. “This is my home and this is all that is left to me. If you use this water there will be less for me and I will surely die.”

The duck looked puzzled. It had come for the water. It was only a small spit of water in all the water in the land. Why did this snail want to keep it all for itself? There was so much water after all. The duck replied, “Do not be so stingy. I will share this with you and you will still have water. If you do not let me have the water, I might just eat you!”

The snail was much, much smaller than the duck and knew that it could never win in such a struggle. But it thought and thought while the duck stood and waited to see what the snail might say. Finally an idea came to the small snail.

“I will let you have my water,” said the snail. “In fact, you may have all the water,” the snail continued, “if you will take me with you to the pond on the other side of the road.”

The duck thought about it for a minute and said, “Alright, if you crawl up into my beak I will take you to the pond.”

The snail did not like this idea. Once inside the duck’s beak, it could be easily eaten. “No,” replied the snail. “I will help you and ride on your feet.”

“How will you, a small snail, help me?” asked the duck.

“Your feet stay in the water all day,” said the snail. “And there is algae growing on your legs and feet. If you let me climb onto your legs, I will clean the algae from your legs and feet and then you can take me to the pond.”

The duck thought for a moment and then said, “Alright. Climb on and clean the algae. Then I will fly you to the pond.” The duck knew that once it got what it wanted, it could still decide not to fulfill the second part of the bargain.

So, the snail crawled slowly over to the duck’s feet, began cleaning the algae and proceeded to move up the duck’s legs until done.

“I changed my mind,” the duck said. But now it was too late. The snail had climbed up onto the back of the duck’s legs and with the suction in its foot held on tight. No amount of trying could get the snail loose.

And so, the duck stood on the side of the road, near the mud puddle and thought. If I wait, the snail will eventually dry up and die. Then I can go wherever I want. So the duck stood there for a day and a night and another day.

“Are you still there?” asked the duck because it could not see where the snail was and by now could not tell that the snail was holding on. It had gotten used to it.

“Yes,” replied the snail. “I’m still here.”

On the third day a fox came down the road, saw the duck and decided that it would make a good dinner. The fox chased after the duck and tried to catch it. Finally the duck ran fast enough and flew away. Knowing that the snail wanted to go to the pond, the duck flew instead to a tall stand of grass where it might hide from the fox. I’ll just wait here instead of by the side of the road.

Another day passed and then another. Finally, the duck could stand it no longer and had to go to the pond for food and water. So, it took off from the tall grass stand, making sure that there was no fox close by. Up into the air, then over the road to where the pond was. The duck decided to land close by but not in the pond, next to some other ducks.

“Come over here,” cried the duck. “Get this snail off me.” The other ducks came over and looked where the snail should be. But there was no snail. It was gone.

“Look at how clean those feet are!” exclaimed one of the other ducks. “Yes,” replied the other ducks for their feet still had algae on them from being in the water.

Then the duck thought about what it had done and how it had tried to trick the snail. It was sad that the snail was gone and that it must had fallen off after it dried up. Still, it had clean feet and was now very hungry and thirsty. Soon it had eaten and drank until it was satisfied. It was sad, but not as much.

Meanwhile, the snail was in another pond, happy to be alive and happy to be in water again. You see, when the duck was standing in the tall grass, it never noticed that there was a small stream in the middle of the grass. During one night, the snail released itself from the duck, fell on the ground (its shell protected it) and then crawled away while the duck was sleeping.

THE END

So what is the moral of the story?

Are you like the snail – too small to make your own way and resorting to clever tactics to find your way; or, are you like the duck – able to eat those creatures lesser than you but realizing that there is benefit to the small too? Too often we choose one over the other, acting like the duck. Other times we try to see what “game” we can play to advance ourselves from a bad situation.

Or, maybe you are simply like the fox, looking for an easy meal.

The moral is: that regardless of how we try to get things done on our own, whether it is through direct appeal or by subterfuge, it is only in cooperation that the best effects can be realized for all parties involved. Christ said that we are to love one another. And, that what we do to the least of these, we do to Him. Rather than "duck" the issue, we need to evaluate our motives, plan our steps, and let God lead us. After all, the snail didn't end up where it planned, did it?