The Snail
and
the
Panther
By
John Kiley
There was once a chubby little
snail who lived in the forest. He was a jolly little
fellow and all the other animals liked him very much.
One day while he was out enjoying
his morning stroll round the oak tree, he heard the sound of pounding feet.
Before he even had time to turn around, the sleek black panther, who was the
most handsome, the most feared, and the swiftest
of all the forest animals, went flashing past. The panther saw the snail, came
back, and stood beside him with a wide grin.
“Well, well, well – it’s my old
friend the snail,” he said, twirling his whiskers with amusement. He looked at
the oak tree and his grin widened. “How long do you think it will take to get
right around that tree?” he taunted. “Three weeks?” He gave a huge laugh and
bounded off through the forest.
“Smart old panther,” thought the
snail. “I’ve never been rude to him. Why is he always rude to me?”
The next day the snail was
chatting to the frog, one of his best friends. The wise old frog said to him:
“Lots of animals aren’t very fast. Why don’t you show the panther that you’re
cleverer than he is? Then maybe he’ll stop boasting about his speed and good
looks.”
Some days later when the snail
was again having his daily walk round the oak tree, the panther came bounding
by once more. He exploded into fits of laughter. “Still haven’t got right around that tree? Never mind. You’re nearly
half-way there....” He broke off into even more helpless laughter. Then he sat
down beside the snail and said: “Don’t you wish you could run as fast as me?”
The snail didn’t answer. He sat
down and scratched his nose with one feeler. Then he looked up at the sleek
panther and said “You know, you really are the most
handsome animal I’ve ever seen.” (The panther bristled with pride.) “In fact,
you’re probably the best-looking animal in the whole world.” (The panther
bristled even more, and then examined his paws with embarrassment.)
The snail continued: “I’m so
proud to have you as my friend that I’m going to tell you my very best-kept
secret. Nobody else in the whole forest knows about it. Will you promise you
won’t tell anybody?”
The panther puffed out his shiny
black chest and said: “I promise.” The snail wriggled up closer. “Do you really promise?” “I really promise,” said the panther, crossing his heart.
The snail whispered: “If I wanted
to, I could have a race with any animal in the whole forest – and I’d win.”
The panther stared at him. He
knew it was impossible.
“Any other animal in the whole forest,” repeated he snail, with a
firm nod.
The panther thought over some of
the animals in the forest: the antelope, the hare, the deer..... then a thought struck him and a broad grin spread across his
face. “Any animal, that is, except me!”
he said, cuddling himself with his paws.
“Any animal,” said the snail,
“including you.”
The panther exploded into gales
of laughter. He rolled over and over, holding his sides. Tears poured down his
cheeks. The snail leaned back on his shell, crossing his legs, and waited for
the panther to return to his senses. Finally the panther sat up, wiped his
streaming eyes with his tail, and said: “I can’t wait to see it! I’ll race you
any time you like, snail. Any time, any distance, anywhere.”
The snail thought, and said: “I’m
not very big, so it’ll have to be just a little race. What
about five metres?”
“The little fool,” thought the
panther. “He’s never even seen me run my very fastest.”
“And if you win,” continued the
snail, “you can keep on being rude to me as often as you like.”
“And if you win,” said the panther, trying not to giggle, “I’ll never ever
be rude to you again.”
They parted, agreeing to meet the
next afternoon in the clearing in front of the forest ranger’s two-storeyed cottage.
“I’m having a five-metre race with
the snail tomorrow – and he says he’s
going to win,” chuckled the panther to the antelope.
“But don’t tell anyone because it’s a secret.”
“The panther’s having a
five-metre race with the snail tomorrow,” whispered the antelope to the red
deer. “But don’t tell anyone because it’s a secret.”
“The snail is going to beat the
panther in a race tomorrow but it’s a secret,” said the mole to the rabbit.
By the end of the day the secret
was shared by the whole forest.
Very early next morning the snail
set off for the ranger’s cottage. When he finally arrived there were dozens of
forest animals milling about but he wasn’t surprised to see them. He knew the
panther wouldn’t have kept the secret. He smiled quietly at them, and then
curled up by the wall to wait for his rival.
The panther arrived at the last
minute; saw the snail and bounded over to him. The snail pointed to the wall:
“This is where we run our race.” The wall is exactly five metres high. We start
at the bottom, and finish at the top.”
The panther gaped in
astonishment. There was a ripple of laughter from the other animals.
“Half a minute to go,” called the
frog, who was sitting nearby holding a green cabbage leaf and waiting to start
the race.
“Now, wait a minute,” protested
the panther. “This isn’t fair. I can’t......”
“You said ‘I’ll race you any
time, any distance, anywhere’,”
the snail reminded him gently. The panther remembered and was furious with himself for not seeing through the snail’s trick.
“Time,” called the frog, waving
his cabbage leaf. The race started. The snail began a steady glide up the
smooth concrete surface. The panther clawed at the wall, but to no avail – the
smooth surface offered no chance of a grip. He tried an enormous running jump;
he tried to clamber up the drain-pipe; he tried climbing a tree and swinging
over to the top of the wall – but everything failed and every time he ended up
on the ground in a clumsy heap.
After two hours the snail gleefully
reached the finishing line. The magpie waiting at the top of the wall waved her
black and white chequered wings. “Snail wins,” she announced. “Panther - failed
to finish.” The crowd of animals gathered below burst into an enormous cheer.
The panther, bruised battered and humiliated, crept back into the forest.
Some weeks later, the snail and
the frog were chatting. “You’ve done the forest a big favour’” said the frog.
“Everyone wanted the panther to stop boasting. You’re the only one who’s
managed to stop him.”
The snail felt a whole new sense
of pride in himself. “Perhaps that’s because no-one
else has been quite clever enough to get him to stop,” he said. He wrinkled his
brow. “In fact, if the panther’s the fastest
animal in the whole forest, perhaps I’m the cleverest
animal in the whole forest.”
“Perhaps you are,” said the frog.
The snail wriggled off, bursting with pride. The frog noticed it and called
after him: “But don’t boast about it, will you? Remember what happened to the
panther.”
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