A little snail felt tired from carrying his shell all day. He asked his mother,“Mom, why do we have to carry our shells?”
His mother told him,“Because we don't have any bones in our body. We can only crawl . The hard shell not only helps us move faster but also protects us.”
The little snail was still puzzled, “Caterpillars don't have bones either. They can't even crawl. But they don't need to carry heavy shells.”
The mother smiled and said,“Caterpillars turn into butterflies when they grow up. The sky will protect them.”
“How about earthworms ? They don't have bones, they don't crawl fast and they don't turn into butterflies. And they don't have to carry heavy shells.”
The mother told him,“Earthworms live underground and the land protects them.”
The little snail started to cry,“How poor we are!”The mother snail comforted him ,“That's why we have shells! We don't rely on the sky. We don't rely on the land. We rely on ourselves.”
-snail ［sneɪl ］ n. 蜗牛
-bone ［bəʊn ］ n. 骨，骨骼
-crawl ［krɔ:l ］ vi. 爬行，蠕动
-puzzled ［'pʌzld ］ adj. 困惑的；迷惑不解的
-caterpillar ［'kætəpɪlə(r) ］ n. 毛虫
-earthworm ［'ɜ:θwɜ:m ］ n. 蚯蚓
-underground ［'ʌndəgraʊnd ］ adv. 在地下
-comfort ［'kʌmfət ］ vt. 安慰
turn into 变成，改变为
rely on 依靠，依赖
1. A little snail felt tired from carrying his shell all day.
一只小蜗牛整天背着壳，觉得很累。
The girl is feeling tired from doing her homework all day.
这个女孩做了一整天的作业，感觉疲劳了。
He never feels tired from working hard every day.
他每日努力工作，却从不感觉劳累。
2. Caterpillars turn into butterflies when they grow up. 毛毛虫长大后变成蝴蝶。
The boy turned into a tall strong man when he grew up.
那男孩长大后变成了彪形大汉。
The slight drizzle turned into a downpour when he was going to school yesterday. 在他昨日上学途中，毛毛细雨变成了倾盆大雨。
蜗牛的骄傲
一只小蜗牛整天背着身上的壳，感到很累。他问妈妈：“妈妈，咱们为什么得背着壳呢？”
妈妈告诉他：“因为咱们身体没有骨头，只能爬行。这坚硬的壳不仅可以让我们爬得更快，而且还可以保护我们的身体。”
小蜗牛还是困惑不解：“毛毛虫也没有骨头，而且他们还不会爬行，他们却不用背着重重的壳呀。”
妈妈笑了，说道：“毛毛虫长大后变成蝴蝶，天空会保护他们啊。”
“那么蚯蚓呢？他们没有骨头，爬得又不快，而且他们也不会变成蝴蝶。他们也不用背着重重的壳呀。”
妈妈又告诉他：“蚯蚓生活在地下，有大地保护他们啊。”
小蜗牛开始大哭起来：“咱们多可怜啊！”蜗牛妈妈安慰小蜗牛道：“咱们不靠天，不靠地，全靠咱们自己！所以咱们有坚硬的壳呀。”