Jessie was a very special snail. She was special in the way that special humans have their own special schools. Jessie’s shell just wouldn’t grow. She ate all her greens, prayed to the snail gods, and spent her spare time willing her shell to grow, but nothing seemed to work. She was ridiculed by her classmates, talked about by the townspeople, and even laughed at by her own siblings. Jessie’s mother was constantly nagging her: “Why can’t you just grow a shell like a normal snail?” she would say. Eventually Jessie became too big for her shell; it cracked and fell away from her body. Her mother committed suicide and there was uproar among the townspeople. Eventually Jessie was expelled from the community. She wasn’t too fazed by the catastrophe. Although Jessie had been excluded from society she had never felt happier than in her shell-less state. She wandered aimlessly around the countryside enjoying the feel of the ground against her body. One day Jessie stumbled upon a town of shell-less snails; they all seemed happy roaming around in their naturalist way. Jessie was quickly accepted into the community. She settled down with a lovely young slug named Simon. Several years later they had a very special slug named Susie. She was special in the way that special humans have their own special schools. Susie was born with a shell that just kept growing. She ate all her greens, prayed to the slug gods, and spent her time willing her shell to stop growing. Susie’s mother was constantly nagging her: “Why can’t you just stop growing your shell like a normal slug?” she would say.