The Snail and the Mirror
Once upon a time, in the corner of a damp garden where cool waters flowed, there lived a little snail. This snail was proud of the brightly shining shell on its back, and all day long it glided slowly over the leaves. While the scent of the colorful flowers in the garden spread with the wind, the dewdrops sparkled on the grass like jewels. Every morning the calm snail tasted the fresh grass and drew aside to wait for the sun to grow warm. One day, under a huge strawberry leaf, it came upon a shiny object that it had never seen before. As it slowly approached the object, it came face to face with the smooth surface of a broken piece of mirror. In the mirror it saw another snail looking back at it, with long feelers and a lovely face.
“Hello, stranger, what are you looking for in this beautiful garden?” it asked excitedly. But the snail in the mirror made no sound at all; it only moved its lips. When the little snail took a step forward, the other one moved toward it at the very same moment. This creature in front of it tilted its head to the side and waved its feelers, just like itself. “I think you want to be friends with me,” it said, and cheerfully straightened its shell. It stretched out its head to touch the stranger, but it struck a cold and hard surface. It drew back in surprise and noticed that the image in front of it flinched with the same fear.
Just then a wise ladybug passing through the garden was watching the snail's effort with a smile. The ladybug landed on the leaf and said, “What you see is not someone else; it is only your own reflection.” When the snail touched its feelers to the mirror, it understood at last that the image was copying it. That beautiful shelled creature it had wondered about for years was in fact none other than itself. The snail, who had grasped the truth, smiled at its reflection in the mirror one last time and went on its way. Many of the beauties we look for in the outside world are in fact hidden in our own essence. A mirror shows a person's face, not their soul.