The Hectic Life of a Busy Snail

Once upon a time Mr. Snail was asked by his friend, Mr. Bee why he carried his home on his back. "To cut down commuting time," was his reply. Mr. Snail was not joking. He was very busy and everyone could see he was always rushing (in the way that snails do) from point a to point b.

The other animals always laughed at the snail because he never had time to stop and talk, he was always doing something important.

The ant asked him if he could come out and play. "No, I'm too busy!" he said.

The sparrow wanted his advice on an important issue. "Can't you see I'm in the middle of something!" he said.

The turtle asked him if he wanted to come to his party. "Haven't got time!" he said.

In reality, the snail did have lots of things to do, but they weren't necessarily ones which gave him the most return for his effort. He was practicing for a marathon for example, and had high hopes of winning. Or, how about his starting a career as a media savvy lawyer! That was going to take lots of work.

Then one day, the snail was stopped by a blackbird. "I think I'll eat you as a tasty snack," the blackbird said.

"I'm too busy!" said the snail, just before he started running to avoid being lunch. Unfortunately, he had been so busy he'd missed his own lunch and was so tired he could not escape.

"I always make time to eat," said the blackbird.

And the animals never saw the snail again.

Many thanks to Carol McLachlan for inspiration - please visit her Accountingweb article on the home page