
Bluey the Snail wasn’t your average gastropod. While his brethren munched on lettuce leaves contentedly, Bluey dreamt of daring feats. Tales of his ancestor, Shelldon the Fearless, who’d conquered the dreaded Spiky Thorn Bush, fueled his adventurous spirit. Bluey yearned for his own legend.
One dew-kissed morning, a hush fell over the garden. A shadow, vast and red, loomed over the lettuce patch. It was the Crimson Death Cap, a monstrous mushroom with white polka dots, rumored to be poisonous and foul-smelling. Fear gripped the snails, but Bluey felt a thrill course through his blue shell. This was his moment.
His antennae twitched with determination. He inched his way towards the behemoth, leaving a glistening trail of slime. The other gastropods watched in disbelief, their tiny hearts pounding in unison, some peaking out of their shell in shear fright of the towering mushroom. The Death Cap reeked like rotten eggs, making Bluey’s slime trail a welcome barrier to the awed onlookers.
Bluey reached the base of the mushroom’s stem, its billowing veil seemed like an insurmountable obstacle. The mushroom’s crimson pillar had large, bulging white orbs, like a monstrous eyes. It was slick and treacherous.
But Bluey persevered.
Inch by agonizing inch, Bluey climbed, his tiny blue shell a beacon of courage against the red beast.
The terrible climb was arduous and fraught with angry ants. He battled wind gusts that threatened to topple him, and hungry ladybugs who mistook him for a tasty treat.
Yet, Bluey persevered, fueled by the whispers of encouragement from his fellow snails.

Finally, Bluey reached the top. The cap of the Death Cap was surprisingly flat and devoid of any life. Realization dawned on Bluey. The Death Cap wasn’t evil, just a misunderstood giant. It was perhaps a leftover from a wetter season. It simply towered over the garden offering shade to weary travelers, misunderstood and feared. It’s red cap serenely catching the soft, golden backdrop of twilight.
News of Bluey’s ascent was shared throughout the land He wasn’t hailed as a conqueror like the mighty Shelldon the Fearless, but as a pioneer. He had shown bravery wasn’t about lack of cowardice, but about exploring the unknown. Bluey, the blue snail who conquered fear, became a legend of a different kind, a legend of curiosity and courage. From that day on, the Crimson Death Cap, though still a bit intimidating, wasn’t feared anymore. It was simply known as the majestic Amanita muscaria mushroom, its crimson cap adorned with a constellation of pearly white dots. And Bluey, the most adventurous snail in the garden, continued his quest for adventure, one slimy inch at a time. ~
“Brave Snail” is on display at The Inn at Lost River in Lost River, WV. Go visit Bluey and let him and all the other forest creatures in my collection adorn your home.
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