Self-reliance
　　A baby snail asked his mother, “Why was I born with a shell that grew so hard and heavy?”
　　 His mother said, “Because we don’t have bones to support us. We can only crawl and move slowly, so we’ve got a shell to protect us.”
　　 Her baby asked again, “The caterpillar has no bones either, nor can she move quickly. Why can she do so without a shell?”
　　The mother snail answered, “That’s because a caterpillar will become a butterfly. She flies high to the sky which can protect her.”
　　Her baby had another question, “But the earthworm crawls are like us. He has no bones nor can he turn into a butterfly. Why doesn’t he carry a hard, heavy shell?”
　　His mother said, “He can drill a hole, get into the ground and be protected by it.”
　　The baby snail then burst into tears, “What a pity! We have no protection either from the sky or from the ground.”
　　His mother comforted him,“That’s why we are gifted with a shell. We needn’t count on the sky or the ground for protection. We rely on ourselves.”
　　
　　小蜗牛问妈妈：“为什么我从生下来就要背负这个又硬又重的壳呢？”
　　蜗牛妈妈答道：“因为我们的身体没有骨骼的支撑，只能爬，又爬不快，所以要这个壳来保护我们呀！”
　　 小蜗牛又问：“毛虫没有骨头，也爬不快，为什么她却不用背这个壳呢？”
　　蜗牛妈妈说：“因为毛虫能变成蝴蝶，她可以飞上天空，天空会保护她啊。”
　　小蜗牛再次问道：“可是蚯蚓和我们一样，他也没有骨头，也不会变成蝴蝶，他为什么不背这个又硬又重的壳呢？”
　　蜗牛妈妈说：“因为蚯蚓会打洞, 钻进泥土里，大地会保护他啊。”
　　 小蜗牛于是哭了起来：“我们好可怜哦！天空不保护我们，大地也不保护我们。”
　　蜗牛妈妈安慰他：“所以我们天生有壳啊！我们不靠天，也不靠地，我们靠自己。”
　　
　　（江西王小英选译）