A Ceramic Snail

The quiet indoors grew a bit stuffy, so I slipped out through the back door and bounded along the gravel path into the park. Tucked under the broad, shady leaves of a hosta plant in the flowerbed sat a smooth glazed ceramic garden snail. Its polished spiral shell was painted in bands of sky blue and cream. I crept closer across the damp, dark soil, keeping my wings poised. With cautious curiosity, I reached out with my front paw and rested a claw lightly against the slick curve of its shell. It remained delightfully cold and unmoved, casting a faint, pale reflection of my snout right in its glossy finish.