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Under the Magic Mushroom
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Once upon a time, there lived a magic mushroom. Now, why was it magic you say? Well, I'll tell you:
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Long ago a little leprechaun ran from a cat in a little village. The cat chased the leprechaun into a small patch of weeds outside a forest. Of course, a tiny creature, such as a leprechaun, would be easy prey for woodland creatures. Before they reached the edge of the woods, the cat scooped the leprechaun into his mouth and began to chew.
But the dirty, bad luck of some leprechauns, especially this one, tasted terrible. The cat began to cough and gag, but before he choked; he spit the nasty thing out of his mouth and licked his paws to terminate the flavor on his tongue. The cat then walked away completely ignoring the half dead creature he had nearly eaten and left him behind on a mushroom to die. The leprechaun had gashes on his face and wounds all over his body. The blood was now dripping from his severed arm, and the infection caused him great pain. He would die soon.
"A curse," he said in a weary and angered voice, " a curse on any who choose to harm those who can barely defend. May the prey be safe,"-he clutched the mushroom in agony and pain. Yet he continued through his suffering. -"And as for the predator . . . may . . ." At that, his spirit lifted and was blown away with a slight breeze that diminished just as quickly as it had entered.
The leprechaun may not have finished his curse, but the mushroom seemed to understand his plea. From that day forward that mushroom was magical, only to those who needed the curse that had been placed upon it.
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But this story isn't really about the Magic Mushroom. No, this story is about the creature that lives below it's top. This story is about the Crystal Snail.
She had a crystalline shell, silver eyes, and almost an opalescence body (the slug part). She, too, had been chased to that place by a cat. A very old, weak, and therefore, slow cat. But once the snail hid under the mushroom, the cat was blown away. Just like that! A big wind came out of nowhere and took him away!
With the feeling of security, the snail decided to stay. She lived below the mushroom, becoming friends with the clover and ladybugs. She would stay for an eternity to come.
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Early one morning, the snail drank the dew from the mushroom's top. A near-by clover shook the dew from his leaves and swayed in the light, early- morning breeze.
"Don't you ever get bored?" he asked.
"Of what?" she replied, cocking her head and looking at him as though it was an idiotic question.
"Of this." the clover answered. "Just staying here. All your life. No change of scenery, or any change for that matter."
"Except for the turning of the seasons." The snail corrected.
"Right . . . well . . . I don't really know what that is considering . . . um . . . I don't know . . . maybe it's because . . . um . . . I'm a PLANT!" the clover shouted at her. The snail's reply was just a bit of a giggle and a little oops! -I-forgot, -silly-me-smile.
"Anyway" the clover continued, " don't you ever want to have some fun in your life?"
"No."
"Ok, you just said that to get on my nerves."
"Just being here seems to do that just fine."
"Uh-huh."
"See. Told ya. Hey! Wait a sec, I'm not that annoying!"
"Yeah, sure, whatever. You're never gonna have any fun if you stay around here."
"So?"
"So . . . why don't you leave? You know. Go explore a little. Try to find the other 'crystal beasts'."
She thought about it. Leaving wasn't something she wanted to do. But the clover had a point. Looking for the other crystal creatures was a mission in her life. It had been a mission since before she was born. And she had completely forgot about it once she had faced that cat.
"Perhaps, I should go." She said to herself aloud, ignoring the clover's sly smile.
He had wanted her to leave. If she was going to, then he had won. He grinned to himself, and he would have done a victory dance, if he had feet and wasn't planted in the ground!
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The snail slowly slid to the other side of the mushroom. She peeked her head from under the top and looked up into the sky. It was early morning, so the stars could still be seen very dimly. She started counting the ones still visible. But she stopped when a dewdrop fell off the top of the mushroom and landed on her nose.
"What-cha doin?" came a very familiar voice from on top of the mushroom. The snail looked up and saw the cheery face of a young ladybug.
"Nothing, Lady, just looking." She replied turning her gaze to the fading stars in the distance.
"And breathin', and livin', and it looked like you was countin'." came the ladybug's smarty reply.
"That's silly. What would I be counting?"
"The stars, maybe."
"Why would I do that?"
"I don't know, honey, but ya've always been a strange one."
"Gee, thanks." The snail mumbled, sarcastically.
"No prob. Now, what's this 'bout you leavin' us?"
"How'd you figure that out so quickly?"
"A) I slept up here last night, so I was right here, B) I woke up before ya, and C) that clover loves ta gloat."
The snail couldn't help but laugh. Of course Lady would give a list and of course that clover would brag about persuading her to do something. Him and her never got along. And it didn't help that she was a bit stubborn and he was a bit cocky.
"Listen, Crystal. If ya wanna leave, I say go ahead. But only if yer sure ya wanna go." Lady said moving back to her spot on top of the mushroom. "But if ya ain't leavin', could ya go over there and make that clover SHUT UP?!" she had started out asking Crystal, but ended up shouting at the clover.
"What?!" came a reply from the other side of the mushroom.
"I said SHUT UP!"
"I heard you."
"Then why're ya still talkin'!"
The snail slowly made her way away from the mushroom, not wanting to listen to that bickering. She had gotten so used to it, and now . . . she never wanted to hear it again. The snail trudged passed familiar faces belonging to dandelions, violets, clovers, dragonflies, ladybugs, and many others. This had been her home for so long. These bugs and plants had been her family. And now, she was leaving them all . . . never to see them again.
This is the Crystal Snail, and the beginning of her adventures . . .
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AN: This's just a prologue. Actually, I don't even have any thoughts on Crystal's adventures. So . . . input would be greatly appreciated. Even flames will be accepted. Just give me something.