靠自己 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 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：“为什么我们从生下来，就要背负这个又硬又重的壳呢？” 妈妈：“因为我们的身体没有骨骼的支撑，只能爬，又爬不快，所以要这个壳的保护！” 小蜗牛：“毛虫姐姐没有骨头，也爬不快，为什么她却不用背这个又硬又重的壳呢？” 妈妈：“因为毛虫姐姐能变成蝴蝶，天空会保护她啊。” 小蜗牛：“可是蚯蚓弟弟也没有骨头爬不快，也不会变成蝴蝶，他为什么不背这个又硬又重的壳呢？” 妈妈：“因为蚯蚓弟弟会钻土，大地会保护他啊。” 小蜗牛哭了起来：“我们好可怜，天空不保护，大地也不保护。” 蜗牛妈妈安慰他：“所以我们有壳啊！我们不靠天，也不靠地，我们靠自己。”
