Chapter 9: The Snail
The wooden bird's mechanical wings flap rhythmically, creating shadows in the setting sun. Under the afterglow of the smoky sunset, you can see a few sprouted vegetable seedlings dragging in the thin clouds of the sky, and the cotton wool-like flower seeds are swaying and dancing lightly in the wind. Ascend and throw into the clouds. falls, mixed into the soil.
Both legs of the snail were disabled at the age of nine due to severe rheumatism. Later, the snail enclosed himself in the hut, where he spent most of the time banging and banging. Snail has a great dream of making it possible for all people to live in the house he built and be able to enjoy the sun.
Snails make a lot of strange things. For example, the woodbird that keeps hovering in the sky. He once traded ten wooden birds for a little piglet with a child named Little Devil Head. This was the only income he earned for years of invention. Later, the snail negotiated with the child. The child promised the snail that he would provide wood for the snail to make a wooden house. As a sponsor, the snail will also build a movable house for the imp head. The idea for making such a house came from the snail witnessing a man walking with his own house.
The little ghost head is a very curious child, because of this, he will cut wood for the snail every day and help the snail make some large parts of the house. The little ghost head also found a helper for the snail, a guy called the monster. The large pieces of wood are stacked neatly by the monster snail, in order not to delay their time, the general building snail asked them to help him complete it in advance, and the internal mechanism is designed by the snail after living in.
In the eyes of the snail, the monster is silent, and most of the time, his conversations with the little ghost head are related to a woman named Cauliflower, who has not seen them for more than a month now. The roof of the new house was not yet covered with straw, and when it rained, the snails had to go to the old house to take shelter.
That day, the wooden floor of the old house was broken by a disoriented burrower, and as an apology, he promised to lay straw for the snail's new house. The burrower also told the snail about his old friends, and the monster became a piglet, and had a three-word name, Erdanzi. The little ghost head is also with him. The snail thought: I'm afraid I'll be thrown out of the sky by them.
The burrower is short in stature, lives underground and digs burrows all year round, and his belly and stomach are almost transparent due to severe malnutrition. You can tell exactly what he ate yesterday when you look at his stomach. His eyes also looked a little distracted. This is all related to the fact that they have been living underground for a long time. But surprisingly, he is a good worker. A man jumps between a pile of straw and a roof. The snail, on the other hand, did what he could, preparing a delicious meal for him, he liked to eat the mushroom soup made by the snail, and the burrower was very good at eating it, and the snail saw his bulging belly filled with mushrooms and soup, and he was always worried that one day he would fall off the roof and break his stomach.
When the snail sleeps at night, he will always hear the miserable cry of the little pig in the old house, and he will have difficulty moving. He summoned the burrower. The burrower always appeared in front of the snail and swallowed his saliva and told him, "It's nothing, the pig is still alive, maybe it saw a mouse or something, and was frightened." ”
So the snail went to see his pig, which was missing two ears and blood was pouring all over the pig's face. A crockpot was boiling boiling water, and the two cut off pig ears were churning in it. The snail was furious, knowing that it was the burrower's doing: "How can you steal my pig's ears without permission?"
"I'm so hungry that I drool at the sight of a pig. ”
"Come on, you'll spit when you see a puddle of. ”
The burrower bowed his head ambiguously and said, "Otherwise, as compensation, I am willing to agree to any of your conditions." ”
"That's it, that's all there is to it, you have to help me build the house before I can leave. Go and get two spoonfuls, and I'll taste them too. Since then, the snail has always been wary of the burrowers, fearing that one day the burrowers will suddenly disappear, leaving only a piece of pork ribs for him.
With the help of the burrowers, the roof was finally laid with thatch. But if the snail wants the house to move on its own, it must make mobile parts that can withstand the enormous gravity of the house. Wood is not good, he needs iron ore, and the snail confides in the burrower, who tells the snail, "I know where it is, you come with me." ”
The burrower leads the snail into the ground, and the snail crawls and follows the burrower. The underground tunnels are not endless darkness, countless fireflies wet with their wings wet by the fog clinging to the cave walls in swarms, and snakes flutter their wings to catch flying bats in the glowing landscape.
Not every cave has so many fireflies, this cave is mine, and I inherit my grandfather's legacy. At the corner of a tunnel, the burrower led the snail into a large cavern, which to the snail's surprise was filled with iron ore, a furnace, and charcoal. The snail was surprised: "It's incredible. ”
"We burrowers have been digging caves for generations, so we have accumulated a lot of iron ore. What kind of weird stuff do you want to build? I can help you. ”
On that day, there were burrowers as witnesses. The spinning wheels move a fully timber-framed house slowly down a flat mountain road, so that the snail can see the moving world outside every morning while sitting in front of the window. The snail can maneuver his house away from the haze and go to a sunny place to bask in the sun. The burrower is amazed by the snail's invention and is willing to stay with the snail as his servant, learning from the snail how to build a moving house. This house that can be moved to enjoy the sun always attracts sighs wherever it goes, and people in this world call the snail's house a mansion. There was also an endless stream of people who came to build houses with snails. After all, the snail has limited energy, so he builds a house with five pigs in exchange. The premise is that the builder must prepare enough timber and iron ore himself.
The little ghost also came, and that day, the snail's house was moving slowly forward, clearing the fog. The little ghost head rode a pig and chased half-hidden in the fog: "Snail, I came to see you." ”
The snail knew that the little ghost head was coming this time, and he must have asked him to make the house, and it was made for free. The snail maneuvered the house and moved on.
"Fuck you, I'm a little ghost. The little ghost kicked the pig's belly hard, and the pig panted and ran after him.
The burrower began to remind the snail: "Someone is chasing you. And scolding you. In order to stop the little ghost's invective, the snail stopped the house.
The result was unexpected by the snail, and the shy second egg wanted to confess his love to the cauliflower, hoping that the little ghost would confess on his behalf. The little ghost thinks that although he has a lot of feelings, he lacks experience. Decided to come and consult the erudite snail. But the snail thinks it's better to hire a matchmaker.
The little ghost head told the snail with a complicated expression: "It's not that simple, you know? ”