Story of the Foreign Fairy Chapter 47

The largest green leaves in this country are undoubtedly those of the burdock. You take it together and put it on your belly, then it's like an apron. If you put it on your head, it can be used as an umbrella on rainy days because it is surprisingly wide. Burdock never grows alone; no, wherever there is one burdock, you are sure to find several. This is the cutest thing about it, and this is just food for the snail.

In ancient times, many important people made these big white snails into "minced meat"; when they ate them, they said, "Humph, it tastes so good!" because they thought the snails tasted beautiful. These snails live off burdock leaves; that's why people grow burdock.

Now there is an ancient mansion, and the people who live in it no longer eat snails. So the snails were all dead, but the burdock was still alive. This plant grew very luxuriantly on the paths and flower borders, and there was nothing people could do to stop them. The place has become a burdock forest. No one would have thought it was a garden but for a few apple and plum trees here and there. Burdocks were everywhere; and among them lived the last two snails.

They don't know how old they are. But they remember clearly: there were once many, many of them, and they all belonged to a family that immigrated from foreign countries, and the entire forest was developed for them and their families. They have never left home, but they have heard that there is something called a "mansion" in this world, where they are cooked, then turn black, and finally served on a silver plate. But they have no idea what the outcome will be. Besides, they couldn't imagine what it would taste like when it was cooked and served on a silver plate. It must be beautiful and very grand! They consulted little gold bugs, toads, and earthworms, but they could not get any answers because none of them had ever been cooked or served on a silver platter.

The pair of ancient white snails are considered the most distinguished people in the world. They themselves know that the forest exists for them and the mansion exists so that they can be cooked and served on silver platters.