Lumo and the Snail That Looked Like a Mushroom

Lumo was a jumping spider.

And jumping spiders were excellent jumpers.

Lumo even thought he was the best jumper in the whole Enchanted Forest.

Was that true?

Well, yeah.

Lumo discovered many things about himself.

That morning, he jumped from a blade of grass onto a rock.

From a rock to a branch.

From a branch to a leaf.

And from the leaf to a mushroom.

At least, that’s what he thought.

Because suddenly the mushroom said:

“Ouch!”

Lumo jumped so high into the air that he almost fell off the leaf.

“The mushroom can talk!”

“Of course I can talk.”

“MUSHROOMS CAN TALK?!”

“I’m not a mushroom.”

Lumo blinked.

The mushroom moved.

Slowly, it extended two antennae.

Then two more eyes.

And finally, a whole body.

“Oh.”

Lumo cleared his throat.

“You’re not a mushroom at all.”

“No.”

“You’re a snail.”

“That’s right.”

“Why do you look like a mushroom?”

“Why do you look like a spider?”

Lumo paused to think for a moment.

“Because I am one.”

The snail nodded.

“My name is Bruno.”

“My name is Lumo.”

“Nice to meet you.”

“Me, too.”

Then they both fell silent.

Just a second.

Two seconds.

Three seconds.

“So what now?” Lumo asked.

“I have no idea.”

“Do you want to do something exciting?”

“Sure.”

“What?”

Bruno thought for a moment.

A very long time.

It took so long that, in the meantime, Lumo watched three mushrooms, climbed up a blade of grass, and came back down.

“I can’t think of anything,” Bruno finally said.

“Me neither.”

Once again, they fell silent.

Suddenly, they heard a loud crash.

CRACK!

Lumo jumped behind a rock.

Bruno was hiding, too.

Which, in the case of a snail, meant that it retracted its head.

“What was that?” Lumo whispered.

“A monster.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because it’s always a monster.”

CRACK!

The sound was getting closer.

Lumo swallowed.

“Maybe we should run away.”

“Agreed.”

“Then run!”

“I’m a snail.”

“That’s right.”

The sound came even closer.

And even closer.

Lumo narrowed his eyes.

Something huge was moving among the ferns.

Something dark.

Something eerie.

A shadow fell over the two of them.

Lumo held his breath.

Bruno held his breath, too.

Then the monster stepped out of the bushes.

It was …

a stag beetle.

A fairly small stag beetle.

He was dragging an apple behind him.

“Hello,” said the beetle cheerfully.

CRACK!

The apple got caught on a root.

“Oh.”

The beetle moved again.

CRACK!

“Excuse me,” he said.

“Was I too loud?”

Lumo stared at him.

Bruno stared at him.

The beetle stared back.

“You look like you were expecting a monster.”

Lumo pointed at Bruno.

“That was his idea.”

“It wasn’t.”

“I suppose so.”

The beetle laughed.

Bruno laughed.

After a while, even Lumo couldn’t help but laugh.

And as the sun slowly disappeared behind the tall ferns, Lumo set off for home.

Today he had learned something important.

There are no monsters.

Not every mushroom is a fungus.

And sometimes, when you’re looking for something completely different, a nice surprise is waiting for you.

Lumo didn’t find any mushrooms today.

But a friend.