Caracol was different from the rest of the family; he was always very small for his age, slender, with a fragile shell, and very, very slow. On top of all that, he was shy and had few friends.
On a day of heavy rain, he got lost on his way back to his town and found himself in the most dangerous place for a snail, the cycle path. 
“This is no place for a snail!” he thought.
After that, everything happened very quickly, a hand appeared above him, getting closer and closer, and grabbed him! The snail froze with fear at that moment, and just when he least expected it, the same hand gently set him down by the side of the road in a spot where there were already some plants.
– You can’t walk like that amongst the bikes – exclaimed the voice from behind the hand – You could have been run over!
It was his lucky day. He’d never had such close contact with a human before, and, to be honest, they didn’t have the best reputation amongst the snail community. 
“Perhaps not all humans pose a danger to us,” thought the snail. “After all, not all snails are the same; the same is probably true of humans.”
The rain had already started to ease off and the sun was peeking through the clouds again, the Snail was wandering through the fields, trying to find his way home. 
“The ants must surely know a shortcut,” he thought, but every time he was just about to catch up with one, it had already moved on. “These ants are so busy and so quick!”
By this time the sun was shining, the rain had stopped completely and the snail could now recognise where it was, it had strayed a long way and would have to find shelter to spend the night nearby.
A essa altura, o sol já brilhava, a chuva tinha parado completamente e o caracol já conseguia perceber onde estava; tinha-se afastado bastante e teria de encontrar um abrigo nas proximidades para passar a noite.
Night was beginning to fall and the snail was winding its way round the town of thistles to avoid any interaction with them as much as possible, when it heard:
– Psst, psst… Are you lost? You look lost! Are you on your own? – It was a thistle that lived on the sidelines, and from there it could clearly watch the snail, which was completely ignoring it. 
The Snail tried to quicken his pace, but he was so slow that the thistle had plenty of time to keep trying to talk to him. At one point, the Snail found himself forced to reply: 
– I’m sorry for being so close to the outskirts of your town, I don’t mean to cause any trouble! I’ve had a bit of a setback on my way back to Snail Town and I’m looking for somewhere to spend the night. I’ll be on my way early tomorrow, I promise!” 
The Thistle replied: 
– It’s going to rain heavily tonight, you should sleep somewhere sheltered – your shell doesn’t look very sturdy to me… Come up here; you can rest amongst my leaves. – The Snail couldn’t hide his astonishment at this invitation; he’d grown up believing he should avoid that city of thistles at all costs, because all snails were forbidden from entering it.
– Thank you, but I can’t accept that. In fact, I don’t think I should even be here talking to you.
The Thistle looked at the Snail and said: 
– Trust me. The rain’s going to be really heavy tonight, I’m afraid something might happen to you if you don’t get shelter in time! Besides, you can see the stars from my tallest leaves. – The Snail realised he didn’t have much choice and took shelter amongst the Thistle’s leaves. 
Once it was settled, he asked him:
– If snails have such a bad reputation round here, why did you insist so much that I should come up?
The Thistle replied:
– Did you know that thistles and snails used to live in harmony? – The snail listened, puzzled, whilst the thistle continued:
– Nobody talks about the old days anymore, but my grandmother still told me lots of stories. She never agreed to ban snails altogether… it’s true that back then it was necessary to lay down rules; I know that some snails misbehaved and ate the green leaves of the thistles… But before the conflicts, the thistles and the snails lived in harmony; we’re very different, and that’s precisely why we can help one another.
We thistles, with our spines, used to shelter and protect whole families of snails – fragile, soft creatures like you – from the elements and predators. In return, you showed us the world through tales of your endless journeys. – The Snail listens intently to the Thistle; no one had ever told him about the ancient times before. The thistle adds:
– I’ve always wanted to know what the world is like. We thistles always live in the same place, whereas you carry your home on your back – I imagine you spend a lot of time travelling. You must have seen so much by now! Will you tell me what the world is like?
The snail curled up on one of the thistle’s tall leaves whilst telling it about his travels.