32 Beautiful Sliells, 



the Tortoise beat tlie Hare, illustrating the truth of 

 the proverb, that '' slow and sure wins the race.'^ 

 If you watch a Snail travelling with its house upon 

 its back, it does not seem to make much way, and 

 you are inclined to think that it will be long ere it 

 reaches the new settlement to which it appears 

 journeying with bag and baggage; but leave the 

 spot for a while, and the chances are that on your 

 return, the '' slow coach '' will have got somewhere 



out of sight. Here is a lesson for boys and girls ; 

 whatever you take in hand, don^t be in a hurry, 

 and if people say you are '^ slow,^^ think of the 

 Snail, and keep on ! 



This, then, is a shelled mollusk of the third 

 class, called GasteroiJoda, according to the system 

 of the French naturalist Cuvier. It has a distinct 

 head, which, like the hinder part of the body, 

 which we may call a tail if we like, projects, when 

 the creature is in motion, considerably from the 



