One summer day the snail is fed up. He's tired of carrying his house around on his back. After the eggs are laid, the babies hatch out by themselves and leave. He decides to travel, see how other snails live. He finds snails living all over the world. They live in the jungle, the tundra, near salt water and fresh, in city gardens and wilderness preserves. He has only one worry. He's seen a famous chef working in the kitchen and he was cooking snails. He continues on his travels. When he stops to rest under a tree, he spots an eagle on a branch high above him. He watches the eagle as it circles, soars and plummets. He thinks that must be the ideal life. Besides, nobody wants to eat an eagle. He decides to pay him a visit, maybe take flying lessons. It takes a long tine to reach the eagle's nest. As he travels along, he tries to develop wings by rubbing his foot against the plants he passes, but nothing comes of it. When he finds the eagle's aerie, he is surprised to find the nest a hodgepodge of sticks jutting out at all angles. He thinks his shell is a much better house. It's very tidy, with a beautiful spiral on either side. He peeks inside the nest and sees nothing but a confusion of fuzz and feathers. Then he notices that the eagle spends every minute hunting and fishing to satisfy the squawking eaglets. Not for him. He was heading home. He had explored a great idea, but now he'd return to his own garden. It would take a long time, but once he got there, he'd have more ideas-and he'd be safe.