A woman, confined to her bed, watches a snail, first on her night stand, then in a terrarium next to the bed. The limited world of the snail mirrors the limitations of her own and the reader learns, along with the author, about a creature either despised for its presence in the garden or admired for its taste with beurre blanc—but is otherwise rather a mystery. What follows is an oddly compelling story of a woman who finds companionship and beauty in the most unexpected of creatures.
"which every where doth roam, carrying his own house still, still is at home. where'er he dwells, he dwells alone, well satisfied to be his own whole Treasure."