Helix the snail lived in the shade of a big hosta leaf.
Every morning, he looked up at the Great Golden Sunflower.
It was so tall that its bright petals seemed to touch the fluffy white clouds.
To a small snail like Helix, it looked like a mountain that reached the stars.
I wish I could see the world from the very top," Helix sighed.
He stretched his neck as far as it would go,
but the top was still miles away.
"But I am just a slow snail with a heavy house.
I don't think I am strong enough to climb that high."
Suddenly, a bright red ladybug named Ruby landed on a leaf right next to him.
She tucked her wings away and tilted her head.
"Why not try?" she asked with a kind smile.
"Believing you can is the very first step of any big journey, Helix."
Helix took a deep, shaky breath.
He closed his eyes and whispered to himself,
"I think I can." He pressed his sticky foot against the rough green stem and began to pull.
Slowly, inch by inch, he started to move upward.
He was finally on his way!
Higher and higher he went.
The ground started to feel very far away.
But then, a giant dewdrop fell from a leaf above.
Plop! It landed right on the stem, making the path ahead very slippery and cold.
Helix stopped, feeling his heart race.
Helix began to wobble.
"It is too hard! I should go back," he cried out.
Ruby flew down from the sky and hovered gently beside him.
"Don't look at the water, Helix.
Look down at the grass.
Look how much you have already done!"
Helix looked back.
The hosta leaf where he started looked like a tiny green speck.
He realized he had already climbed higher than he ever had before.
He felt a spark of bravery in his chest.
He crawled right through the edge of the dewdrop and kept going.
The sun began to set, turning the garden sky into a sea of orange and pink.
Helix was very tired, and his shell felt heavier than ever.
"You are almost there!" Ruby cheered,
flying circles around the golden petals just above his head.
With one last, giant stretch, Helix reached the bright yellow petals.
They felt soft and warm, like a velvet blanket.
He hauled his shell over the edge and crawled onto the wide, fuzzy brown center of the sunflower.
He had made it to the top!
