It's National Escargot Day! Keep a Snail on Your Face!

Escargot Day ties in nicely with our current study of ponds and pond life in our classroom the past few weeks.  Yesterday we learned about snails. The students were interested in the fact that snails have a radula, a tongue that is like a file, and some snails use that to drill through shells of clams and eat them.  It can be a big problems here on the coast where clammers lose their income to this Moon Snail.  The students were also appalled that any one would eat a snail, even if it were called "escargot".  The fancy name did not impress them.

I have collected some original sayings, that have been changed over the years.  You may recognize them, but they've been adapted, as snail popularity has dwindled. Snails used to be very big in literature.  They're smaller now.

Find a snail and pick it up
All the day you'll have good luck.

Feed a snail
Starve a fever

Heads I win
Snails you lose

Pink sky at night
Snailer's delight
Pink sky in the morning
Snailers take warning

A snail a day
Keeps the doctor away.

Snail, snail, go away
Come again some other day.

A snail in time
Saves nine.

Patty cake, patty cake
Snailer man
Get me a snail
As fast as you can
Roll it and pat it and mark it with an S
And put it in the butter with all the rest.

It's a snail world after all,
It's a snail world after all,
It's a snail world after all,
It's a snail, snail world!

Snail today, gone tomorrow!

I'm sure there were more.  But these were the ones I could remember that my dear, sweet grandfather would sing or say, all the time when I was a little girl sitting on his knee.  I'm sure that's how it was.

It's late and I must get to bed now, so good night, snail dreams!