Considering the Slug.

Is there any creature more difficult to like than the slug? I just found one on my office floor; it wasn’t even moving and I almost trod on it.

Does the slug have any appealing characteristic at all? It hasn’t the grandeur of an elephant, the fierceness of a crocodile, the grace of a cat, the companionable nature of a dog, the sweetness of a bird, the beauty of a butterfly, the cuteness of a little furry animal, the industry of a bee, or the wiggliness of a worm. It doesn’t even have the childlike charm of a snail. It’s just a lump of solidified slime. Does it have consciousness, I wonder. It’s hard to believe so.

I wouldn’t knowingly do one any harm, of course, which is why I picked it up with a tissue and put it outside. I hope it was grateful.