Leo and the Magical Snail Trail

Leo was playing in his garden. The sun was warm, but Leo felt a little bit bored. He pushed his toy car along the wooden fence, Vroom! Vroom! Then, he saw something sparkly.

On a big, green leaf, a little snail was moving very, very slowly. Behind the snail, there wasn't a slimy trail. Oh no! It was a beautiful, shimmering trail, like tiny silver stars mixed with morning dew. Leo watched, his eyes wide open. The snail moved in a wiggly line, then a little loop.

Suddenly, the shimmering trail on the leaf glowed! For just one second, it looked like a tiny, sparkly silver bracelet lying there. Then, *poof*, the shimmer faded, and it was just a normal leaf again. "Wow!" whispered Leo. "Magic paint!"

Leo looked at Barnaby, his favourite teddy bear, sitting beside him. Barnaby was soft and brown, but oh dear, he was missing a button eye! Leo had an idea. He found another big, green leaf. Very gently, he nudged the snail onto the new leaf. "Can you draw a little circle, please, Mr. Snail?" he whispered.

The snail crawled slowly, leaving its shimmering trail. It made a small, perfect circle shape. The trail glowed brightly! It looked exactly like a sparkly silver button, just the right size for Barnaby. Quick, quick, before it faded! Leo carefully pretended to pick up the shimmering button shape from the leaf. It felt cool and tingly for a moment.

He rushed to Barnaby and gently pressed the spot where the button should be. "There you go, Barnaby," Leo smiled. The shimmer was gone from his finger, but Leo knew the magic button was safely on his teddy. He hugged Barnaby tight. His garden wasn't boring at all. It had a wonderful, shimmering secret!