Banana Slug Glue

“Ugghh!!! The banana slug is sliding to town! Watch out!” cried the townspeople.

Jerry had just moved to the town of Redwood Grove. He did not understand why the townspeople were afraid of a banana slug.  True, they were slimy, but the biggest one he had seen was about the length of his hand.

“Why are you afraid of a little banana slug?” Jerry asked his friend, Aaron.

 “Because this is a HUGE banana slug!” answered Aaron.  

“Not only is he scary looking," said Clementine, "every time he comes through town, he leaves behind a stream of slime.  It takes us weeks to clean it up!”

"That's silly," said Jerry.  "Banana slugs aren't that big."

Squish, squelch, squeal!  Jerry turned around and saw a banana slug gushing at him.

“Stop!  STOP!!!” yelled Jerry, so loud that the whole town stopped.

The banana slug looked at Jerry. He had been chugging and lugging and he had to stop his giant body in the middle of a sliding lurch.  He took up the entire street and was over a block long.  Behind him a thick gooey river of slime was spreading into the side streets.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t see you there,” said the banana slug to Jerry. “Would you mind if I pass by you?”

“Yes, I mind,” said Jerry.  “You are leaving behind a trail of sticky slime that we have to clean up.”

“I am?” asked the banana slug.  “I had no idea because I can’t see behind me.  I am so sorry.”

“Next time you slide here, please go around the town.”

“I sure will,” said the banana slug.

“Thank you,” said Jerry. 

“Thank you!” cried the townspeople.

Jerry, Aaron, Clementine and the townspeople waved goodbye to the banana slug.  The banana slug waved his tail to say goodbye.

“Wow, that sure was a huge banana slug,” said Jerry.

“Yep,” said Aaron, “but now we have to clean up all his goop."

Jerry poked his boot at the sticky gooey gunk.  He tried to shake it off his boot, but it wouldn’t come off.

“You know,” Jerry said, “this stuff sticks like glue.  I have an idea.”

Jerry called all of the townspeople together.  The formed a circle around him. 

“The town hall was knocked over during the last storm," Jerry told everyone.  "Let’s try using the banana slug slime to repair it.  The slime is so sticky we could use it like glue to put the walls back together.”

The mayor of the town was quiet.  The people who had been fixing the town hall were quiet.  All of the townspeople were quiet.  They were thinking about Jerry’s idea.

So Jerry and Clementine got two sticks and dipped them into the sticky substance.  They put the sticks together.  Now the two sticks looked like one long stick.  Jerry waved the stick around. It stayed together!

“Brilliant!” cried the Mayor.  “Let’s go put together our town hall!”

Jerry, Aaron, Clementine, the Mayor and all of the townspeople rushed off to put their town hall back together.  They needed to get it done before the slime dried.

That night, inside of the newly repaired town hall, the townspeople sang a song for Jerry.

Jerry saved us from the slime!

‘cause we never took the time,

to talk to the banana slug,

just talk to the banana slug,

and ask him so politely,

just ask him so politely,

to go around our tiny, tiny

TOWN!

Three cheers for Jerry!  Hip hip hooray!

Jerry was very happy.  Not only was he in a clean town with a newly repaired town hall, he had made friends with the whole town and a huge banana slug.