what how

next time scratch your own itch


a snail had an itch
deep inside its shell
just out of reach

crawling on
with an itch to scratch
it met a hedgehog on a ledge

the hedgehog listened 
to the snail's plight
he offered to help with all his might

He used his sharp quills 
to reach the itch
And the snail felt a sense of relief

the itch was gone
and the snail was fine
except for a small thorn inside

it had broken off the quill's tip
and it was in there
very deep

the snail crawled away
having thus traded an itch
for puncture wound pain

until he ran into a bird next to a creek
who was cleaning its feathers
with its beak

take off your shell
and your little thorn 
consider it gone!

thus spoke the bird 
pointing at the beak
won't fit in there, it's way too thick!

the snail complied
and as the shell was cast aside
the bird's beak opened wide 

hello dinner, do crawl inside
as for the thorn, don't worry about
I'll spit it out.
why who

the world's shortest poem is a dot
. but, only and only if it is not