The Millimetre

Every yard is different. The peculiarity of the Baran family yard lies in the fact that you do not know whether they built their house in the bakery's yard, or the bakery in the house's yard.

This is not due to Mr. Baran's fondness for walking to work in his slippers. A small snail, known locally as pimprlík, is to blame for everything.

The narrow-mouthed whorl snail (Vertigo angustior) is a rare gastropod whose shell measures a mere millimetre. It lives its life in the meadow by the stream, completely unaware that because of its presence, the field was declared a protected area of European significance. It doesn't even know that the meadow belongs to the Barans—and that because of this, they had to build their bakery in the yard. Yet, they hold no grudge against the tiny pimprlík snail.

Text: Vladimír Jenčurák, Photo: Tereza Sejková, Naty Ščamborová