Who Or What Are Hans Andersen's "Happy Family"�?

These are a family of snails, who regard themselves as the rulers of the forest in which they live. As they have never been anywhere, they assume that there is nothing of importance outside the forest, and only one thing of importance(besides themselves) in it. This is the Great House, where it is rumoured their ancestors used to be cooked, carried into the dining-room on a silver dish and elegantly eaten. This family legend is central to their tradition; they regard it as very important that all their descendants should be prepared to be eaten at a moment's notice. Therefore the parents are very careful in choosing a bride for their son; they finally find one from a distant land (a hundred paces away) who takes over a week to arrive. The pair live in perfect happiness, ruling over the forest; as nobody comes to eat them, they conclude that the manor house must be a ruin by now.