A snake was terrorizing a village.
When villagers walked to and fro,
The snake would lie in wait in hopes
Of biting someone and causing great woe.

One day the village sage approached
The snake to give it a talking-to.
"No more biting people!" he said.
"Don't you have better things to do?

"Biting people is wrong, and the practice
Must be halted immediately."
The snake agreed to stop and slithered
Off to the shade of a banyan tree.

Now when people strolled by, it lay
In the shade without even lifting its head.
Villagers who had feared the snake
Now were feeling bold instead.

In fact, the kids in the village would even
Approach the snake and hit it with sticks.
They also gathered heavy objects
To throw, such as rocks and bricks.

One day the sage walked by
And saw that the snake was barely alive.
"I did what you said," it said to the sage.
"But now how will I ever survive?"

The old man dressed the poor snake's wounds,
Sad to see the creature like this.
"I told you not to bite," he said,
"But I DIDN'T tell you NOT to hiss."

-by Bob B (2-17-22)

°An old tale retold here in verse