Storytelling For Week 5: By the Death of Crickets

There is a pond near a town where many animals lived. They lived in and around the pond including fish, cows, birds, horses, and snakes.  One snake in particular, ruled the whole pond.  He was the pond’s “king” and ruled over all the animals there in order to keep the ecosystem flowing.  The king snake had many children but only one son.  His son was married to the most beautiful of all snakes.  She glistened in the sun and slithered with a grace about her.  

One morning his son awoke to find his beautiful snake wife gone.  He searched everywhere for her but she was not to be found.  He went to his dad, King Snake, and told him she was missing.  A few days before, King Snake had noticed human children visiting their pond to catch and release the fish.  He had heard noises of footsteps last night but assumed the children had come to night fish. Soon King Snake came to the conclusion that his daughter in law had been taken by the children!  “Son, I believe the children of the town have taken your wife in as a pet.  You must go to the town and find her and release her”, said King Snake.  Off went the son to the home of the children that frequently came to the pond.  

He slithered all around their home looking for a way in to find his wife.  He slithered up each window only to find them closed, he slithered to the front and back doors that were shut tight, and finally he slithered up a tree peering into the house resting on a tree branch.  As he was brainstorming ways to enter the house he saw something moving in a small room from the very top window.  There she was! His beautiful wife!  His wife was shut in a clear aquarium with two children staring from the other side of the glass.   “I must get inside and save her!” he thought to himself.  He waited days and nights in the rain, the cold, and the heat.  Every time he fell asleep, went for food or turned his eyes away the children would leave or enter the house.  This hindered him from slithering past them into the house.  He knew he would miss any opportunity if he did not pay attention better.  

One night he was watching as the children played outside.  They began to gather crickets in a white bucket soon to find them dead by the time they took off the lid.  “Mom!” They cried.  “ We catch the crickets, place them in the bucket but then they die!”  “Oh no kids!  Do not use that bucket.  It had pesticides in it to kill the termites.  The fumes must still be strong enough to kill the crickets.  Go inside and wash off immediately then you can use a different bucket to catch fresh crickets to feed your snake,” replied the mom.  Off the kids went inside to wash off the poison.  

The snake was not sure what was going on but knew the kids would be back out the door soon.  He hurried down the tree and slithered near the door next to the bucket they had been using.  He was so tired and hungry and could smell the yummy crickets that were in the bucket.  He knew that if he just had a couple of crickets to feed his hungry stomach then he would have the energy to rescue his wife.  The snake slithered up the top of the bucket and quickly snatched a few crickets to satisfy his grumbling belly.  He rushed back down to his hiding spot as soon as the children ran back out the door.  He was able to make it in the door when all of the sudden he felt terrible.  His stomach was in pain and his body was weak and could slither no more.  He curled up into a circle and felt his eyes slowly begin to droop as images of his beautiful wife came to mind.  He then fell into a deep sleep as his heart eventually stopped.  

(Poison: Pixabay.com)

Authors Note:  In the original story, The Snake's Poison from the Twenty-Two Goblins Unit, a man is in search of his wife who is known for her beauty.  She was taken by him and he travels many places and does many things in order to save her.  He is so exhausted and hungry by the time he reaches one of the villages.  A good women who had a restaurant noticed how hungry he was.  She brought him plate of food that he took down to a river to eat.  As he was washing his hands a bird carrying a dead snake flew over him and the snakes venom leaked into his food without him noticing.  He ate the food and soon died.  I changed the story to the snake eating poison and dying instead of a human.

Bibliography: 

Twenty-Two Goblins, translated by Arthur W. Ryder, with illustrations by Perham W. Nahl (1917).