Snake

A kitten wandered away from his milky mother, and met a snake in the grass.

“I will be your father,” said the snake, “for we both have bright eyes.”

“You are not my father” said the kitten “for you have no fur.”

“I will be your brother” said the snake, “for we both have pink tongues.”

“You are not my brother,” said the kitten, “for you have neither feet nor beans under your feet.”

“I will be your sister,” said the snake, “for we both have sharp teeth.”

“You are not my sister,” said the kitten “for you have no pointy ears.”

“Ha,” said the snake, “never mind that. Come closer little kitten.”

“No,” said the kitten, “You do not smell like my mother or my father or my brothers or my sisters. I do want to come closer.”

But he did.

For the snake waved its long tail in the long grasses. The grasses shivered and so did the kitten. The grasses whispered and so did the snake: come and play come and plaaaayyy…

The kitten took a step, a step, a step, and another step, he came closer and closer to those bright eyes, that pink flickering tongue, those sharp white teeth.

“Pspspsps” said the snake…

“Pspsps off” said mother cat, leaping over her kitten. She pounced on the snake. She bit his long neck. She spat at his bright eyes. And the snake turned and rolled and fought with the mother cat. At that moment the kitten woke from the snakey spell and ran home to get all his brothers and sisters.

They scratched dirt over the snake so he couldn’t bite Mother. They mewwed and yowled. The jumped and pounced with their little claws out. And together they chased the snake out of the grass and out of the yard and into a river where he hides to this day.

And his long body makes the bends and curves in the river that you can see today… but don’t go too close in case he wants to be your brother too.