The Saint and the Snake

Thus it was writ: A saint passing through the
forest came to a path across which was stretched
in great black length a serpent, who showed not
the signs of venomous hatred, as are the ser-
pents wont to do. The saint was known as one of
the most holy in the land, and was also looked
upon as one of the wisest sages, because of his won-
drous fund of wisdom and understanding of the
laws of the universe and the voice of Nature itself,
the chirp of the bird, the call of the wild beast of
the jungle, the rattle and hiss of the serpents them-
selves. He understood even to the extent of know-
ing all they meant by their sounds and motions.

Now among holy men there is a law which is
never broken, and that is, that over the body of no
living, breathing creature of the Lord's making
will they step, since all these creatures, even in
their lowest state, are worthy to turn aside for.
For are they not the beloved creatures of the hand
of Him for whose love and beauty the saint had
left all to worship and so come closer unto Him
for whom alone he now lived?

So, standing close to the serpent, the saint, who
by his love knew how to address the serpent, said:
*'0 serpent, across my path thou Uest. Wilt thou
not move even a little to the side so I may pass?
I cannot step over thee, who art created by Him

whom I worship, for thou too, some day, mayest
walk as I do and worship even as I do/'

The serpent reared his head aloft and made
answer : ' ' saint, because of thy coming I am here
in thy path. Bid me, holy man, and I will leave
thy path. Tired am I of my creeping, crawling
life, and long for higher things. Tell me this, how
can I, who have stung to death many a bird and
beast and man and even those creeping things of
my own family, how can I, even low and poisonous,
become better? How can I expiate my sins?
How can I cease to be feared and accursed
wherever I am seen? ' '

The saint with a wealth of love in his face said ' '• ' "^^^
unto him: ** Sting no more, serpent, and t^i© ^7**XZ^**^
curse shall be lifted from thea" •

And the snake made way for the saint to pass.
On the side of the path the snake lay in the sun-
shine with closed eyes and languorous body, when
a troop of children passed that way. On seeing
the snake they ran wildly away, never turning to
the right nor left, until they had reached their
homes.

The next day they passed again that way, and
to their amazement saw the snake in the same
place and in the same position. ' ' It is dead, ' ' they
thought, and, taking great sticks, they poked the
snake, who only writhed with pain, but lifted not
its head to strike them. Thus bolder and bolder
the children became until, as the days went by and they had pelted the serpent with stones and poked
him with sticks to their own contentment and tlie
pain of the serpent, they boldly went to its head,
opened its jaws and thrust their hands between
them, down into its throat. Still the snake hurt
them not, but even opened its mouth to the width
of its extent, to keep the poison bag from touching
the hand of the cruel little urchins who tortured
him thus.

For many days, the lads played and hurt the
snake, who, though he suffered much, made no
sign nor sought to strike back. One day it so
chanced that some wood-cutters passed by that
path, and after gathering faggots in great abun-
dance, found they had no cord or rope with which
to bind them, and spjring the serpent so still in the
distance, said: "It must be dead or very old; let
us tie up our faggots with it."

And straightway they proceeded to use him as
a great rope. In the tying, the poor serpent was
stretched and pulled and ripped and cut, yet he
made no sign to retaliate or in any way use the
venom that was within him. So the men carried
tiieir faggots to market on the outskirts of the
forest.

Beaching there they threw the bundle on the
ground, and, untjring the snake, cast him on the
wayside, where he lay throbbing, quivering and
aching with torturous wounds.

For hours he lay there, then, with a ga«p, he
lifted his eyes and beheld before him the saint, who
had told him to sting no more if he wished to expi-
ate the sins of his past. ' * saint, ' * gasped the snake
in the bitterness of his pain, ''I am the snake
whom only a short while ago thou didst behold
sleek and smooth and beautiful in my grace and
motion. Look at me now, bleeding, tortured and
wounded unto death am I, because I stung not
those who tortured me, when they beheld me
harmless. Wise thou mayest be, saint, and
holy, but thy counsel to me was not of deep wis-
dom, when thou didst say, 'Bite not,' yet surely
He, who made me, meant not that this suffering
should be mine."

The saint replied, all the while gazing into the
eye of the snake: ''Unto thee, poor sufferer, I
did say, 'Bite no creature,' but I did not say, 'Hiss
thou not at those who take advantage of thy meek-
ness and thy desire to hartm no one.' Thy hiss to
thee was given as a harmless and timely warning
to those who unworthily would gain advantage
over thee. This thou mightest have done and the
hiss would have taken the place of a bite, without
the danger and the hurt.

"Self-preservation is the law that is of great-
est growth in the heart of all creatures, and to
thee thy hiss and venom were given to serve as
weapons that all men fear. Even now, snake,
look about thee and see those who are ready to
add torment to thy already battered and mangled
body, because of .thy seeming helplessness. At one
hiss from thee, they will be scattered and thou
wilt be feared, although thou dost not inflict pain.
Man hath learned to fly even from the shadow of
pain, and thy hiss, though not of real danger, is
ever a forerunner of it. Hadst thou done this,
beautiful and smooth thou still wouldst be and
yet thy expiation also would have been fulfllled.*'

The snake, after this, lifted up his poor head and
gave forth hiss after hiss, and in a few seconds
the market place was deserted. He then drew his
weakened body after him and crawled into the
dark inclosure of foliage and there remained, hiss-
ing at those who came close unto him with danger
intent, but striking not with the poison that was
to him a weapon of sure death to all that it
touched. t

Thus to great age he advanced, and, though nev-
er biting creatures, he held at bay with his hiss
those who sought to molest him.