The Woodman and the Serpent By John Bluff

www.johnbluff.com

A Woodman was tramping home through some autumn leaves under a light spring rain when he spotted a Serpent in the snow. The Serpent looked dead—or at least near enough to dead that it would not bite—so the Woodman dropped it into his sack, which he slung over his shoulder, and headed home.

“Where’s your mother?” the Woodman asked his child, stepping through the front door.

“Out in the fields,” said the child.

“Good.” The Woodman pulled from his sack the long, lifeless body of the Serpent. “I’ve got something for you to play with.”

The child was so ecstatic to have a half-dead pet to play with that he immediately ignored it. However, later that evening, after the child ran out of things to do, he took the Serpent to the fireplace to see if he could bring it back to life. His plan worked too well—the Serpent woke from his slumber almost at once and snapped at the child’s leg. Seeing this, the Woodman quickly pulled his child back and gave him the timeless advice that would—if heeded—always keep him safe.

Don’t tell your mother.