59 lines
2.8 KiB
Text
59 lines
2.8 KiB
Text
Stories about Snakes
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First Story.
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There was once a little child whose mother gave her every afternoon a
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small bowl of milk and bread, and the child seated herself in the yard
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with it. When she began to eat however, a snake came creeping out of a
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crevice in the wall, dipped its little head in the dish, and ate with
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her. The child had pleasure in this, and when she was sitting there
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with her little dish and the snake did not come at once, she cried,
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“Snake, snake, come swiftly
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Hither come, thou tiny thing,
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Thou shalt have thy crumbs of bread,
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Thou shalt refresh thyself with milk.”
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Then the snake came in haste, and enjoyed its food. Moreover it showed
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gratitude, for it brought the child all kinds of pretty things from its
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hidden treasures, bright stones, pearls, and golden playthings. The
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snake, however, only drank the milk, and left the bread-crumbs alone.
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Then one day the child took its little spoon and struck the snake
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gently on its head with it, and said, “Eat the bread-crumbs as well,
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little thing.” The mother, who was standing in the kitchen, heard the
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child talking to someone, and when she saw that she was striking a
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snake with her spoon, ran out with a log of wood, and killed the good
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little creature.
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From that time forth, a change came over the child. As long as the
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snake had eaten with her, she had grown tall and strong, but now she
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lost her pretty rosy cheeks and wasted away. It was not long before the
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funeral bird began to cry in the night, and the redbreast to collect
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little branches and leaves for a funeral garland, and soon afterwards
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the child lay on her bier.
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Second Story.
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An orphan child was sitting on the town walls spinning, when she saw a
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snake coming out of a hole low down in the wall. Swiftly she spread out
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beside this one of the blue silk handkerchiefs which snakes have such a
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strong liking for, and which are the only things they will creep on. As
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soon as the snake saw it, it went back, then returned, bringing with it
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a small golden crown, laid it on the handkerchief, and then went away
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again. The girl took up the crown, it glittered and was of delicate
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golden filagree work. It was not long before the snake came back for
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the second time, but when it no longer saw the crown, it crept up to
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the wall, and in its grief smote its little head against it as long as
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it had strength to do so, until at last it lay there dead. If the girl
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had but left the crown where it was, the snake would certainly have
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brought still more of its treasures out of the hole.
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Third Story.
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A snake cries, “Huhu, huhu.” A child says, “Come out.” The snake comes
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out, then the child inquires about her little sister: “Hast thou not
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seen little Red-stockings?” The snake says, “No.” “Neither have I.”
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“Then I am like you. Huhu, huhu, huhu.”
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