Reading Notes: The White Man and the Snake #2
In this story, a white man met a snake. She was under a stone, so she couldn't get up, and he wanted to help - so he lifted the stone off of her. He immediately realized this was a mistake because she wanted to bite him.
The white man told the snake to wait and not bite him, and to let him ask the opinions of wise animals first to see what they thought. So, the snake and the white man went to the hyena and asked him if it was right for the snake to bite him after he helped her get out from under the rock. Hyena, thinking he could eat the man as well, asked why it would matter if he was bitten. The man then decided to go ask other animals instead.
Then, they went to jackal. He asked the same question. The jackal played dumb and said he wouldn't believe it unless he saw it with his own two eyes, so they went back to the place where the snake was stuck under the stone. They placed the stone back on top of the snake so he could understand better. The snake then tried to get up, and she couldn't.
The white man went to lift the stone again, and the jackal stopped him. He told him to leave it there, because she wanted to bite him. So, they both walked away.
This story stood out to me because I know I could keep with my portfolio theme and make the white man a zookeeper and keep the snake the same. I liked the plot although it reminded me a lot of The Tiger, the Brahman and the Jackal. The jackal is the trickster in both stories, and in both stories the man goes around asking other animals if it's fair to be eaten/bitten by the predator (the tiger and the snake).
A turquoise snake. Link here
Comments
Post a Comment