Our slithery friends have, on occasion, been portrayed as evil. But a snake is just a snake, neither good nor bad. Which reminds me of the story of a girl who had to deliver food to her grandfather--he lived on the other side of a mountain. As she climbed, the air started getting colder. So she buttoned up her coat. Soon, she came across a half-frozen snake on the path. The snake asked for help.
Snake: I need to get to the other side of the mountain, but it's too cold. Would you please put me inside your coat and carry me with you???
Girl: No way! You're a snake, you'll bite me.
Snake: I won't, I promise. You can trust me because if I bite you, I'll freeze.
The girl saw the snake's logic and picked him up, putting him inside her coat. Ten steps later she felt a pain in her side. The snake had bitten her.
Girl: You bit me!!! You promised you wouldn't, but you bit me!
Snake: Hey, I'm a snake, it's what I do. It's your fault for picking me up.
Soooo, if you want to help someone you know is a snake, try to do it in a way that you won't get hurt. And if you do get hurt, don't be surprised if the snake blames you. It's what snakes do.
PS - No matter how reasonable it sounds, ALWAYS question a snake's logic. =)
(Note: I can't remember where I heard this story. Church? Probably not. I do have a snake story of my own, but it's about a real snake and has no point--except that it's good to have cats outside your house. Today I just wanted to make a point about human snakes. Too bad cats can't take care of them!)
Hi Rick! It's the tom jones she's a lady stopping by...oooo am I a snake for mentioning the song again? HAHA! Anyways good story and in this world it seems like very few people are willing to help others and many who do are in it for some sort of ulterior motive.
ReplyDeleteAckk that reminds me of an old adage we have here, that "in every jungle there's a snake" meaning there'll be 'human snakes' everywhere you go so you have to keep an eye out for them.
ReplyDeleteI missed reading your posts, Rick! So sorry I haven't been able to blog-hop as much I would have liked :(
This isn't about a co-worker, is it? ;)
ReplyDeleteI've heard of a similar story only with a scorpion and a frog (I think). Something about crossing a river. Anyway, I know what you mean. You always have to be careful wherever. :)
ReplyDeleteOhh, I know some human snakes, lol. Not very pleasant to deal with them!
ReplyDeleteThis is so true! And the sad part is I try warning others about those "snakes" but they take me granted instead...then they eventually get bitten and come crying to me...LOL I guess that's how it is.
ReplyDelete<33 Rena
*for granted
ReplyDeleteI took that personally quiz & it was pretty much the same both times. A couple things were in different order or stuff like that, but for the most part, it was the same.
ReplyDelete<3,
Dana
hahhah.. nice story.. I want to repost..hehhe joke! But indeed, I learned something:) Thanks Rick!
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with this, though I never thought I'd compare it to a little story like that. This is definitely how a lot of people should think about the people in their lives that they know are snakes!
ReplyDeletevery nice allegory. i hope the girl survived that bite ;)
ReplyDeletei was gonna say, it sounds like a church story...
ReplyDeleteregardless it's a good story with a valid point. there are far too many snakes out there and their bites are deadly. those little shits!
Beware of me, Rick! I'm born in the Chinese year of the snake! :P
ReplyDeleteI've heard that story before, and yaaa I can relate to it...
ReplyDeletei know time flies. i love this story. it's such a life lesson
ReplyDeleteGood thing I don't like snakes!!
ReplyDeleteI've heard about this story before but I don't remember when and where either. You just can't trust snake even your close one can be a snake...
ReplyDeleteryc: LOL, luckily you didn't move me to the missing persons list yet! Thanks, I'm okay and thing's getting better now :)
Yep, they're still kung-paoing it! That one's a good dish too. :)
ReplyDeleteUgh! I have met a lot of snakes in this world. Some of the snakes pretended to be my friends too. I have become more cautious because of this. And through it all, I realized that is safer to choose the people who you allow into your life.
ReplyDeletenice story! i also have some experiences dealing with human snakes. damn! they bite real hard! looking back, good thing i avoided them...
ReplyDeleteFunny you should ask, my mom bought that belt in the 1970s and she stands 5 feet 6 inches tall and weighed about 100 pounds then!
ReplyDeleteIn a way, it *is* called Stomp N' Chomp. I get that a lot from other bloggers...lol. It's all good though. :P
ReplyDeleteThis story was featured as a fill in the blanks close passage for one my worksheets. I don't know where else I hear the story from.
ReplyDelete