Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1902-01-24
! A Legend Of the
/ Snake Country

Once upon a time, long, long, ago,
there was a certain great old forest.
You can't begin to guess how old the
forest was and how for century after
century in the very heart Of it dwelt
the snakes as its lords and masters.
In another part of the forest, miles
and miles away from it's heart, was a
little cabin, where lived hunter with
his young wife and their little boy. He
was very little boy then, and his
mother loved him very dearly. She
sung to him through the day and
crooned a cradle song to him at even,
and the little boy was happy indeed in
such love.
But winter came and sickness, and
the mother flew away on the wings of
the snow And then the little boy was
lonely, for his father loved only his
gun and the game he would shoot and
spent days and days in the forest, leav-
ing the child alone, with no one to talk
to, no one to sing to him, no one to
caress him when he hurt his little
hands in play.
SO it happened that gradually he
ceased to play. his heart ached for
compapionship, but here was no other
child for miles to play with. Then he
went into the forest and talked to the
flowers and the grasses, ard they I'M
derstood, but could not help him. Then
he talked to the trees, but they were
too busy with the clouds to notice him.
So then he sought q creek that ran
near by, and day after day would he
come and sit on rock and talk to it,
and the creek seemed to answer him,
yet he grew more and more lonely.
One day he sat weeping in his accus
toned place when who should come up
but the snake DOCTOR hurrying to the
snake country to cure patient He
had wings with which to fly very
swiftly, just as a doctor has his car
rage to take him in hurry to you or
to me. And in his flight the snake doc
tor saw the weeping child and paused.
"Ho, how he cried. whats the mat
terY
But the boy only cried the more.
"Ah, see. You are lonely, with your
father off in the woods. Well, what
you want is company. Now, in my
country we have plenty of it. It's the
best tonic in the world for young PEG.
ple.'
So the doctor talked on, fluttering his
wings all the time as If he were going
to fly away the next moment. The boy
was SO glad to have any one to talk
to that he dreaded to have the doctor
leave him, and he cried out to him:
Twill you take me there with your"
Now, this surprised the snake doctor,
and he answered:
II hadn't thought Of that but I'll do
what l can. III bring some young
snakes to play with you"
And before the boy could thank him
off flew the snake doctor and disap-
peared from view.
All day the boy waited and at sun
down two snakes came and talked to
him. They wote very gay and told him
tales that made him laugh and cry in
turns, and then, when he was tired
they told him they would come at sun
down next day.
So they did and the next and the
next, and so on day after day. They
brought the boy handfuls of rattle'
and beautiful striped skins that hat
been shed, and he played with them
And sometimes they would talk of thei
own country and its wonders. The.
told how their king had eyes as big al
wheels and tongue forked like ;
rake, and SO many things did they tel
him that at last the boy begged then
to take him to the snake country. a