Ben carried Honey Bun for Patty until they reached the top level and learned that a fourteen-foot snake is quite a load; the basket had steel braces and needed them.  As soon as they were that high, Patricia stopped. "Put her down, Ben." She took off her robe and handed it to him, then go out the snake and draped it around her. "This is Honey Bun's reward for being a good girl; she expects to cuddle up to Mama.  I've got a class starting almost at once, so I'll walk the rest of the way with her on me and let her stay on me until the last possible second.  It's not a goodness to disappoint a snake; they're just like babies.  They can't grok in fullness, except that Honey Bun groks Mama...and Michael, of course."