Interview With a Coiled Snake

As I walked through a meadow singing a song, I heard a hissing voice say, "Hello. Come along." It came from beneath a patch of thorny weeds, whispered, "Are you one of those good seeds?" I feared the snake would strike from coiled position, but it seemed to be waiting for my admission. There was a fiery light burning in its beady eyes, as distant thunder rumbled in graying skies. I dared not let the reptile know the fear I felt within so, I answered the snake, with gold glistening skin. "I don't think of myself as a righteous good seed. but I do my best to perform many a helpful deed." "What of you, snake? What is it that you like to do? Tell me why many people are always afraid of you." He flicked his tongue to catch the scent of me, took some time before replying, then he did decree: "Snakes like me have always been misunderstood." Then he rose up higher and the cobra fanned his hood. "We're called "Lords of Evil," but we're merely snakes. Some of us are poisonous, but for goodness sakes, many of us do good things on the land of Mother Earth. Shouldn't that mean that we have a measure of worth?" He uncoiled and slithered under an apple tree's shade. I should've walked away, but couldn't, so I stayed. My mind was overflowing with things I wanted to query. He beckoned me to come nearer, but I remained wary. "Do not fear me for I'll not sink my fangs in you, child. I'm sick and tired of snakes being slandered and reviled. We're thought of as devils and demons from Satan's lair, beheaded and killed for no reason, and that's not fair." I listened to its complaints and with him I had to agree. Snakes always get a bad rap. Not all of them are beastly. Suddenly, he stopped talking, and I thought he was asleep until he opened one eye, asking if his secret I would keep. "I won't tell anyone about the conversation we just had, and promise to spread the word that not all snakes are bad."