Storytelling Week 3: The Boy and the Snake

One day, a boy came home to his father.

“Father, I have finally met the one I want to marry!” he exclaimed to him. “Who may it be? One of the girls from down the way” the father excitedly questioned. “No! But her beauty has eclipsed the beauty of all else and her laugh has enchanted me,” the son replied.

The father was very intrigued now. He was proud of his son for finding a suitable wife so early and without the help of his parents. Where could he have met her?

“Well, when shall I meet her father?,” the patriarch asked, “you know we have to have his blessing before you can be granted her hand in marriage.” “I know, father. But, don’t worry. I feel like that will not be an issue,” the son replied, “would you like to meet her now?” “Well, of course!” the father exclaimed. He had not expected her to be waiting outside of their door.

The mother joined the two and stepped outside with the father and his son. However, once they saw her, the two parents gasped and raised their hands to cover their faces. For, their son’s new lover was actually a large, green serpent.

A green serpent. Photo by Frank Wouters 

“Isn’t she beautiful? And her hiss is a tinkle in my ears,” the son said, beaming down at the snake.

The father and mother didn’t know what to say. They didn’t want to offend her, for her powerful venom could kill them in an instant. However, they did not want their son marrying her.

After a long pause, the father said, “Son, we understand your feelings and are eager to grant your wishes. However, we worry that her venom and fangs might injure you. Could you ask her to remove her teeth and have her poison extracted? Then, we can reconsider your request.”

The son felt quite dejected then. However, he bent down to his lover, stroked her head, and quietly asked her his parent’s request. Her eyes saddened, however she loved the boy so that she nodded her head in agreement. Then, in one swift movement, the serpent coiled her tail around the boy and swept him away. She knew her strength and was not one to bow to the demands of some meager humans. The boy held on to her, but did not seem afraid for he was being carried away by his love.

The mother and father did not see the boy again. However, it is said that he lives happily in the forest with the serpent and lives a lavish life among their loyal companions. As the story goes, neither the boy nor the serpent regret their decision to deny his parents and live their life as they knew fit.  

Lesson: Life your life as you know you should.

The man and the snake together. Photo by: Alexander Ess

Author's Note:

The original story was called The Lion in Love from The Fables of Aesop by Joseph Jacobs. The fable told the story of a lion who fell in love with a girl. However, the parents were nervous to let their daughter marry the lion due to the fact that he may accidentally injure her. So, they asked him to remove his claws and teeth before they would allow them to marry. The lion loved her so much, that he did both of these things. However, when he came back to the parents, they just laughed in his face since he could no longer harm them. I made several changes to the story. The first was that I switched the characters so that the boy was the one who fell in love with an animal rather than the other way around. Also, I wanted the girl to remain a powerful figure, so I made her a large serpent instead of a smaller, meeker animal. In addition, I changed the ending so that the serpent did not obey the family's request. Instead, she stayed strong and took the boy with her to live on her terms. Since the story was so absurd to me in the original version, I decided to maintain the same level of silliness, if not more. In addition, I added in my own little life lesson that I choose to live by, just as the fables do. 

Bibliography:

The Lion in Love from The Fables of Aesop by Joseph Jacobs from the nineteenth century. 

Web Link: http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/04/aesops-fables-lions-part-2.html