01-24-2025, 02:42 PM
Not long ago, there was a village on an island in the middle of the ocean. The village, called H’poa was very large compared its surrounding villages. At least 8,000 families made H’poa home, working, farming, raising children and caring for their elders. One day, a villager found a snake in the long grass. Watull fed the snake dishes piled high with creatures common to the area – toads, rats, mongoose, an occasional fish. But the snake grew fast. One day Watull woke to find that the snake had grown two heads. Not long after, the snake grew seven tails. If the snake became angry, it would express a vile and acrid slime that would burn anything it came in contact with. The snake no longer looked or acted like a snake. Watull slowly realized that he had raised a serpent.
The serpent grew and grew and grew. It began to be cruel to Watull, burning him with its acrid slime when it thought Watull was not paying attention. Watull grew tired of the abuses of the serpent and let it go into the wild.
The serpent continued to grow. It quickly grew so large and powerful that it began making demands on the villagers. First it demanded food it had known as a baby snake – meals of fish, frogs, rats and mongoose. Then it began to demand sheep, goats, pigs and even horses. It quickly began to demand things of even greater value. In fact, the serpent would sit in an O’hia grove once a year with the villagers would line up in front of it with offerings of gold and silver. As the serpent grew, so did the amounts of gold and silver it demanded. Some families found that they no longer had these precious things to give to the serpent. But the serpent did not waste much time worrying about these families. With one head it would list all the things the serpent had done for the village, while the other head ate the family and took its land.
Although the serpent was almost universally hated by the residents of H’poa, there was a cane toad who hopped around the serpent, doing its bidding. The toad fluffed the serpent’s grassy bed, and told it what a great master it was. When the serpent felt that it was not receiving the proper respect from the villagers, it would order the cane toad to go into the village and announce all the “kind and beneficial things” the serpent had done for H’poa. The villagers knew that the toad was loyal to the serpent, and they tried to stay away from it.
One day, the serpent thought one of its tails was not following it properly, and ate it in a fit of anger. The villagers, thinking the serpent would be angry and cover them in its vile acrid slime, ran around to find another tail to give the serpent. They were able to find one, and the serpent was appeased. However, the next month, the serpent thought two of its tails was not following it, and ate them. Again, the villagers scrambled to find tails and gave them to the serpent. This became a pattern, and the villagers struggled to keep up with replacing the serpent’s tails.
Watull, tired of watching the villagers trying to appease the volatile serpent, yelled, “STOP!! This serpent is demanding more and more of us. Money that we don’t have. Lying to us about what it is doing for us. Dripping us with vile slime if we don’t agree with it. It’s enough!” The villagers were shocked that Watull, who was usually very quiet, was shouting at them in such a way. So they continued to listen. “Stop finding tails for it. There are no tails left that want to follow this serpent! Stay in your homes, work, farm, raise your children and care for your elders. Leave the serpent, and it will eventually eat itself!”
The villagers thought this was good advice. They stopped finding tails for the serpent.
Little by little, when the serpent became angry, it would eat another part of itself. Until there was nothing left.
With the serpent gone, the villagers lived happily ever after. Except for the toad, who realized that it no longer had any friends in H’poa, and left to find another master.
The End.
The serpent grew and grew and grew. It began to be cruel to Watull, burning him with its acrid slime when it thought Watull was not paying attention. Watull grew tired of the abuses of the serpent and let it go into the wild.
The serpent continued to grow. It quickly grew so large and powerful that it began making demands on the villagers. First it demanded food it had known as a baby snake – meals of fish, frogs, rats and mongoose. Then it began to demand sheep, goats, pigs and even horses. It quickly began to demand things of even greater value. In fact, the serpent would sit in an O’hia grove once a year with the villagers would line up in front of it with offerings of gold and silver. As the serpent grew, so did the amounts of gold and silver it demanded. Some families found that they no longer had these precious things to give to the serpent. But the serpent did not waste much time worrying about these families. With one head it would list all the things the serpent had done for the village, while the other head ate the family and took its land.
Although the serpent was almost universally hated by the residents of H’poa, there was a cane toad who hopped around the serpent, doing its bidding. The toad fluffed the serpent’s grassy bed, and told it what a great master it was. When the serpent felt that it was not receiving the proper respect from the villagers, it would order the cane toad to go into the village and announce all the “kind and beneficial things” the serpent had done for H’poa. The villagers knew that the toad was loyal to the serpent, and they tried to stay away from it.
One day, the serpent thought one of its tails was not following it properly, and ate it in a fit of anger. The villagers, thinking the serpent would be angry and cover them in its vile acrid slime, ran around to find another tail to give the serpent. They were able to find one, and the serpent was appeased. However, the next month, the serpent thought two of its tails was not following it, and ate them. Again, the villagers scrambled to find tails and gave them to the serpent. This became a pattern, and the villagers struggled to keep up with replacing the serpent’s tails.
Watull, tired of watching the villagers trying to appease the volatile serpent, yelled, “STOP!! This serpent is demanding more and more of us. Money that we don’t have. Lying to us about what it is doing for us. Dripping us with vile slime if we don’t agree with it. It’s enough!” The villagers were shocked that Watull, who was usually very quiet, was shouting at them in such a way. So they continued to listen. “Stop finding tails for it. There are no tails left that want to follow this serpent! Stay in your homes, work, farm, raise your children and care for your elders. Leave the serpent, and it will eventually eat itself!”
The villagers thought this was good advice. They stopped finding tails for the serpent.
Little by little, when the serpent became angry, it would eat another part of itself. Until there was nothing left.
With the serpent gone, the villagers lived happily ever after. Except for the toad, who realized that it no longer had any friends in H’poa, and left to find another master.
The End.
