My dear children, have you ever heard the tale of how I obtained the riches that make our family so wealthy to this day? Gather closer 'round the fire, and let me tell you a story of my youth. . .
As you know, our kingdom has a long history of joy and gladness, but there are still times when intrigue and even war cannot be avoided. Thus, after a long period of peace, when our king dreamed of a fox suspended from its tail in the rafters over the throne, he worried about what the vision might foretell. He promised anyone who might interpret the dream correctly numerous gifts, and the message reached my own ears. Though I was far from the castle and knew not what the dream might presage, I set off on the long trek regardless, hoping to acquire wealth to restore glory to our family's dilapidated homestead.
When crossing through the mountain pass, a voice called out to me from the ground; looking down, I noticed a vivid, green serpent lying in the sunlight. It raised its head and speared my gaze with its glittering emerald eyes, "Tell me, peasant, to where art thou traveling?"
Now, children, I had heard tales of those animals in our kingdom which possessed the skill of human speech, but never had I believed them to be true. Almost as if in a trance, I relayed my quest to the gleaming serpent. He hissed softly at my tale, sounding almost pleased with the challenge. Within his gaze I saw a vision much like the one the king must have seen, with a fox hanging from a wooden beam, and then the snake spoke again, "Having received thy word that thou wilt share with me the gifts of thy king, know that the fox portrays the cunning, hypocrisy, and treachery within the kingdom."
Having said this, the snake slithered off into the grass and disappeared from my view. I hurried off to the king and relayed the meaning of his dream, upon which I received many riches. But, my children, I was selfish, and returned home by another trail in order to keep all the wealth for myself.
It happened that not too long after this, the king had another vision, that of a sword hanging by a thread from the roof above his throne. He sent for me to interpret, and though I had betrayed the serpent I visited again the mountain pass in the hopes of finding him and learning what he might teach me.
Fortunately, when I called out in despair the serpent came forth, looking somewhat put off by my presence. His tongue flickered lazily, his eyes searched my face--though for what, I do not know. "Thou seek my counsel again, young peasant? Wilt thou keep thy word this time?" I hastily promised him that I would, and then told him of the king's dream. "Tell thy king that the sword foretells of war, and that thine enemies are intriguing from both within and without the kingdom. Prepare for battle and attack!"
At these words I ran off to the king and informed him of the upcoming war. He again rewarded me with innumerable gifts, making our household wealthier than ever before. I decided to take the quickest route home, which included the mountain pass, where I stumbled upon the serpent.
Before he could ask me for his share of the king's reward, I attacked him with my sword--ah, children, how ashamed I am now for my actions! The wise one who had granted me the opportunity for such wealth, and I wounded him greatly. . . But I was possessed with great greed and hurried home with my vast fortune as the serpent trailed away.
More time passed, and the king called for me a second time to translate for him his most recent dream--that of a slain sheep hanging above the throne. I knew that I had twice denied the serpent his due and indeed injured him with my sword, but I sought him anyway, hoping that he would have forgiven my past transgressions.
Thus I came across the mountain path for the fourth time, again seeking the serpent. As soon as I approached I noted the serpent basking along the path before me. When he observed me, his eyes glittered as before, but this time with malice as well as with knowledge. Emerald scales glinted in the sunlight as he rose imposingly before me. "What dost thou want, peasant?" he hissed, eyes flashing angrily.
I informed him of the third vision, and saw reflected in his gem-like eyes the vision of the king. His gaze grew calmer, and he spoke softly. "Again, thou hast promised to grant me half of thy gifts; thus, I inform you that this is a sign that peace falls on all across the kingdom, and all the people are become like gentle sheep."
I passed the serpent's infinite knowledge onto the king and received more wealth than ever before. Feeling generous in the newly-come peacetime, I returned along the mountain path. The serpent sensed my approach and came forth from the grass, slithering warily up to me. I knelt down before him and laid out all the king's gifts, offering them to the creator of my fortune. The serpent was pleased and nodded at me with sinuous motion, "Thou hast come far, peasant, in these troubling times. When there was hypocrisy in the lands, thou deceived me; when there was war, thou sought to quarrel. But now thou bringest the gifts in times of peace and sharest all with me. For this, go in peace, and keep all thy wealth!"
His emerald gaze turned from me for the last time, the final image reflected in them that of gold and riches beyond belief. His glittering body disappeared into the grass along the mountain pass, never to be seen again, and I headed home with more wealth than could be spent in ten lifetimes. . .
So, you see, it was due to the generosity of a serpent that our family amassed its wealth--a serpent even crowns our crest, as if it were meant to be! And if you ever observe a serpent basking along the road or dwelling within our lands, be sure to treat it well, for who knows what good fortune it might bring you. . .
Author's Note. I decided to retell the story of "The Serpent and the Peasant" because I found it intriguing that, for once, the snake was portrayed as a wise, kind, and generous creature, rather than an evil and deceitful one. I didn't really change anything in the story but the perspective, plus I added in a bit of a "third dimension," if you will, by addressing my readers/listeners directly--just to try out a new style. I hope you enjoyed this story!!
Image Information. Christmas Snake; photo by glazyrin, 2013.
DeviantArt.
Bibliography. "The Serpent and the Peasant" from
Georgian Folk Tales. Marjory Wardrop, 1894.
Untextbook.
This weekend was originally going to be one during which I did practically nothing and relished in the break from travel. If anything, I was just going to take the quick train to Florence on Saturday for the chocolate festival--a Valentine's Day cliche, except I'd be doing so with friends so there is that, haha.
Well, I did indeed end up going to the chocolate festival in Florence, but only for about an hour, an hour and twenty minutes, between trains. And while the stop was worth it--even if the festival was much smaller than expected--, it was definitely not the highlight of my day. (Though, free samples of chocolate and then chocolate dipped candied fruits rank pretty high up there on best things everrr. Especially when you take into account that said chocolate was bought/eaten behind a huge church and practically in the shadow of Brunelleschi's dome. So, yeah, that was undoubtedly awesome, haha.)
After running back to the station to catch the train (no joke, we actually ran the last portion), we headed off to Lucca, a wonderfully picturesque walled city half an hour away. Unfortunately, heading to Lucca meant heading straight into the storm, so the afternoon was much wetter and cloudier than the morning, but it was still beautiful. The walls and towers in Lucca are the major attractions (which is all well and good because the town itself is kind of puny). The walls are basically completely intact, and the top is insanely wide and topped with a promenade lined with streetlamps along which you can walk around the city. The two churches we visited were gorgeous, one mainly in the interior and one on the exterior--an interesting contrast, haha.
While waiting on the train to Florence, we met an adorable elder couple (more of a pair, really, as they are brother and sister) who we talked with not only at the station but also during the entire train ride into Florence. They travel abroad for weeks and months every year and have been to many exotic locations. Just getting to talk to them and hear about all of their experiences and favorite places was wonderful. (Plus it helped that they were adorable old people; you've just gotta love adorable old people.)
