The Farmer and the Snake

The Farmer and the Snake (I)

Long long ago in a village, there lived a farmer. He was vastly praised by villagers for his kindness and helpfulness. 

The farmer was not raised in the village. He came from a faraway place, where everyone was said to be greedy and selfish. He was poor and unfortunate, but it was not his fault. From the story he told, his cruel father cut him off from the family, his cold brother refused to provide a single dime of charity to him and his heartless sister shut him out of her door. However, despite of all his mishaps, he announced that he did not feel downhearted, instead, he would still keep the goodness in his heart and help people around. 

The villagers were moved by him, especially when he told them how happy and glad he was to offer charity to the villagers, even when he was busy himself sometimes.  Not to the villagers' surprise, he did as what he told, and was rewarded by his kindness. 

He helped his neighbors take care of their children. The parents were so grateful to him that they spread kind words for him all around.

He built a kennel for a wild dog, and told the dog how he liked him. The dog later became so grateful that he swore loyalty to him and became his personal watchdog. 

He built a shed for a wild horse and told the horse how he could not bear to see him suffer in wildness. The horse was so moved by the farmer that he gladly let the farmer to ride him. The horse also willingly pulled the farmer's cart, wagon everyday.

He helped a maiden cross a river and confessed to her how he loved her. The maiden was so moved and grateful to him that she became his wife. She bore three daughters and two sons for him and kept the house clean everyday.

The farmer was very content with his life, except that he sometimes felt he was poor. He had a house, dozens of acres of lands and all the food, stuffs the neighbors gave him, but it was not enough for a family of seven. He did not say it out loud but the people around him could sense it somehow. They told him not to work himself too hard. But the farmer just smiled and said nothing.

One winter morning, when every villager was at home resting, the farmer woke up early, grabbed a shovel and planned to go out. "I am going to dig the field and see if there's any harvest leftover." said the farmer to his wife.

"Dear, why do you must go out on such a cold morning? We already have enough food"

"But my sons need education and my daughters need new clothes. I cannot bear to see you and all my children suffer in poverty" replied the farmer. The wife was so moved that she promised to cook nice food and keep the meal warm for him.

The farmer then went into the fields and began digging. From the bottom of his heart, he wished to dig out something precious. But after two hours he only dug out three potatoes. He decided to go further. He went to the border between the fields and woods, to try his luck.

The second time he did believe for an instant that he dug at the right place. The shovel touched something hard then an empty space. Something must be down there! The farmer thought with rapture. He worked even harder and eventually uncovered a - wait for it - black snake.

The black snake was medium-sized, estimated to be one and half meters long. It coiled itself around and did not move. The farmer could see how stiff the snake's body was. It was winter, the snake must be frozen down there. At first, the farmer decided to leave the snake alone. But after studying the body of the snake for a few moments, he changed his mind.

(To be continued...)