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THE SNAKE 5

9781605096124_0070_001

The Third approached the animal, And happening to take The squirming trunk within his hands, Thus boldly up he spake:“I see,” quoth he, “the Elephant Is very like a snake!”

—From “The Blind Men and the       Elephant,” by John Godfrey Saxe

WHO’S HERE WITH YOU?

There’s an old folktale about a man who met a snake while walking down a road.

“Excuse me,” said the man, “but you look exactly like a snake.”

“That’s because I am a snake,” replied the snake. “But I am not like other snakes. I am not poisonous, or constrictive, or the sort of individual who would harm anyone.”

“Oh, how interesting,” continued the man. “I’ve never met ...

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