A big, burly hunter once walked through a dense jungle, looking for some game to hunt. As he sneaked through the thick undergrowth and hacked his way through the long vines, he noticed a giant snake - a pit viper, no less - right in front of him!
He was absolutely frozen in fear, because some snakes are very dangerous and can attack you with their venomous fangs in the blink of an eye. And pit vipers had some of the most dangerous venom ever!
He quickly realised the snake couldn’t hurt him, though, since it was pinned under a large stone. It was unable to move and writhed in pain. When the hunter took a wee step closer, the snake hissed out: “Good man, pleassse, help me and sssset me free. If you won’t, I’ll cccertainly die!”
The hunter stood still, giving it some thought. He shook his head and said: “I can’t help you. If I did, you would surely bite me with your venomous fangs and I’d die. I have a wife and children at home to feed and there’s no one else to take my place. Plus, I like my life!”
But the snake kept begging and pleading: “Help me, good man! I sssswear I won’t bite you!”
The hunter, who wasn’t a cruel man, finally agreed and rolled the stone off of the snake’s back. “So, Mr Viper. I’ll just be off now and you’re letting me go peacefully, without pursuit,” the hunter said nervously, hoping to make sure the snake wouldn’t attack him. “Right Mr Viper?”
But then, within seconds, the huge snake rose up in front of him and lifted its head, mouth open, drool on its fangs and ready to strike. “Well, I can’t jussst let you leave now, can…
