The Snake and a Sparrow
The night was quiet, wind was dark,
I was in bed and children all;
While children lapped in their dreams,
My wife and I cursed our enemies.
Soon she began to doze, I began to nod,
She slipped in bed and I switched off;
A few minutes had reeled in the dark
When I heard some hissing soft.
Suddenly I heard a subdued twitter,
And then pathetic shrieks were heard;
Shrieks were of a little bird,
Which had now stopped to flutter.
My wife woke up at pity’s noise
And bade me in a tremulous voice,
“Be man, switch on the light,
See if it is a ghost or a bird cries”.
Feeble shrieks had moved my heart,
I switched on the light to help the bird.
My kindness brought a vision before me,
I saw a big snake on the ceiling.
The snake had coiled in the iron ring
That was hanging below the ceiling.
The bird was gripped in snake’s coiling,
It sacrificed itself to give us warning.
The bird’s restless movements stopped,
My wife saw, swooned and dropped.
Snake was black and night was dark,
I was alone to fight the war.
I dragged away my children’s cots
So they be safe in case it falls.
Then I took two long sticks,
Pushed one at its head with a trick.
It coiled round the stick to give a shake,
I severely pushed the other at its tail.
Its trunk furiously began to move,
The dead bird fell when grip was loose.
The bird fell on my hands anon,
It shook me and my balance.
My imbalance gave some painful rest
To the wrestling snake still hard pressed.
My hands were strong, mind was harsh,
I could not spare the devil, by God!
I mustered strength for the final phase,
And crushed it severely for Mercy’s sake.
The pain troubled the snake so hard
That it thought proper to breathe its last.
When it grew cold my wife was warm;
She sobbed, cried and raised an alarm.
I thanked the bird with all my heart
Which shrieked to death to make me alert.
Had I not been kind to it that night,
I would sleep forever with my wife.
