The Farmer and the Snake

O NE wintry day a Farmer found a Snake lying on the frozen ground, quite still and nearly dead and cold.

In a fit of compassion the Farmer brought him carefully to his house, and laid him near the fire. But as soon as the Snake began to feel the pleasant warmth, he raised his head and tried to bite his kind friend.

"Oh!" said the Farmer, "is that the way you repay me for my trouble? You are a venomous creature, I am sure, and the sooner you die the better." And he killed him with one blow of his stick.