In a small village on top of the mountains, there lived a woodman with his wife and a child. The woodman went to the forest to cut wood every day and returned home in the evening. As it was hard to climb the mountain, he reached home every day before sunset.
On one winter’s night, while he was returning home, it began to snow. The snow was falling heavily and it was getting harder for him to walk up the mountain. He tried to run as fast as he could.
On his way, he saw a snake lying on the snow. He looked pale and almost dead. When the woodman checked, the snake was still alive. So, he took the snake to his house.
The woodman’s wife saw that the snake was very ill. She wrapped the snake in a blanket and kept him in front of the fireplace. The couple gave the snake some food and medicine for him to recover.
The woodman also wore a sweater and sat inside a quilt. His wife served him hot soup. He then played with his child near by. When the snake woke up, he felt very weak and hungry. He did not know where he was. He saw the child playing at a distance and thought, ‘Wow! It’s my lucky day. I am wrapped inside a blanket and there is a baby to feast on.’
The snake started crawling towards the child slowly. But to his dismay, the woodman saw him crawling close to the child and understood his intentions. The woodman got very angry. He picked his axe up and slashed the snake into two pieces.
