Stuck

     With all the menfolk away at various campouts, track meets, and such, the chicken-putting-to-bed duties fell to me. My visiting four-year old granddaughter, Annie, and I happily headed down to the pasture and barnlet to collect eggs and lock up the hens for the evening.  But as we passed by the gate on the way out, something caught my eye that made me shriek.

     "What's wrong, Nonnie?"

     "Let's go look at the apple trees," I replied, grabbing Annie in my arms and making a dash for anywhere other than where we were. For what I'd seen on the fence post by the gate was a snake, or more accurately part of him. The rest of the creature was wedged deep inside a crack in the post.

    Our unwelcome visitor was still in his now-awkward looking location as I passed him (with more courage this time) the next morning. Phew. Yes, he was just a simple black snake. When Tim arrived home, he determined that the fellow was actually stuck tight inside the post. We began to wonder if he, like Pooh*, had eaten something which required digestion before he would be able to remove himself.

     At any rate, the snake eventually discovered some way to unwedge himself, and he left after 24 hours or so. Now I'll just have to worry about encountering him in the grass. Wait - this is an improvement?

 


  * "The fact is," said Rabbit,"you're stuck."

     "It all comes," said Pooh crossly, "of not having front doors big enough."

     "It all comes," said Rabbit sternly, "of eating too much. I thought at the time,"said Rabbit, "only I didn't like to say anything," said Rabbit, "that one of us has eating too much," said Rabbit,"and I knew it wasn't me," he said.

- Winnie-the-Pooh