Snake

The snake had been kept in the tank for about two weeks. She was a fat and beautiful puff adder. Her brown and cream markings were a perfect foil for the landscape of rocks and sand she lived in. I used to look at her curled up in her glass prison. The owners of the nature reserve had decided she needed to be some sort of show-and- tell display.

So she stayed and I watched her. The nature conservation authorities arrived one Wednesday morning to look at her. “No” was the verdict “You can’t keep her here in this too-small tank, and besides you don’t have a permit. So she has to go, let her out immediately!”

And so the tank was taken outside and she was nudged onto the ground with a stick. Her cold body struggled to move. She just didn’t have any energy without the sun.

But now she was free.

“How awful” said the owners. “The tourists really loved to look at her, I wonder how they knew we were keeping her?”

“Yes such shame” I agreed, “I have no idea who would have done it”.

And I swear I looked completely believable.