Snake

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It was a bright summer morning in the small village of Shadwal. Children had gathered in the wide green meadow at the edge of the village to play. The grass was fresh and wet with dew, and the air was filled with the songs of birds welcoming the day. Laughter echoed as the children ran, chasing each other and rolling on the soft ground.

Among them was Ayan, a curious ten-year-old boy who loved exploring every corner of the meadow. That morning, he wandered a little farther than usual, following a trail of tiny blue butterflies that seemed to dance just ahead of him. He crouched down to look closely at a patch of wildflowers when something unusual caught his eye.

At first, he thought it was just a thick branch lying in the grass. But as he looked more carefully, he noticed the scales shimmering in the sunlight and the slow, steady movement. Ayan froze. His heart began to pound so loudly he could hear it in his ears.

“It’s a snake!” he whispered, too shocked to move.

The creature was enormous. Its body was as thick as a man’s leg, and it stretched across the meadow like a long green rope. Its head rested calmly on a flat stone, its black eyes watching everything around it with ancient stillness. For a moment, Ayan felt as if the snake was looking directly at him, studying him.

He slowly backed away, then turned and ran toward the other children, waving his arms frantically. “There’s a giant snake! Come quick!” he shouted.

The children stopped playing. Some laughed, thinking Ayan was making up another story. But when they saw the fear in his eyes, they knew he was serious. One by one, they followed him back to where the snake lay. When they reached the spot, they gasped. None of them had ever seen such a huge snake before.

Soon, the noise attracted the attention of nearby villagers. Adults came carrying sticks and hoes, unsure whether the snake was dangerous. Old Malik, the village elder, walked ahead of the group, raising his hand for silence. He had lived in Shadwal all his life and knew the creatures of the meadow well.

He studied the giant snake carefully. “This is the old meadow serpent,” he said in a calm voice. “It comes here to bask in the morning sun. It has never harmed anyone.”

“But it’s so big!” cried Zara, a little girl clutching her mother’s skirt.

“Yes, it is,” Malik agreed. “But sometimes, big things are not meant to hurt us. This snake is part of this land. It eats rats and keeps the fields healthy.”

Some villagers relaxed, lowering their sticks. Others still watched warily, unsure whether to trust the old man’s words. The snake, meanwhile, seemed completely uninterested in the humans gathering around it. Slowly, it lifted its head, flicked its long tongue to taste the air, and began to uncoil its massive body.

Everyone stepped back as the snake moved. Its scales shone with shades of green, brown, and golden yellow. It glided gracefully across the grass, making almost no sound. The children watched with wide eyes as it passed between them, as if they were nothing but trees in its path.

It slithered toward the far side of the meadow, where the grass grew taller near a line of old trees. There, it disappeared into the shadows, leaving only the marks of its passage pressed into the grass.

A long silence followed. Then the children began to talk all at once, their voices excited and full of wonder.

“Did you see how big it was?”

“I thought it would eat us!”

“It was beautiful!”

Ayan stood quietly, feeling a strange mixture of fear and fascination. He knew he would never forget this day, the morning when the meadow revealed one of its oldest secrets. From that day on, whenever he came to play, he always looked carefully around, hoping to catch another glimpse of the giant snake that had once watched him with its patient, mysterious eyes.