The book of nature myths . un shining 20 THE BOOK OF NATURE MYTHS. through the leaves made jflecks of light andshadow upon the earth. He heard the songof the bird and the lazy buzz of the wind rustled the leafy boughs abovehim. All the music of the forest lulled himto slumber, and he closed his eyes. As the magician lay asleep, a great ser-pent came softly from the thicket. It liftedhigh its shining crest and saw the man atthe foot of the tree. I will kill him! ithissed. I could have eaten that cat lastnight if he had not called, * Watch, littlecat, watch! I will kill him, I will kill
The book of nature myths . un shining 20 THE BOOK OF NATURE MYTHS. through the leaves made jflecks of light andshadow upon the earth. He heard the songof the bird and the lazy buzz of the wind rustled the leafy boughs abovehim. All the music of the forest lulled himto slumber, and he closed his eyes. As the magician lay asleep, a great ser-pent came softly from the thicket. It liftedhigh its shining crest and saw the man atthe foot of the tree. I will kill him! ithissed. I could have eaten that cat lastnight if he had not called, * Watch, littlecat, watch! I will kill him, I will killhim! Closer and closer the deadly serpent magician stirred in his sleep. Watch,little cat, watch ! he said softly. The ser-pent drew back, but the magicians eyeswere shut, and it went closer. It hissedits war-cry. The sleeping magician did notmove. The serpent was upon him — no, farup in the high branches of the tree above hishead the little cat lay hidden. She had seenthe serpent when it came from the SHE LEAPE6 DOWN UPON THE SERPENT 22 THE BOOK OF NATURE MYTHS. She watched it as it went closer and closerto the sleeping man, and she heard it hissits war-cry. The little cats body quiveredwith anger and with fear, for she was solittle and the serpent was so big. The ma-gician was very good to me, she thought,and she leaped down upon the serpent. Oh, how angry the serpent was! It hissed,and the flames shot from its eyes. It struckwildly at the brave little cat, but now thecat had no fear. Again and again she leapedupon the serpents head, and at last thecreature lay dead beside the sleeping manwhom it had wished to kill. When the magician awoke, the little catlay on the earth, and not far away was thedead serpent. He knew at once what thecat had done, and he said, Little cat, whatcan I do to show you honor for your bravefight? Your eyes are quick to see, andyour ears are quick to hear. You can runvery swiftly. I know what I can do foryou. You shall be known o
Size: 1264px × 1978px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectanimals, bookyear1902
