Graphic by Harlow Berny
Retold By Harlow Berny
Storyteller Berny unearths Grimm’s tales about children and snakes. As we move from one to another, Berny reminds us, “None of these stories are related other than the fact that they contain children and snakes.” Enjoy the combination.
I.
Centuries ago, in a long forgotten kingdom, there was a little girl whose mother would give her a small bowl of milk and bread. Every day the child would eat in the yard on a small stump. When she would eat, a snake would creep out a crack in the wall, dip its head in the dish, and eat along with her. The child took joy in having a friend to eat with, and so, when the snake did not come out one day, she softly spoke,
“Snake, oh snake, quickly
come forth, you tiny critter,
you shall eat your bread crumbs,
you shall drink your milk.”
When the snake heard these words, it rushed forth to enjoy its meal. To show its gratitude to the child, the snake gave her some of its hidden treasures, such as shining gems, captivating pearls, and glistening golden jewelry. Following this event, however, the snake only drank the milk, never touching the breadcrumbs. After a few days of this, the little girl tapped the snake on its head with her spoon, saying, “Eat the bread crumbs as well, tiny critter.” The mother, who was in the kitchen, heard the child speaking, looked out the window, and was horrified to see a snake right next to her daughter. She ran out with the knife she was using to cut vegetables, and she killed the peaceful snake.
From that day forth, the little girl changed. When the snake ate with her, she grew tall, strong, and beautiful, but now she withered–her cheeks went pale, and her hair fell out. It was not long before the doves cried and the robins collected little branches for a funeral wreath as the child lay in her coffin.
II.
A young orphan girl was sitting under a tree when she suddenly spotted a snake slithering out of a hole in the ground. She quickly laid her blue silk handkerchief beside her, as she was always told that snakes loved blue handkerchiefs so much they’d ignore nearby humans, even resting on the handkerchief as humans walked by. This snake, however, went straight back into the hole in the ground upon seeing it, only to return with a small golden crown. The snake placed the crown on the handkerchief before rushing to the hole once more. The girl, amazed with what she was seeing, picked up the glittering crown and her handkerchief, placed the crown atop her head and the handkerchief in her pocket. She skipped her way to the orphanage to show all her friends what she had found. The snake came out again, and, upon seeing that the crown and handkerchief both were missing, bashed its head into the wall over and over again, only stopping when its body went limp and bloody, never to move again. If the girl had left the crown and waited a while longer, surely the snake would have brought more treasures out of the hole.
III.
A snake laughed, “Hehehe.”
A child heard the snake and went to question it, “Little snake, have you seen my little sister? She wears little stockings upon her legs.”
“No, I have not,” answered the snake. “Have you seen little red stockings? Hehe, hehe, hehe.”
The child never said the sister’s stockings were red.
Editor: Renée Vazquez
A Re-Telling of Grimm’s
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