THE SNAKE THAT’S KING
Reading edition
The snake that’s king deserves his crown, Above his kind in wood and town; For man was ne’er bit by the king, Though snake-fond ones to him will cling; But I prefer no such renown. With boys I frolic up and down, The playful kids who never frown; And small respect at times I fling The snake—that’s king. O Muse, tell me the oldest clown; Why fickle Eve preferred no gown; And why she ceased at once to sing, And deigned within her heart to bring The Snake that’s king?
Picture of a King Snake nearly five feet long, swallowing a somewhat shorter Rattler, after a struggle which lasted for two hours.
Photograph by Mr. Alfred Austell near Atlanta, Ga.