After many years, they say, the serpent rose from the sands that glowed. Slithering away in desert sands, with nothing in sight to cause a flinch, the serpent was free to roam and learn.

Whereupon once entering civilization, the serpent was chased away mercilessly with sticks and stones, was jeered at, called names and made to fear. The serpent who had never known such inconvenience or unhappiness came about to live in fear, feeling trapped all the time. In desperate attempts to find a way out, the serpent resorted to self-imposed isolation and made it a way of life.

Once in a while the serpent would chance upon a willing child who would appreciate his beauty and wit and think of him as somebody magical and capable of great powers. Such kismet meetings transformed the serpent – he started learning again about the world around him and began to take great joy and pride in his being. The serpent had found himself again.

One day the serpent came across a child who exclaimed in joy to see him like the many children he had met by now. The serpent looked the child into his eyes. Suddenly the child yielded a huge belt and rushed forward to lash at the serpent. Faced with such premonition, the serpent attacked the child and bit him. The child let out a cry of pain and ran away. The incident left the serpent hurt and a bit wary of children; but he had learnt to be aggressive when necessary. He quietly slithered away to go on learning many more things about the world around him.

If you should chance upon the serpent today, be assured that he is a gentle creature. Only if your heart is pure would you be able to appreciate him, only if your mind is free from biases will you be able to befriend him.