The Snake in the House
Once upon a time, beside an old forest where cool waters flowed, there stood a small and peaceful wooden house. In that modest house lived an old man and his wife, their hearts full of love, together with their little grandchild. Beneath the stone hearth of the house, however, lay a gentle house snake coiled up, gleaming with golden scales. The villagers believed with all their hearts that this snake was the abundance and the guardian of the house, and they held it in deep respect. Every evening the old woman left a bowl of fresh milk beside the hearth, and the snake accepted this offering with delight. One summer morning, while the little child was playing in the garden, he noticed his shining friend gliding out from under the hearth.
Without the slightest fear, he scattered the bread crumbs he held in his hand and smiled at the snake with affection. Sensing the child's innocence, the snake drew near gracefully and, after drinking its milk, left behind a gold coin that glittered brightly. For days this beautiful friendship went on, and with each passing day the family attained a more prosperous life. But when a greedy neighbor out in the fields noticed this miraculous state of affairs, a dark greed took hold of his heart. "If I kill that snake, I will possess all the golden treasure in its belly at a single stroke," he thought. Slipping silently into the house at midnight, the neighbor hurled the sharp axe in his hand greedily toward the edge of the hearth.
But the watchful snake was quick and glided into the darkness, and the keen edge of the axe managed to sever only the tip of its tail. Hissing with rage, the snake fiercely bit the greedy neighbor who had committed this treachery, and slipped away from there. The next morning, seeing that the snake had vanished, the family sank into deep sorrow at having lost the abundance of their home and their friend. The greedy neighbor, for his part, understood the mistake he had made and writhed in regret, but it was already far too late. In time the abundance of the house fled, and unease settled over the whole village like a heavy shadow. The snake never returned to that house again, and lost forever the trust it had felt in people. Where greed blinds the eye, friendship ends and the greatest abundance slips through the hands. Greed comes and darkens the eye, greed goes and darkens the face.