The Tame Snake
Once upon a time, at the edge of an old forest where cool waters flowed, there lived a kind-hearted woodcutter. This old man had taken in a small viper that he had found wounded and helpless in the garden of his hut. He had fed this frail creature, which was about to freeze from the cold, with warm milk and had cared for it tenderly. In time the snake grew, and with its shining scales and supple glide it became the woodcutter's closest friend. Whenever the villagers warned him, the woodcutter would smile and say that this lovable creature would never do harm. On a mild spring morning, while the woodcutter was resting in the wooden arbour in his garden, the snake crept up beside him. The old man began to whisper sweet words to his friend, stroking its shining back with affection.
"I raised you with my own hands, and now you are a tame and loyal member of this house," he said. But in the eyes of the snake, revived by the warmth of the sun, a wild glint suddenly appeared. That dangerous urge, which nature could not change, had awakened again in the snake's blood. The snake suddenly hissed and tensed, and lunged to sink its sharp teeth into the woodcutter's hand. Although the man managed to pull his hand back at the last moment, the venomous fangs of the snake tore the sleeve of his garment. In deep astonishment and sorrow, the woodcutter leapt backwards and looked at his friend. "I showed you mercy and opened my table to you, and yet you try to poison me," he cried out.
The snake looked at the man with cold eyes and began to slither slyly away among the bushes. At that moment the old man understood that, however hard he tried, he could never change the true nature of a wild animal. With the stick in his hand he drove the snake away from his hut and protected himself and his home from danger. The woodcutter, who had barely saved his life, sighed deeply when he saw that the creature he had fed had yielded to its own nature. From that day on he learned through bitter experience that he should show his mercy to those who deserve it. However much kindness is done to ill-natured creatures, their dangerous nature never changes. Our elders did not say it in vain: Feed the crow and it will peck out your eye.