Why snake has no legs

By Mumo Musili

Long, long ago in the desolate sands,

Snake and Centipede met on their different errands,

They went to hunt together to find some food,

And became friends, dear and good.

Centipede had magical powers to tame his prey,

While Snake, with his venom, killed straight away.

Then the great pals would share the meat,

And the following day they again would meet.

One day, the two chums went to hunt,

They thought they could pull off their usual stunt,

But unlike the previous day,

Luck refused to come their way.

They went home empty-handed,

Hungry, angry and disheartened,

And on the way a quarrel between them started.

Perfect skill

Snake jumped at Centipede threatening to kill,

But he dodged the attack with perfect skill,

Swearing to bewitch Snake with his magical powers,

And this disagreement went on for hours.

The two friends thus fell out,

And as they parted, each continued to shout,

Until their voices could be heard no more,

And it was as silent as it had been before.

All night long Snake swore to kill Centipede if they met again,

Centipede used his magic and bewitched Snake with pain,

Early in the morning Snake found all his legs were gone,

And that his body was as heavy as stone!

He slithered on the ground spitting in anger,

And ever since, Centipede avoids this deadly danger!