THE UNDECIDED RATTLESNAKE
It is not often that one of the Forest People has any trouble aboutmaking up his mind, but there was one large Rattlesnake who had greatdifficulty in doing so. She lived in the southern edge of the forest,where the sunshine was clear and warm, and there were delightfulcrevices among the rocks in which she and all her friends and relativescould hide.
It seemed very strange that so old a Snake should be so undecided as shewas. It must be that she had a careless mother who did not bring her upin the right way. If that were so, one should indeed be sorry for her.Still even that would be no real excuse, for was she not old enough nowto train herself? She had seven joints in the rattle on her tail and aneighth one growing, so you can see that she was no longer young,although, being healthy, she had grown her new joints and changed herskin oftener than some of her friends. In fact, she had grown childrenof her own, and if it had not been that they took after their father,they would have been a most helpless family. Fortunately for them, theirfather was a very decided Snake.
Yes, it was exceedingly lucky for them. It may not have been so good athing for him. His wife was always glad to have things settled for her,and when he said, "We will do this," she answered, "Yes, dear." When hesaid, "We will not do that," she murmured, "No, dear." And when hesaid, "What shall we do?" she would reply, "Oh, I don't know. What doyou think we might better do?" He did not very often ask her opinion,and there were people in the forest who said he would never have talkedmatters over with her if he had not known that she would leave thedecision to him.
Now this is a bad way in which to have things go in any family, and ithappened here as it would anywhere. He grew more and more selfish fromhaving his own way all of the time, and his wife became less and lessable to take care of herself. Most people thought him a very devotedhusband. Perhaps he was. It is easy to be a devoted husband if youalways have your own way.
One night Mr. Rattlesnake did not return to their home. Nobody ever knewwhat had become of him. The Red Squirrel said that Mrs. Goldfinch saidthat the biggest little Rabbit had told her that the Ground Hog hadoverheard Mr. Crow say that he thought he saw somebody that looked likeMr. Rattlesnake chasing a Field Mouse over toward the farm, but that hemight have been mistaken. This was all so uncertain that Mrs.Rattlesnake knew no more than she had known before. It was very trying.
"If I only knew positively," she said to her friend, Mrs. Striped Snake,"I could do something, although I am sure I don't know what it wouldbe."
Mrs. Striped Snake tried to help her. "Why not have one of your childrencome home to live with you?" she said pleasantly, for this year'schildren were now old enough to shift for themselves.
"I've thought of that," answered Mrs. Rattlesnake, "but I like a quietlife, and you know how it is. Young Snakes will be young Snakes.Besides, I don't think they would want to come back."
"Well, why not be alone, then?"
"Oh, it is so lonely," replied Mrs. Rattlesnake, with a sigh."Everything reminds me so of my husband, and that makes me sad. If Ilived somewhere else it would be different."
"Then why not move?" said Mrs. Striped Snake, briskly. "I would do that.Find a nice crack in the rock just big enough for one, or make a cosylittle hole in the ground somewhere near here. Then if he comes back hecan find you easily. I would do that. I certainly would."
She spoke so firmly that Mrs. Rattlesnake said she would, she wouldto-morrow. And her friend went home thinking it was all settled. Thatshows how little she really knew Mrs. Rattlesnake.
The more Mrs. Rattlesnake thought it over that night, the more shedreaded moving. "If he does not come back," she sighed, "I may marryagain in the spring, and then I might have to move once more. I believeI will ask somebody else what I ought to do."
So in the morning she began to consult her friends. They all told her tomove, and she decided to do it. Then she could not make up her mindwhether to take a rock-crevice or make a hole in the ground. It tookanother day of visiting to settle that it should be a hole in theground. A fourth day was spent in finding just the right place for herhome, and on the fifth day she began work.
By the time the sun was over the tree-tops, she wished she had chosensome other place, and thought best to stop and talk to some of herfriends about it. When she returned she found herself obliged to casther skin, which had been growing tight and dry for some time. This washard work, and she was too tired to go on with her home-making, so shelay in the sunshine and admired her beautiful, long, and shining body ofreddish brown spotted with black. Her rattle had eight joints now, forwhen a Rattlesnake casts the old skin a new joint is always uncovered atthe end of the tail. She waved it quickly to see how an eight-jointedrattle would sound. "Lovely!" she said. "Lovely! Like the seeds of thewild cucumber shaking around in their dry and prickly case."
One could not tell all the things that happened that fall, or how very,very, very tired her friends became of having her ask their advice. Shechanged her mind more times than there are seeds in a milkweed pod, andthe only thing of which she was always sure was eating. When there wasfood in sight she did not stop for anybody's advice. She ate it as fastas she could, and if she had any doubts about the wisdom of doing so,she kept them to herself.
When winter came she had just got her new home ready, and after all shewent when invited to spend the winter with a cave party of other Snakes.They coiled themselves together in a great mass and slept there untilspring. As the weather grew warmer, they began to stir, wriggling andtwisting themselves free.
Two bachelor Snakes asked her to marry. One was a fine old fellow with atwelve-jointed rattle. The other was just her own age.
"To be sure I will," she cried, and the pits between her nostrils andher ears looked more like dimples than ever. "Only you must wait until Ican make up my mind which one to marry."
"Oh, no," they answered, "don't go to all that trouble. We will fightand decide it for you."
It was a long fight, and the older of the two Snakes had a couple ofjoints broken off from his rattle before it was over. Still he beat theother one and drove him away. When he came back for his bride he foundher crying. "What is the matter?" said he, quite sternly.
"Oh, that p-poor other b-bachelor!" she sobbed. "I b-believe I will g-goafter him. I think p-perhaps I l-love him the b-better."
"No, you don't, Mrs. Rattlesnake," said the fine old fellow who had justwon the fight. "You will do no such thing. You will marry me and neverspeak to him again. When I have lost two joints of my rattle in fightingfor you, I intend to have you myself, and _I_ say that you love me verydearly. Do you hear?"
"Yes, darling," she answered, as she wiped her eyes on the grass, "verydearly." And they lived most happily together.
"He reminds me so much of the first Mr. Rattlesnake," she said to herfriends. "So strong, so firm, so quick to decide!"
And the friends said to each other, "Well, let us be thankful he is. Wehave been bothered enough by her coming to us for advice which she neverfollowed."