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The Snake and the Ferret's Heart
In a hidden forest deep in the mountains of India a sly snake and his wife lived and ruled the ground, along with the river that ran through its center.
All the forest animals were terribly frightened to ever go near the pair of snakes for they were ruthless and unforgiving.These two snakes had no friends but each other for they were ferocious.
One day the snake's wife spotted a lone ferret frolicing through the forest and knew instantly that she must have him. She commanded the snake to bring her the ferret's heart or she may perish. For Mr. Snake adored his wife so greatly that he would do anything for her could not imagine what he would do if she were to die.
The snake knew that the ferret would not come too close to the ground our of fear, so he concocted his plan and knew just what he would do to lure the ferret down close enough to snatch him.
As the ferret approached, the snake called out to him saying, "Oh Mr. Ferret you must be mighty thirsty. If you come down to this river right here I'll lead you to the best drinking spot. This spot is like none other, it will give you strength for days and allow you to outrun anyone that you meet."
At first, the ferret was frightened for he had heard stories of how mean the snake was to all other creatures. But the snake had seemed so genuine to Mr. Ferret, who was also quite gullible, and he decided he wanted the mighty strength this water offered and so as he scurried down to the river's edge next to the snake he replied, "How kind of you snake."
As soon as the ferret was within reach of the snake, he wasted no time and instantly began to coil his body around the ferret so that he might not move.
The ferret squealed in agony, "Please! Please stop! Whatever are you doing to me! You told me you would take me to the best drinking spot that the forest had to offer."
"My wife commands I bring her your heart or she shall perish."
"Well you and your wife must be terribly mistaken, for you see, ferret's do not have hearts."
At this the snake was utterly confused and knew not what he should do.
"You should let me go at once and I will bring you back someone better for your wife that does have a heart," said the ferret.
At this, the snake angry and upset, released the ferret thinking that this may be the way to receive a heart for his beloved wife. As soon as the ferret was free from the snake's grip, he darted up the nearest tree as fast and furious as he could.
From his safe perch out of reach from the terrible snake, he turned back and squealed, "You silly snake, you may be mean and deceitful, but you sir have no brain." And with that the ferret scurried off never to be seen again in this part of the forest.
Ferret from Pixaby
Author's Note: For this story, I used the same basic premise but decided to change up the animals. Instead of using a crocodile, I chose to use snakes because they carry the same persona of not very friendly. As for the original character of a monkey, I chose to add in a ferret because to me they are cute little creatures. I enjoy taking different stories and putting my own unique twist on them while still keeping the basic storyline. In the original story, the monkey is looking for a way to cross the Ganges river and seeks help from the crocodile. The crocodile tells the monkey that he will give him a ride across on his back and on their way across the crocodile begins to allow the monkey to sink. The monkey in the original story is somewhat more witty and tells the crocodile that he leaves his heart in a fig tree so that it will not be all jumbled up when he jumps from tree to tree but that he will go fetch it for him if the crocodile takes him back to dry land. Due to the snake being an animal that would not be able to carry a ferret across the river I chose to have him lure the ferret to the river and then let him attack.
Bibliography: Eastern Stories and Legends by Marie L. Shedlock.
The Crocodile and the Monkey's Heart
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