THE MAN WHO BECAME A SERPENT
There was once a hunter who shot a great bear, and the beast ran from him and entered a cave.
“I will go after it,” the hunter said to himself, “for, since it is wounded, it will be easy to kill it when it is trapped in the cave.”
So he went into the cave, but could find no bear. He saw its tracks, and they led down a dark passage which seemed to slope into the earth. He followed this passage a long way, but found no bear. Suddenly he came into an open space and saw before him a beautiful garden. It was filled with wonderful trees such as he had never before seen, and some of them bore strange fruits.
Now as there was no one to forbid, he plucked some berries and found that they were good. But suddenly he was overcome with a strange feeling, and gazing down upon himself, he saw that he was turned into a horrible serpent. Struck with terror, he cried, “What fearful thing has befallen me? I who was a man, ruler over all animals, even the four-footed kings of the forest, am become the lowest of the low, even a loathsome serpent.” He hung his head in shame, and crawled back through the cave, and lay down at the foot of a huge pine tree.