Uncle Henry had said, “Two,” and promised to show the children a very big one, and an old man having a struggle with it besides.
Peter and Paul were expectantly waiting on the sand when Uncle Henry and Betty came down from the porch that evening after dark.
“Now,” said Peter, “where’s the snake, Uncle Hen?”
“We’ll begin with his head,” said Uncle Henry. “Everybody find the northern crown, or Virgo’s necklace, and Hercules’ club. Now look just between them and you will see five stars in a sort of little cross, quite close together. Get that?” ([15])
The children soon found all five and put down little stones to represent them on the sand.
“All right, then; now trace a line from star to star, down toward Scorpio, and then across toward the archer, and then up in the direction of the swan. That line is the Serpent. It is writhing in the hands of Ophiuchus, the old man who is called ‘The Serpent-bearer.’ His head and Hercules’ head are only a little way apart. Look for a bright star just east of the bright one in the head of Hercules and you will have the head of Ophiuchus. Then look where his shoulders would naturally come and you will see two stars close together in each shoulder. Find them?”
The children did, and placed pebbles for the head and shoulders of Ophiuchus.
“Now,” said Uncle Henry, “draw two long lines down from the shoulders, through the Serpent and beyond, and you will have the old man’s body, legs and feet. One foot is just in front of the archer’s bow; the other is just above the red heart of Scorpio. You will have to imagine his arms, and his hands holding the serpent while it squirms.”
When all the pebbles were down and all the lines were drawn, Ophiuchus and the serpent, or Serpens in Latin, looked like this:
