The snake considered another moment or so and then began to laugh. He had thought of something a bee could not possibly do. He darted out of a hole in the tree so quickly the bee had scarcely time to wonder what he was up to; and just as quickly he came back with a seed pod from the eucalyptus tree that stood near the beehive and shaded it on days when the sun was hot. Now the seed pods of the eucalyptus tree are just the shape of a top; in fact, the boys and girls in Argentina call them “tops”—trompitos!
“Now you just watch and see what I’m a-going to do,” said the snake. “Watch now! Watch!...”
The snake wound the thin part of his tail around the top like a string; then, with a jump forward to his full length, he straightened his tail out. The “top” began to spin like mad on the bark floor there at the bottom of the hollow tree; and it spun and spun and spun, dancing, jumping, running off in this direction and then in that direction. And the snake laughed! And he laughed and he laughed and he laughed! No bee would ever be able to do a thing like that!
Finally the top got tired of spinning and fell over on its side.
“That is very clever!” said the bee, “I could never do that!”
“In that case, I shall have to eat you!” said the snake.
“Not just yet, please,” said the bee. “I can’t spin a top; but I can do something no one else can do!”
“What is that?” asked the snake.
“I can disappear!” said the bee.
“What do you mean, disappear?” said the snake, with some interest. “Disappear so that I can’t see you and without going away from here?”