A snake was coiled around the limb of the tree with his neck bent, and his head slowly waving in the air. His body glistened in the sunlight as it played on his scales, and Frank fancied he could see the fire darting from his eyes. A foot or so in front of him was a squirrel, sitting on his haunches, and with his tail erect; his eyes were fixed on the serpent, and he was chattering wildly, and as if greatly alarmed.
While they looked at the strange spectacle, the head of the snake was darted forward, and in an instant the poor little squirrel was transfixed by the deadly fangs. Frank wished they had been able to save the squirrel by killing the snake, but his wishing was of no avail, as they were moving down the stream; and, besides, they had no fire-arms with which the serpent could have been disturbed in his retreat up the tree.
"I suppose the squirrel was charmed by the snake," said Fred, as soon as they had passed out of sight of the tree.
"As to that," replied Doctor Bronson, "there is much dispute. Many persons who have studied the subject are positive that snakes have the power of charming or fascinating small birds and animals; and others, who have studied it quite as much, deny that any such power exists. I have heard so much on both sides, that I am not able to form a positive opinion. I am inclined, however, to believe that the power is possessed by certain snakes, as I have seen manifestations of it, or something very like it. When I was a boy in the country, I one day saw a large black snake in an apple-tree on my uncle's farm. A bird was hopping around on the limbs in great alarm, as I judged by his twitterings; he seemed to be terribly afraid of the snake, and at the same time unable to get away from him. I watched his movements for nearly half an hour, and observed that each time the bird moved he came nearer to the snake; and the performance ended by his lighting on a branch within a foot of where the latter was coiled. Then the snake darted his head forward and seized the bird, precisely as you saw that scaly fellow, a few moments ago, seize the squirrel.
"Exactly what the process of charming is, if it really exists, it is difficult to say. Probably the victim is paralyzed, to some extent, by the horrible appearance of the serpent, and deprived of the use of his limbs. If you suddenly come in contact with a ferocious wild beast, or some terrible danger is presented to you, it is not at all improbable that you will be unable to move from sheer fright. I am inclined to believe that the fascination of birds and small mammals by serpents is something of this sort, but I confess my inability to explain why the victim, in moving around, comes every moment nearer to his destroyer, as though he could not remove his eyes, however much he might wish to do so."
"If you travel around much in Siam," the consul remarked, "you will find all the snakes you care to see. It is not unusual to see them swimming in the river; and in the rainy season they frequently get into the houses, particularly those that float on the water. Most of them are harmless, but there are some poisonous ones, including the famous cobra di capella."
Frank thought he would prefer not to live in a floating house, for the present at least; and his opinion was shared by Fred. They were not at all enamored of the idea of having an intimate association with the wandering snakes of Siam.
MONKEYS AT HOME.