The snake that’s king deserves his crown,
Above his kind in wood and town;
For man was ne’er bit by the king,
Though snake-fond ones to him will cling;
But I prefer no such renown.
With boys I frolic up and down,
The playful kids who never frown;
And small respect at times I fling
The snake—that’s king.
O Muse, tell me the oldest clown;
Why fickle Eve preferred no gown;
And why she ceased at once to sing,
And deigned within her heart to bring
_The Snake that’s king_?
[Illustration: Picture of a King Snake nearly five feet long,
swallowing a somewhat shorter Rattler, after a struggle which lasted
for two hours.