A Child was playing in a meadow, and by chance trod upon a Serpent.
The Serpent, in the fury of his passion, turned up and bit the Child
with his venomous teeth, so that he died immediately. The Father of the
Child, inspired with grief and revenge, took a weapon, and pursuing the
Serpent, before he could get into his hole, struck at him and lopped
off a piece of his tail. The next day, hoping by stratagem to finish
his revenge, he brought to the Serpent’s hole honey, and meal, and
salt, and desired him to come forth, protesting that he only sought a
reconciliation on both sides; but the Serpent answered him with a hiss
to this purpose: In vain you attempt a reconciliation; for as long as
the memory of the dead Child and the mangled tail subsists, it will be
impossible for you and I to have any charity for each other.