The old man longed for children. But he and his young wife had none, so he invited his nephew to live with them. This infuriated his wife, who had a vile¹ temper. When her husband welcomed the young man with great affection, she turned pale with jealousy². Her eyes narrowed and her head flattened³. And when she licked her lips, her nephew saw that her tongue was forked. From that day on, the young man spent as much time as possible with his uncle and tried to avoid his aunt. But she seemed to enjoy startling him, suddenly appearing when he least expected her.

 

One evening, the nephew returned to the house quite late. He lit a candle and started up the stairs. Halfway⁴ up, he tripped on what seemed to be a coiled rope. Imagine his horror when that rope uncoiled and slithered up the steps in front of him! Then he saw it glide⁵ across the hall and under the door of his uncle's bedroom.

 

"Wake up! Wake up" the young man shouted, and he knocked on the door until his knuckles⁶ hurt. But when his sleepy uncle finally let him in the bedroom, there was no snake in sight.

 

His aunt seemed to be sleeping, so the young man whispered in his uncle's ear. "I saw a snake." But his uncle was too groggy⁷ to respond, and he slid back under the covers. The young man searched the room quietly, looking into drawers and cupboards and corners. He peered under the bed and behind chairs. He was beginning to think he was going mad when suddenly his aunt sat up in bed, narrowed her eyes, and gave him an evil look that made his flesh creep.

 

"I'm sorry to bother you," he cried, racing⁸ to his bedroom and firmly shutting the door.

 

When he awoke the next morning, he noticed that the bottom of his bedroom door was arched up in the center, leaving just enough space for a snake to slither through. He bolted out of bed trembling. When he went downstairs, he was shocked to see that every door in the house had a snake-sized arch beneath it.

 

His aunt was sitting at the table, eating. "Your uncle left for the day," she said, licking her lips with her forked tongue. The young man was too terrified to speak, but his silence only made matters worse.

 

"I don't like the way you treat me," she said and grabbed his arm. Then she pressed her fingernails so deeply into his skin that he felt as if he were being bitten. He rushed outdoors and saw his arm was swelling⁹. His hand and fingers were beginning to throb¹⁰.

 

He knew he must seek help, so he ran into the forest to find the wise old hermit¹¹ who lived there. The old man examined him carefully and handed him some leaves. "These are best for snakebite," he said "Bind¹² them around your arm and keep them wet."

 

"But I wasn't bitten by a snake," said the young man. "Those marks were made by my aunt's fingernails."

 

The old hermit shook his head in despair. "The touch of a snake-woman is even worse," he said, "but try these leaves. They should help"

 

The young man was appalled¹³. "Is my aunt really a snake- woman?" he asked.

 

"If you want to find out," the hermit replied, "stay awake tonight, and if a snake enters you room, cut off the tip of its tail."

 

The young man wasn't sure how this would help, but he thanked the hermit for his advice and returned to his uncle's house. By afternoon, he was happy to see that the wet leaves had reduced the swelling.

 

He watched his aunt closely that evening, but he didn't notice anything strange until she tasted her soup. She said it needed more "ssssseasoning" and lingered on the "s" as if she were hissing¹⁴. Her nephew felt gooseflesh rise from the tips of his toes to the top of his head. He excused himself from the table and went up to his bedroom, but not to sleep.

 

He planned to watch for the snake all night long.

 

There was just enough moonlight for him to see the bottom of his door, so he blew out his candle and unsheathed his sword. Then he stood waiting.

 

He watched for hours wondering what the snake might do. What if it slithered through the window instead, crept up behind him, and struck him with its venomous fangs¹⁵? What if it slithered to the top of the wardrobe and dropped down from above? He was thinking of fleeing for his life, when he finally saw the snake glide under the door-first its head, then its body, then its tail.

 

Slash¹⁶! He swung the sword so quickly that the snake had no warning. And the tip of its tail began writhing¹⁷, all by itself, there on the floor. The snake raised its head as if to strike, but then it hissed¹⁸ viciously and slithered out of the room. And when he looked down the hall, he saw it disappear under his uncle's door.#p#分页标题#e#

 

The young man couldn't stand looking at that quivering tail, so he scooped¹⁹ it up with his sword and flung it in a drawer. He hardly slept all that night, and when he did snakes chased him through his dreams.

 

The next morning, he opened the drawer a crack to look at the snake's tail and was amazed to see that it had turned into human toes.

 

He raced back to the forest to tell the hermit what had happened. "And now my aunt is staying in bed, but do you know what my aunt said? She told him she hurt her foot while sleepwalking!"

 

"Either she will fear you now," said the old man. "Or she will try to get rid of you. Listen carefully. If you think you are in danger, you must search her bedroom for her snakeskin, and when you find it, burn it."

 

The young man thanked the hermit, but he was concerned. What would happen if he burned the snakeskin? He decided²⁰ to give his aunt one last chance.

 

While she was recovering, she caused no trouble, but as soon as her wound healed, she resumed her nightly slithering about the house.

 

Sometimes, when the young man was lying in bed, he saw the snake slip in and out of his empty boots or up the sleeve of a coat he had worn. One dreadful night, he felt the snake wiggling under his pillow, and he jumped out of bed in a cold sweat.

 

His dreams grew worse. He had a terrifying nightmare in which his aunt was trying to choke him. He awoke gasping²¹ for breath and realized that something was coiled tightly around his neck.

 

It was the snake.

 

老人很想能有个孩子，但是他和年轻的妻子膝下无儿无女，于是就叫了自己的侄子来一起住。老人妻子的脾气很暴躁，但这样却把脾气暴躁的妻子给惹怒了。当她丈夫热情欢迎年轻人到来的时候，她却嫉妒得连脸都白了。她的眼睛很小，脑袋又扁又平，当她舔着嘴唇的时候，侄子发现她的舌头是分叉的。从他发现这些的那天开始，年轻人就尽可能多的陪着叔叔，同时尽量避免与婶婶碰面。但是婶婶似乎很喜欢吓唬他，总是在年轻人最不想见她的时候突然出现在他面前。

 

一天晚上，年轻人很晚才回来。他点了根蜡烛拿着往楼上走去，上了一半的时候被一卷类似绳子的东西绊了一跤。当时绳子自己展开并且就从他眼皮底下上楼去了，见到这一切他简直吓坏了。随后就见那股绳子穿过大厅从门底下钻进了叔叔的卧室。

 

“快醒醒！快醒醒！”年轻人大声喊着，同时用力敲着叔叔的房门，直到把手都敲疼了。但是过了很久，那他睡眼惺忪的叔叔才让他进去，而这时蛇已经不见了。

 

见婶婶像是睡着了，年青人就小声在叔叔耳边说：“我看见一条蛇。”但他叔叔此时睡得迷迷糊糊的根本反应不过来，开了门以后就回到床上钻进被子里去了。年青人悄悄地开始在房间里面找，抽屉里，碗橱里，墙角处，连床底下和椅子底下都看了。突然婶婶在床上坐起来，眯着眼睛恶狠狠的瞪着他，他被看得汗毛都竖了起来，也觉得自己有点鲁莽了。

 

“很抱歉打扰您睡觉了！”他大叫着，飞快地跑回自己的房间并使劲关上了房门。

 

第二天早上他醒来的时候，发现房门下面正中央有个弧形的小缺口，刚好够一条蛇溜进来。他浑身哆嗦着下了床，走下楼来以后发现每间屋子的房门下方都有这么一个小洞，他简直惊呆了。

 

婶婶正坐在餐桌前吃早饭，“你叔叔今天出去了，”她说道，同时用自己分叉的舌头舔着嘴唇。他被吓得连话都说不出来了，然而，他不说话，事情反而更糟糕。

 

“我不喜欢你那样对待我，”她一边说着一边抓住他的胳膊，然后指甲深深的抠进皮肤里去，年轻人觉得自己像是被咬了一样。他赶忙跑出去，见到胳膊已经肿了起来，手掌和手指也隐隐作痛。

 

他知道自己必须要找人帮忙，于是跑进森林去了，那有位聪明的老隐士。老人仔细检查了他的伤口然后给他几片树叶。“这是治蛇咬伤最好的药了，”他说，“包扎在胳膊上并且保持湿润。”

 

“但是我并不是被蛇咬伤的啊，”他说道，“伤口是被我婶婶用指甲抠的。”

 

老人绝望的摇摇头，“如果是蛇女那就更糟糕了，但是也先试试这些叶子吧，会有帮助的。”

 

年轻人觉得不寒而栗，“我婶婶真是个蛇女？”他问道。

 

“如果你想知道答案，”老隐士说，“今晚别睡觉，要是有条蛇进了你的房间，把它的尾巴尖割下来。”

 

他并不知道这些会有什么用，但还是谢过了老人给他的建议，随后回到了叔叔家。到了下午那树叶起作用了，伤口肿得已经没有那么利害了，年青人很高兴。

 

晚上他仔细打量婶婶，但是并没发现什么异常。直到她喝汤的时候才有点不对劲，她说汤有点淡并且把“嘶”的音节拉得很长，就好像是蛇嘶嘶叫着的声音。听到这个声音，年轻人就觉得鸡皮疙瘩从脚底一直长到了头顶，于是找个借口离开饭桌回屋去了，但是并没有睡觉。

 

他打算在夜里等着那条蛇。

 

月光刚好能让他看清房门底下的地方，于是他吹灭了蜡烛，拔出剑来站在那等着。

 

一连几个小时他都盯着那，脑袋里想着那条蛇可能会做些什么。如果它从窗户进来，在身后爬到自己身上用毒牙攻击自己那该怎么办呢？或者，那条蛇要是先爬到衣柜上然后再从上面下来呢？他正琢磨着是不是要先逃命，这时终于看见了蛇从房门下面悄悄的爬进来，先是脑袋，然后是身子，最后是尾巴。#p#分页标题#e#

 

咔嚓！他迅速挥舞着手中的剑，蛇还没有警觉到的时候尾巴尖就被削断了，掉到地上以后还在扭动着。它抬起头，似乎是要展开攻击，但只是恶狠狠的嘶嘶叫了几声然后就爬出去了。他向楼下的客厅看去，只见蛇消失在了叔叔卧室的房门下。

 

看着那截还在扭动的尾巴，年青人心里直发毛，于是就用剑把尾巴挑了起来，甩到抽屉里去了。那晚上，他基本上没怎么睡，因为，只要他一睡着，他就会梦见那条蛇在追他。

 

第二天早晨，当他把抽屉拉开一条缝去看那段尾巴，然而惊奇的发现尾巴变成了人的脚趾。

 

他赶忙跑回森林与老隐士讲了事情的经过，“婶婶正在床上休息，但是您知道她是怎么和我叔叔说的吗？她说自己是在梦游的时候把脚弄伤的。”

 

“要么她会怕了你，”老人说道，“要么她就会想办法彻底除掉你。仔细听着，如果你觉得自己有危险了，那就必须去她的房间找到蛇皮然后烧掉。”

 

年轻人谢过了老隐士，但是他也在琢磨着，烧了蛇皮以后会怎么样呢？他决定还是再给婶婶最后一个机会。

 

婶婶养伤期间什么异常情况都没有了，但是伤口刚刚痊愈以后她就继续和以前一样每晚在房子里面到处游走。

 

有的时候，年轻人正躺在床上，就看见蛇爬进他的靴子里面然后又爬出来，或者爬到他的大衣袖子上。在一个可怕的夜晚, 他感觉到蛇在枕头下面蠕动着，吓得他出了一身冷汗，马上跳下床。

 

他的噩梦越来越吓人。有一天晚上，他甚至梦见婶婶想要勒死他，真是太可怕了。他马上就惊醒了，大口喘着气，这时意识到有东西紧紧地绕在脖子上。

 

正是那条蛇。

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