Scyther the Boomslang Snake

This is my second action project for my “Stories” class. This unit was about different fables and character types. For this action project I created my own fable to teach a lesson. The way I made my story was just by writing it down. My favorite part of this project was making the drawing of the main character of the story which was a Boomslang Snake. I struggled with making the drawing the most even though I had fun. It was annoying to have to draw all the scales on the snake. All I had to do was come up with a strategy to make the scales quickly and, I eventually finished it.

MJF (2016) Boomslang

I am Scyther the Boomslang Snake. Ever since I was born I had to be both prey and a predator. There has always been one predator that has been in my life for as long as I can remember though. His name is Vincent the Verreaux's eagle-owl. He is an apex predator meaning that he is bigger, stronger, and faster than anyone in the Sub-Saharan Africa region, but I have always been able to evade him with my cunning strategic manipulative mind. Even though I am able to trick him often, this just makes him want to eat me even more. Recently he has been getting closer to catching me, even with me trying my hardest to outsmart him. He is growing wiser and I have to come up with a plan to stop him from eating me soon. As long as I’m in my tree home I’ll be safe.

I have to look at my advantages so I could know how to keep myself safe. I have green scales that can help me blend into trees, I am poisonous, and I am smart. Now all I have to do is come up with a plan for my next encounter with Vincent. Maybe I should hide in the trees for the rest of my life. That wouldn’t work because eventually I would have to come out to get water. What if I tried to use my poison to kill him first? That probably wouldn’t work either because he still has a strength, speed, and flight advantage. I think the best way to get hi from trying to eat me is to keep him to full to be hungry. All I have to do is find animals that I could manipulate or kill and give them to Vincent.

I decided to go looking for other small animals that I could easily kill and bring to Vincent. So I made my way to the ground to look for some hedgehogs. Eventually I found one named Harry. “Hello”, I said in the smoothest way possible, “I need someone who can help me move some branches out of the way of my home.” “If I help you, you’ll kill me” said the hedgehog. “If you don’t help me I’ll kill you. Besides, if I wanted to kill you I would’ve done it by now.” “Ok…, but if I help you, you have to promise not to eat me.”, Harry said. “I promise”. So we made my way to my tree where Iive in. Even though I wasn’t the one who was going to die, I was still nervous that I wouldn’t be able to pull off my plan.

As we arrived at the tree I heard a screech. It was Vincent, and  think he saw me on the way to my home. Luckily this is what I had planned for. As Vincent came to a landing in front of me I wrapped around the hedgehog. “ What’s this?” said Vincent. “I brought you a gift.”, I said calmly. “Oh?” said the giant owl. I slowly let go of the hedgehog and he started to run, but he was immediately grabbed by Vincent. “Thankyou”, he said “ I expect to see more of this in the future.” “Of course Vincent, as long as you promise not to eat me”. “ I promise”, he said slowly. Then he threw up the hedgehog into the sky and caught it in his mouth, and with that he flw away.

That last encounter was a close one, but I don’t know how I can keep doing this. If I keep this up then I’ll starve. I don’t care though, as long as I don’t die then I should keep going. While I was climbing up my tree, I was already thinking about the next meal I should give Vincent. Should I kill the next hedgehog before giving it to him or would he want him alive to eat. I heard he likes to play with his prey before eating it, so maybe I should bring him alive. The next day I decided to set out with the same goal as yesterday, which meant that I had to catch another living hedgehog. I was able to use the same strategy as the day before and bring him to my home.

I heard the same screech as yesterday but when the owl came, he seemed much happier than usual. I let the hedgehog loose, but this time Vincent didn’t try to catch the hedgehog. He looked at me like he knew something that I didn’t. Suddenly he grabbed me and I couldn’t move. “ Did you really think I would let you live after you have tricked me so many times?” he said as he laughed maniacally. I didn’t know what to do so I tried to bite him, but he clamped my mouth with his enormous talons. I should’ve known that this was going to happen. He was finally able to outsmart me in the end. Then  he slowly put me into his mouth while laughing and ate me.

Don’t sink to the level of your enemies.