The Rattlesnake’s Tale

From “Tales from the Basin”

©By Harold Gower   April 17, 2008

“Andromeda, I am going down to the creek for a bite to eat. I expect to return before sunrise”

“Ok, Copernicus, but be careful! The two-legged beasts are prowling again. I have sensed them for the last two days. Be aware! They are extremely dangerous!”

“Yes, I know that very well. I too have sensed them, and I have witnessed their viciousness. Their sole purpose is to kill. They kill anything that walks, or crawls, or flies.

They even kill their own kind!  I promise you; I will be constantly on my guard.”

Copernicus was on high alert as he exited the den which was under a great basalt boulder. The brush near the entrance to the den was very dense, and had, many times, provided cover to allow Copernicus and Andromeda to escape the unprovoked attacks by the two-legged beasts.

It was still dark out, but the sky was just beginning to brighten, as Copernicus ventured out into the dry grass where the brush grew farther apart. He paused while a coyote trotted by. The coyote was of no concern. He was hunting jackrabbits. They exchanged wary glances, and Copernicus moved on down towards the creek. He was within a hundred yards of the creek when he sensed that something was different, that is to say wrong! He sensed fire! And then he sensed a familiar odor that told him that the two-legged beasts were camped there. One of them was making such a dreadful noise, that he wondered how any of the others could sleep at all. Copernicus skirted the camp on the south side, and made his way on down to the creek.

On his way back, Copernicus saw that one of the creatures was stirring, moving about, building up the fire, and preparing to heat a pot of water. As the sky got lighter, Copernicus knew he would have to be more cautious. If even one of these strange creatures were to see him, he would be in grave danger. At the same time he remembered his promise to Andromeda to be back before the sun was up which could dehydrate him making his trip to the creek all in vain.

He gave the camp, what he considered to be a wide berth, but just as he thought he was free and clear, he sensed one of the smaller beasts walking towards him. Instinctively he coiled and shook his tail. Copernicus was rife with fear and. the young beast screamed “RATTLESNAKE! THERE’S A RATTLER OUT HERE I’M SCARED HELP ME I DON’T WANT TO DIE”

Instantly the camp was alive with beasts of all ages and sizes...Copernicus looked around for better cover. He calmed his nervous tail. He crawled under a large creosote bush that had a lot of tall dry grass and waited hoping the beasts would not find him.

“Can you still hear him?” a deeper voice called.

“No. what should I do now?”

“Move away from where you think the rattle came from”.

Copernicus sensed that the young beast was a safe distance away and moved on towards the den. Not until he reached the safety of the thick brush at the base of the boulder,

 did he dare turn to see what a stir he had caused in the camp. Three adults and 4 young beasts were beating the brush with sticks.

As the first rays of the sun were creeping down the boulder, Copernicus entered the den. “I am convinced now that they are the stupidest creatures alive. They sleep at night when it is cool and rise with the sun to work in the heat. They dig great holes in the ground, for who knows what purpose? While they are digging these holes, they have devices that make thunderous sounds that shake the ground, all for absolutely no reason. The only possible reason I can think of is to trap unsuspecting beasts that fall into the deep, deep holes and kill them. Often times they even trap and kill their own kind! “

“So, what makes things fall, Pop? I don’t understand. Why can’t we fly like birds? And why do they kill their own kind?  It does not make sense. They really are stupid.”

“Ho, ho, so many questions. Your first question is the greatest mystery. Well, it’s all about turning. You see, son, I had a very strange experience a while back. It was one of those rare times when I had a close encounter with a two-legged critter, and I thought I was going to be killed for sure. I shook my tail then I coiled and struck, and then I felt myself being pinned to the ground, and then the next thing I know I felt a very warm sensation at the end of my tail. And to my great surprise I found myself being raised up above the sagebrush, and I was just hanging there.  Too frightened to move, I saw this two-legged critter looking at me, and I thought this one is different somehow. The next thing I know it is swinging me around its head. Slowly at first and then faster, until I was nearly level with the ground, but way up high. And the brush was rotating below me in the opposite direction. Even the trees and the mountains were moving. Then to my astonishment, the warm sensation left my tail and I was flying through the air like a bird, and the brush rose towards me, until I found myself entangled in the branches, and then I dropped to the ground, got my bearings and crawled back to the den.”

“Wow, Pop! So you flew like a bird! I sure wish I could fly. It musta been a great feeling, huh?”

“Yes, it was a feeling of pure freedom, and it was then that I had the revelation of what the mysterious power is, that draws us and keeps us on the ground and causes rocks to fall on top of us.”

“I don’t follow you Pop. What’s the connection? How…”

“It all has to do with turning, son.  You see, while the critter just held me, I was hanging down, but when it spun me around its head I swung out horizontal to the ground. The earth turns, the sun turns, the moon and planets and stars turn…

“Wow! How do you know all this Pop? Or are you just making up stories?”

“No, no son. I was listening to some other two-legged critters who were sitting around their campfire talking, and gazing upward at the stars and discussing the mysterious power. They had a very strange name for it, a name I had never heard before. They said that even the galaxy turns and the whole universe turns. At the time I did not understand, until the creature swung me around by my tail. And that is when it all became clear to me”

“If you say so Pop. It sure isn’t clear to me.”

“Do not worry, son, each of us must gain his own enlightenment in his own way.”