In the field where the children were grazing cattle, there lived a snake. A hermit passed by. The children ran up to him and shouted:
- Holy Father, don’t come here, beware of the snake!
- I'm not afraid of snakes. “I know prayers that protect from any evil,” he said, continuing on his way. The snake prepared to attack. The hermit whispered something, and she fell at his feet.
- Why are you doing evil? - asked the hermit. - I will tell you the name of God, and you will learn to love. At the end of your life you will see Him.
Days have passed. The snake stopped biting, and the children began throwing stones at it. One boy grabbed the snake by the tail, hit it several times against the rocks and threw it into the grass, thinking it was dead. At night the snake woke up and somehow crawled into the hole. She tried to survive by eating leaves and roots.
A year later, the hermit came to find the snake. The children said they killed her. But he knew that the snake would not die without seeing God.
The snake crawled out of the hole and told the hermit all his troubles. He exclaimed:
- Stupid! I forbade you to bite, but not to hiss!
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru