It rolled right down on the
snake, drawing it along to the ground, where it landed on its head.
"That stone did its work well!" thought the boy with a sigh of relief,
as he saw the snake squirm a little, and then lie perfectly still.
"I don't think I've been in greater peril on the whole journey," he
said.
He had hardly recovered from the shock when he heard a rustle above him,
and saw a bird circling through the air to light on the ground right
beside the snake. The bird was like a crow in size and form, but was
dressed in a pretty coat of shiny black feathers.
The boy cautiously retreated into a crevice of the rock. His adventure
in being kidnapped by crows was still fresh in his memory, and he did
not care to show himself when there was no need of it.
The bird strode back and forth beside the snake's body, and turned it
over with his beak. Finally he spread his wings and began to shriek in
ear-splitting tones:
"It is certainly Helpless, the water-snake, that lies dead here!" Once
more he walked the length of the snake; then he stood in a deep study,
and scratched his neck with his foot.
"It isn't possible that there can be two such big snakes in the forest,"
he pondered. "It must surely be Helpless!"
He was just going to thrust his beak into the snake, but suddenly
checked himself.
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