Her ribs felt as if they would crack. But, fortunately for
her, her teeth and claws were available for business. She fell to
biting, and ripping, and clawing, till the black snake realized it was
no Teddy Bear he had got hold of. For a minute or two he stood it,
squeezing harder and harder. Then he wanted to let go.
"And this, I think, was where he made a mistake. As he relaxed his
deadly coils and swung his head round, the Little Sly One struck out
with both forepaws at once, and succeeded in catching the hissing,
darting head. She caught it fairly, and her long, knife-sharp claws
sank in, holding it like a carpenter's vise. The next minute she had
her teeth in the back of the snake's neck, chewing and tearing.
"Now, the snake's tail was still around the branch, so he tried
furiously to swing the Little Sly One up and crush her against the
branch. But she was too heavy and too strong. So he came down,
instead, and thrashed wildly among the leaves, trying to get a new grip
on her. It was no use, however. He had made too big a mistake. And
the next minute he kind of straightened out. The Little Sly One had
bitten through his backbone, just behind the head.
"Well, now, you see, she had a good square meal before her.
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