The Snake Whisperer
Her name was Jelene, but she was more widely known as the “Snake Whisperer.” Was she a witch? Some say so. Others say she was simply a member of a tribe less known than the Sengretti.
Now, Jelene spoke the language of many species, but she was particularly adept at communicating with snakes, at drawing them out. She was privy to more of their species’ secrets than their own king, for she had lived and listened for centuries.
Indeed, it is said that Jelene, and only Jelene, knew the true story of what happened in the Garden of Eden. For she had heard the tale from snake himself. Had heard his confession of fear and anger and confusion—his rage that he should be blamed for what happened at the dawn of mankind. He had simply been acting upon his nature, he said, the nature that the Master had given him. What mankind doesn’t understand, he hissed, what it refuses to understand, is that it all must have been part of the Master’s plan from the beginning ….
And Jelene coaxed him and comforted him, for she felt his pain. However, she also knew, that he had lied.
