Syril Snake Wants Feet

Syril Snake Wants Feet

Every night after Syril's mother tucked him into bed he had the same dream. He had feet, and not just a few pairs, but rows and rows of feet. He pictured himself racing through the woodlands and beating every other animal in a race.

Every morning Syril told his mother about his dream, and she'd snicker and say, "Snakes are supposed to have feet or we'd have them."

"But why?" Syril whined.

"That's just the way things are. Now go out and play."

Syril slithered out of the burrow toward the lake to play with his friends. Slowly he slinked across the grass. Every blade of grass tickled his belly as he moved. He imagined the feeling of running along without feeling every bump in his path and brush of grass.

He coiled himself in the shade and sulked. His friend slithered up to him and noticed a sad look on Syril's face.

"What's wrong Syril?" asked Floyd.

Syril sighed. "Why can't snakes have feet?"

Floyd chuckled.

Syril sneered at him. "I'm not joking! Every night I dream of running free and faster than any other animal in the forest."

Floyd slinked closer to his friend. "I never thought about having feet, but maybe you're right Syril. Just think, most animals only have four legs, and they're fast"

The friends sat coiled together thinking about feet.

"I got an idea," Floyd said. "We'll go ask the old Croc down at the river if he knows how we can get some feet. He's been around a long time, and my dad said he knows everything.

The two raced to the river's edge and yelled, "Croc! Croc! Please come out!"

Crocks eyes appeared and then his snout. "What's all the excitement, boys?" He yawned.

Syril reared up and asked, "How do we get some feet?"

"Feet!" The rest of Croc's body floated out of the water. "Syril, snakes have no use for feet."

"But I want to run faster than any other animal."

"Your speed will get better as you get older. As for feet, I'm sorry I can't help you." Croc disappeared back into the water.

A tear fell from Syril's eye. He slithered off and zigged and zagged across the grasslands until he reached his burrow. He coiled up on his bed and cried.

His mother heard his sniffles. "Syril, what is wrong?"

"Why can't I have feet?" He sniffed.

"You just can't. Snakes just aren't made that way, Syril."

Mother left and quickly returned with Grandfather Snake. He wriggled into Syril's room.

"What's wrong, young reptile?" He asked.

"No one understands, Grandpa."

"I might. Tell me what's wrong." Grandpa wrapped himself around Syirl.

"I just want feet. That's all."

"Feet!" Grandpa squealed. "Why we snakes were happy to get rid of those things. They just get in the way."

Syril perked up. "Did snakes used to have feet?"

"Oh, yes," Grandpa said. "That was until they begged for them to be taken away."

"Why?" Syril reared up a bit.

"Many reasons. Imagine trying to sneak up on your food when you have all those feet stepping on noisy dried leaves and twigs. Snakes glide over them without making a sound.

"What else?" Syril asked.

"Well, with all those feet a snake has to worry about splinters and stubbing one of those many toes on a rock or stump. Many snakes weren't able to go out and play because of the pain."

"But, I bet they could run faster than any other animal, right?"

"No." Grandpa shook his head.

"No?!" Syril's asked.

"Nope. All those feet made it impossible to run at a good speed. Just when you'd get the front going the back feet dragged before picking up speed, and when a snake went to stop, his back end crashed into his front end." Grandpa laughed. "If you have too many feet, you can't get them all going at the same speed at the same time."

"I guess I never thought of that," Syril said.

"You see, we snakes don't need feet. We got strong muscles to pull us along, and they work fine."

"Thanks, Grandpa."

For the first night in a long time, Syril didn't dream of feet, but he did dream he had hands. He could pick flowers, skip rocks and hug his mother.

The next morning he said, "Mommy, guess what I dreamed about last night."

"Not feet again?" She shook her head.

"Nope. I had hands! Why can't snakes have hands?"