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After the Six Splendid Trees were poisoned, all the animals who drank from the Arlin River became ill, wicked, and violent. The Griffin was the newly appointed king over all the animals but she did not know what to do. So she summoned the wicked animals before her and spoke harshly to them. All of the animals cowered before hher voice. Only one wept, a small snake.
The Creator appeared. "Cease, Griffin," he whispered. "They have been forever tainted by the polluted water. They are corrupted. They need their doom, not a scolding."
Then the Creator spoke to all the animals who had drank the water. He did not excuse their wickedness but explained that they could not be allowed to remain in their evil. "Yet," concluded the Creator, "You are my creations and I cherish you. I cannot kill you. So I would make them into a new thing: plants. As plants your selfishness will cause no harm. Your taint will lessen in each generation until your descendents will one day be plants without any evil in their being."
The Creator's speech had no anger, but the doom was heavy. All the animals who listened bowed their heads under the weight of those words. Except for one, that same small snake, who held her head high for she accepted the doom and so its weight upon her seemed small. And again she was the only animal to weep.
When his pronouncement was complete, the Creator approached the little snake and asked her, "Do you know that you alone are repentant?"
The little snake said, "I am little and can only see my own heart. I have revelled in selfishness and violence, and delighted even as you spoke when my thoughts wandered to contemplating more selfishness and more violence. Yet I grieve that I am so. When I am a little plant, will those who see me know to despise me?"
The Creator answered, "None but the unjust or confused shall despise you."
The little snake said, "I do not understand."
The Creator replied, "You shall not become a plant, for you alone are repentant. Instead, I will give you oversight over those in the years to come who are violent yet repentant, and over those who are the most despised of the plants and animals. I will give you the power and wisdom needed to watch over them and guide them."
The little snake answered quietly, "Who am I to do such work? Who am I to guide another?"
The Creator continued, "To you I will bequeath the ability to give intelligence to some serpents, that you may show them or others the paths from violence to goodness. Indeed, the Age of Animals is ending and in the years to come no animals will be intelligent except for the few that you lead."
The little snake repeated, "Who am I to do such work? Who am I to guide another?" And she lowered her head.
The Creator asked her, "Why is your head lowered? It is not from doubt."
The little snake whispered, "No, I do not doubt. I do not doubt that you have chosen me. I do not doubt that you will provide the power and wisdom your servant needs to complete the task you assign. I do not doubt you have given me the greatest of honors in continuing the existance and legacy of intelligent animals. But . . . I do not want to do this."
The Creator asked, "What do you want?"
The little snake trembled and sighed and seemed to shrink. She answered, "I do not know what I want. Will you ask me again in a year?"
And the Creator laughed. As he laughed the glare of his glory increased until the snake's skin became scintillating. As he laughed the sharpness of his radiance increased until the snake's skin burned dry. As the laughed the other animals became afraid and backed away. But the little snake remained still, even as her skin fell off.
Then the Creator said to the little snake, "I will give you what you ask. Once the Age of Animals has drawn to a close I will still speak to my creations but I will no longer show myself visibly--except to you. Each year I will appear before you again, so visible and so close that you will shed your skin again. And I will ask you again if you know what you want. Eventually a year will arrive when you will know what you want."
The little snake wept for a third time, and bowed her head to the ground.
The Creator touched the little snake with one hand and said to her, "I will give you a new body and a new name so everyone may see how beautiful you are in my eyes. Yet to commemorate your repentance and tears you will retain some of your old body and old name, and in the future when there are new snakes (without intelligence) those snakes will also shed their skins."
Then the Creator touched the little snake with both hands and said to her, "Morever, take comfort. Surprisingly soon you will learn to love those under your care. Then you will watch and guide them because of your affection and mercy and empathy, rather than because it is a task I have assigned to you. And that is why none but the unjust or confused shall despise you, even though all will know that long ago your heart was as corrupt as any heart could be."