The Cobra's Surprise

Through the grass,
Through the trees,
The snake crawls, tasting the breeze
With his tongue,
Long and forked,
To find a prey that he can stalk.
He crawls and crawls
Until he finds,
The meal he wants and then he can dine.
He finds his prey,
It looks like a rat,
And he stalks it like a hungry cat.
He raises his head,
Like a disturbed moose,
He strikes, oh no, it's a mongoose!
The mongoose's eyes,
Light up like fires,
And he teases the cobra until it tires.
Then he strikes
At the speed of light
Giving the cobra no time to fight.
The mongoose rejoices,
Tenth kill today.
The cobra no longer the hunter but
The prey.

John-Henri Constantin.

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