School Time Stories-3 The Hunt( continuation)

It was a day as usual and we were idling around, brooding over what all nuisance were left to do, and were quite bored and despondent. The luke warm sunlight was pilfering through the tree tops, forming beautiful golden yellow spots in dry leaves and on the ground. We made futile attempts to hold those round golden balls in our hands. Each and every time they slipped off our hands. Obsessed to the beauty of the alluring forenoon, we listened to the sound of birds chirping, and tried to identify those birds. We caught the birds scattering leaves and rushed to the site. Again it was the time for another treasure hunt. Without wasting a single second we started our duty. While all of us were engaged in deep search a boy saw something unthinkable and he shouted.

“hey look at that, a log of wood.. there…”

Everyone looked at the direction where his finger pointed. We saw a dark, eye filling, polished shining log of wood placed horizontally, some 30 meters away from us.

“Is there any way that we can use it for something”

We were shaped to think about making profit or making toys out of objects that used to appear in front of us. After a couple of minutes of brain storming session, we decided to carry it. Three possibilities were circulating around our brains. One was selling the wood to firewood seller near by, using it as a chair, or roll it down a slanting surface again and again. Without finalising on what we were to do, We moved towards the log of wood to pick it up.

With in a split of a second, just like an animated cartoon, we saw the log growing up and changing shape.
Abruptly we came to a stand still, while wondering and contemplating over what was happening, we all screamed alike.

“Damn it… God it’s a SNAKE….”

With protruded eyes we watched something unbelievable. The wooden log was animated or transformed into a lively snake with large body and huge size. That was the first ever animation scene, I ever witnessed in my life, that too without any computer software help, and absolutely true life… We stared at it again, a king cobra. It was the kingdom of a King Cobra, and we infiltrated into his province.

It was coiled to look like a wooden log. Nature’s own way for their safety, a camouflage. It raised its head and gazed at us fiercely. The eyes sparkled, and we could see a wild fire burning inside those eyes. Indeed they bawled, we disturbed him. Occasionally putting the tongue out, it remained unmoved

“RUNNN…”

someone screamed, and we ran away to a distance of safety. We knew very well that, it was not a poor frog to kill, and show our valiance. Here we, the hunters became the hunted. And we learned, chivalry could always be displayed against the weaker ones. As long as there’s no one to question the authority, invasions will continue, both mentally and physically. We couldn’t resist the curiosity to watch it again, and we saw the large reptilian king creeping into the heap of dry leaves, leaving behind the primeval sins. It was a long enough and it felt to us like it had no end at all. That was the first and last time I ever saw a mighty king Cobra in its habitat.

On that day, for ever we stopped “diamond hunt”, and annulled the verbal agreement. Later we had hot discussion about snakes, and I was totally ignorant about snakes. So I listened to them carefully. Jaseena told us it was “pullani cobra” which used to hide inside a shrub named pullani, hence it got that name.

But sujith interrupted and opined strongly that, it was “eight feet cobra”. Not only the snaked measured eight feet in length, but those who were bitten by the cobra will die once they walk eight feet.

No one knew whether these things were true or not. But we were unanimous in one thing that we will not be searching anymore for the Diamond, proclaiming greed is the cause of misery. We left behind the birds to their own life and destiny. We returned to our lives, satisfied with the stolen arecanuts, cashew nuts and stuffs like that.