n
a ten-kopek bit. He declared that anyone who bought that stone would be
able to charm any cobra (it would produce no effect on snakes of other
kinds) paralyzing the creature and then causing it to fall asleep.
Moreover, by his account, this stone is the only remedy for the bite
of a cobra. You have only to place this talisman on the wound, where it
will stick so firmly that it cannot be torn off until all the poison is
absorbed into it, when it will fall off of itself, and all danger will
be past.

* Written in 1879.

Being aware that the Government gladly offers any premium for the
invention of a remedy for the bite of the cobra, we did not show any
unreasonable interest on the appearance of this stone. In the meanwhile,
the buni began to irritate his cobras. Choosing a cobra eight feet long,
he literally enraged it. Twisting its tail round a tree, the cobra arose
and hissed. The buni quietly let it bite his finger, on which we all saw
drops of blood. A unanimous cry of horror arose in the crowd. But master
buni stuck the stone on his finger and proceeded with his performance.

"The poison gland of the snake has been cut out," remarked our New York
colonel. "This is a mere farce."

As if in answer to this remark, the buni seized the neck of the cobra,
and, after a short struggle, fixed a match into its mouth, so that it
remained open. Then he brought the snake over and showed it to each of
us separately, so that we all saw the death-giving gland in its mouth.
But our colonel would not give up his first impression so easily. "The
gland is in its place right enough," said he, "but how are we to know
that it really does contain poison?"

Then a live hen was brought forward and, tying its legs together, the
buni placed it beside the snake. But the latter would pay no attention
at first to this new victim, but went on hissing at the buni, who teased
and irritated it until at last it actually struck at the wretched bird.
The hen made a weak attempt to cackle, then shuddered once or twice and
became still. The death was instantaneous. Facts will remain facts, the
most exacting critic and disbeliever notwithstanding. This thought gives
me courage to write what happened further. Little by little the cobra
grew so infuriated that it became evident the jadugar himself did not
dare to approach it. As if glued to the trunk of the tree by its tail,
the snake never ceased diving into space with its upper part and trying
t