ering
to do favors for his neighbors. In fact, Mr. Snake was very well liked
and much respected. When any one had been robbed, he was always the
first to offer sympathy and join in the hunt for the thief. He was so
spry and slim, and could slip through the tall grass so fast, that he
could go almost where he pleased without being seen, and this made him
very bold. If he did happen to be found near the scene of trouble, he
always had a story ready to account for his presence, and it sounded
so true, and he told it in such an honest manner, that no one thought
of doubting it.

"So Mr. Snake found that lying helped him to cheat and steal, and all
the time he kept thinking how smart he was. But even Mr. Snake had a
little bit of conscience, and once in a while it would trouble him. So
what do you think he did? Why, cheating had become such a habit with
him that he actually tried to cheat himself--to cheat his conscience!
When he was telling a lie, he would wink one eye. 'That,' said he to
himself, 'means that it isn't true, and if these folks are not smart
enough to see me wink and know what it means, it is their own fault if
they believe what I am telling them.' But always he took care to wink
the eye that was turned away from the one he was talking to.

"Dear me, dear me, such terrible times as there were on the Green
Meadows and in the Green Forest! They grew worse and worse, and when
at last Old Mother Nature came to see how all the little people were
getting along, she heard so many complaints that she hardly knew
where to begin to straighten matters out. She had all the little
people come before her in turn and tell their troubles. When it came
Mr. Snake's turn, he had no complaint to make. He seemed to be the
only one who had no troubles. She asked him a great many questions,
and for each one he had a ready reply. Of course a great many of these
replies were lies, and every time he told one of these, he winked
without knowing it. You see, it had become a habit.

"Now, with all his smartness, Mr. Snake had forgotten one thing, one
very important thing. It was this: You can't fool Old Mother Nature,
and it is of no use to try. He hadn't been talking three minutes
before she knew who was at the bottom of all the trouble. She let him
finish, then called all the others about her and told them who had
made all the trouble. Mr. Snake was very bold. He held his head very
high in the air and pretended not to care. When Old