The Laborer and the Snake

A snake made a hole close to the porch of a house, crawled in, and bit the baby that lived there. The father of the dead child got very mad and decided to kill the snake. 

When the snake came out of its hole for food the next day, the man grabbed his axe to kill the serpent, but swung too quickly and missed. Instead of cutting off the snake’s head, he chopped only off the end of its tail.

After this, the man thought they should be friends because he was scared the snake might bite him, too. To show the snake he wanted to cause no more harm to him, he put some bread and salt inside the snake's hole. The snake refused the offer and with a hiss said, "We cannot be friends. Every time I think about you I will think about when you cut off the end of my tail, and when you see me you'll think about how your son died."