NATURE'S CHILDREN: More snakes!

I must confess that I used to be one of those people who was terrified of snakes. I think it came from my father who told the story of climbing a ladder to clean out a squirrel nest-box. When he reached in, expecting to pull out a handful of leaves, he pulled out a handful of angry snake. He dropped the snake and backed down the ladder fast as he could. My father went left and took refuge behind a trash can. The snake went right, and was never seen again. "What a funny story!" everyone said, but my little brain could only imagine how it must have felt to hold that writhing snake. As I got older, my fear of snakes grew until all it took was a picture in a magazine to give me the willies. I've been known to throw a National Geographic across the room when I turned to an unexpected snake picture. When encountering an actual snake, I'd scream and run and yell for my husband to come chop off its head.

Then when I was Director of The Sabot School, one of the dads, a biology professor, came in to show the chidren some reptiles and amphibians. He brought a turtle, a little green frog, some sort of lizard and....a snake. Turtles and frogs were okay. Lizards I could tolerate, but I wasn't going anywhere near that snake. I stayed as far away as possible. I finally broke down and watched the professor's gentle interaction with a steady stream of three and four year olds. As he held the snake in his hand a child asked to touch it. The professor held the snake out and let the little boy stroke it. The look on the child's face was one of wonder and delight. "Soft," he whispered. It was a rude awakening for me. If a four year old child wasn't afraid of a snake, why was I? Right then and there I vowed to get over my fear. So I worked on it....and I worked on it....and then I worked on it some more until I was no longer petrified of snakes.

That was many snakes ago, a snake in the attic, a snake under the house, a snake on the patio, snoozing on the roof, draped in a tree. It took me a long time, but I learned to make a place for them in my world. Today I share my yard with (at least) two snakes, a feisty garter snake and an easygoing black snake. I still get the willies when one of them crawls by. I startle when I come upon one of them unexpectedly. But I don't scream. I don't run. And I don't yell for my husband to chop off its head. I just appreciate the moment and silently thank that four year old.

Betsy Saunders

November 22, 2025