The Little Snake
A family gathering. Grandma has all of her children and grandchildren home for Sunday lunch. She has been working hard to get everything cooked and ready. The boys, meaning my dad and his brothers have driven to Barlow Bend to pick up my Great Grandmother Claude so she could enjoy the meal with us. Everyone is gathered around the table.
The meal is blessed and everyone enjoys all of Grandma’s hard work. And while everyone is enjoying desserts and coffee, Claude begins reaching inside her big black purse. Grandma’s eyes get bigger and everyone glances at each other because we know what’s about to happen.
Claude pulls out a stack of neatly folded papers and begins to unfold the type written jokes that she carries everywhere with her.
“Did I tell y’all the one about the preacher?” “Yes Claude you did.”
“Well what about the one about the cow and the milk?’" “Yes ma’am you told us that one too.”
“Well, I know I didn’t tell you the one about the little snake!” Well of course she did, but it was probably one of the safer ones that she could tell in mixed company.
So she began.
The Little Snake
There was a young snake who was trying to learn how to hiss. His mother told him to stay in the pit and hiss so he stayed in the pit and hissed and hissed.
Finally his mother got tired of him hissing in the pit so she told him to go to Mrs. Potts pit and hiss. So he went to Mrs. Potts pit and hissed and hissed.
Finally Mrs. Potts got tired of him hissing in her pit so she told him to go to his own pit and hiss. So he went to his own pit and hissed and hissed. Finally his mother said “What are you doing hissing in my pit? I told you to go to Mrs. Potts pit and hiss!”
The little snake said that Mrs. Potts sent him home to hiss in his own pit. His mother said “That makes me so mad! I can remember when Mrs. Potts didn’t have a pit to hiss in!”
Uncomfortable laughter spreads around the table. Grandma rolls her eyes and says "I declare!"
Now with one of her “toddies’ that joke could get dangerous!....from the mind of me.
