Copyright©Czarnota2000

       There is a mountain like any other mountain, except on this mountain there lives a snake. Everyone knows it's there. Everyone knows it's mean. And it's just waiting for its next victim. Yet, each man on his way to becoming a memory, and each boy on his way to becoming a man, will cross that mountain. 

       At the base of the mountain there is a village. And in that village there lived a boy. From the time he was very young, all he could think about was the day he would climb that mountain.    

        Each year, on his birthday, he would ask his father "Is it time yet?"

        "No." his father answered "It is not time yet. There are many lessons for you to learn and many other mountains you must climb before you climb that mountain."

         One day, when the boy's father was away, the boy went against his father's will and climbed it. He walked up the twisting narrow path, worn by so many others before him. As he made his way to the summit, his foot caught upon a rock. It tumbled down the mountainside until it landed on the snake's back. 

          When the boy reached the top he felt pleased. He called out to the world "I AM A MAN! And my father will be proud of me." Then he began his decent.

          On his way down the mountain, the boy passed the snake.

          "Boy," hissed the snake "Won't you get this rock off my back?"

          The boy stepped away. "No, you're a snake. You'll hurt me."

         "Boy," the snake said stretching to see him better "That's a story your father told you. You can't believe everything you hear. Remove the rock. It will make you feel good."

         The boy looked for a fallen sapling and used it as a lever to push the rock away. When he did, the snake coiled itself around and around him.

         "Wait! What are you doing? You promised." cried the boy.

         "I'm a snake. What did you expect?"

         And the boy who thought he was a man was never seen again.