A Snake in the Grass Story

Kids, are you tired of reading stories about cats and ghosts? Maybe you would like some changes. So, do you love to read open-ended stories, that is, stories that have no clear endings? If yes, here’s the beautiful A Snake in the Grass story by R.K Narayan for you. You can read the story yourself, or ask your parents to read it for you.

To all the R.K Narayan fans, it is a treat. But if you are not, you will become a fan of this story. So, read it and enjoy a fine day with your parents.

A Snake in the Grass

A Snake in the Grass

One afternoon, all the members of a family were taking rest inside their house. Suddenly, a cyclist rang the bell of his cycle outside the door of the house. After one of the family members opened the door, the cyclist said, “I have seen a cobra entering the compound of your house.” After saying this, he went away.

Hearing that, the four sons and their mother became very worried. So, they assembled at the gate. They found their old servant, Dasa, sleeping under a shade. After waking Dasa, they said to him, "A cobra has entered the house. Wake up and kill it.”

Dasa dismissed the matter and tried to rest again. But the family forced him to search for the cobra. They also threatened him by saying he would be dismissed from his job if he did not find the snake.

In the meantime, some of the neighbours had already gathered around the house. They also accused Dasa of being idle. But Dasa defended himself and said, “ I have been demanding a grass-cutter daily. Had I had one, the snake would not have entered the house.” Hearing this, the family members started to discuss buying a grass-cutter. They also talked about how much a grass-cutter costs.

In the meantime, a college boy of the family came in and read statistical data that showed the number of deaths caused by snake-biting. Seeing this, the family members grew more worried than before.

Now, the boys brought a bamboo stick and gave it to Dasa. “Take the bamboo stick and search for the snake.” So they, too, started looking for the snake in bushes and creepers. They searched the cobra everywhere but could not find it.

When the servant could not find the snake even after searching for it everywhere, he asked the others with a triumphant smile, “Where is the snake?”

In the meantime, an old beggar cried for money at the gate. They told her not to disturb. “We are looking for a cobra,” they said. The old beggar forbade not to kill the cobra because G. Subramanyam forbade its killing. Once the boys’ mother agreed, the old woman took the coin and went away.

Shortly after, an old man came to the house and introduced himself as a snake-charmer. The family gathered around him and told him that a cobra had entered the house. “Can you bring it out?” Everyone asked the snake-charmer. But the snake-charmer said, “I can do nothing if you do not show me the snake.” But before leaving, he gave his name and address to the family members and told them to call him if they found the snake.

Around 5 PM in the evening, the family members were discussing the strategy of how to catch the snake. When they were discussing, the servant, Dasa, suddenly came with a pot in his hand and said, “I have caught the snake.” He also bragged about his bravery and blamed the family members for calling him lazy. Finally, he said, “I will hand over the snake to the snake-charmer.” Hearing this, the mother of the four boys appreciated Dasa.

Five minutes after Dasa left home with the pot, the youngest son of the house suddenly cried out (screamed), “See over there! A cobra came out of the hole.” The snake must have heard the scream. He just looked at the gathering, crawled under the gate, and disappeared.

The mystery remains: if the snake was here, what was in the pot in Dasa’s hand? Was he fooling everyone? Or were there two cobras inside the house? But, of course, this would not have been a mystery had anyone opened the pot.

Moral

Trust but verify.

Summary of the Story

A Snake in the Grass story tells us that “we should always verify before trusting everyone. Blind-trust will only lead us to troubles, just like the family members faced.” The servant Dasa left them in a great confusion whether he told the truth about catching the snake or he lied.

Conclusion

Kids love to read stories about animals and birds. But what if you give them something a little different? A snake in the grass story by R.K. Narayan is one of the most simple short stories of all time. Not only that, after reading this story, just like everyone, kids can learn how to ask questions. If you elaborate the story a little further and help them to understand more deeply, kids may learn about a snake in the grass story characters too.