See, he was beginning to get really irritating. My last owner, I mean. Thankfully, I wasn't the first snake he'd ever owned, so he had some experience handling them. But all he ever took care of were silly little small snakes. And I remember the very first day I saw him...
He walked into the pet store, the one where I was hatched. I was only a week or two old, and wasn't very long yet at all. The owner had been taking care of me from day one, and I was used to being around him. So it wasn't too big a change when he bought me -- after all, they were both foxes, and in my mind at the time, I didn't figure there would be too big a difference between them. At first, I was right. When we went back to my new owner's -- Paul's -- home, he had an even better enclosure for me to live in than the pet shop did, and It took up almost all of his garage. It was made of glass, but was filled with soil, had small trees and such, bushes, rocks, even a small "stream" made with one of those fountain devices that recycles water. It was everything a snake could ask for. Even if I grew up to be the biggest rock python on earth, I'd still have more than enough room inside to move around.
For the first few weeks, Paul came in to visit me daily so I would get used to him, and it didn't take me long at all. He let me do as I pleased, content to simply watch me. Even on occasion when I thought about turning him into a snack and attempted to wrap around him, he would simply begin to unwrap me before I could do anything more, smiling and tapping me playfully on the nose. It confused me at first, but I figured out after a while he was just one of the inedible things in my new home. Besides, he brought me food. He'd bring me mice when I was little about once a week, then even more mice as I grew. I was never hungry, so why look a gift fox in the mouth?
Things were fine for a year or two. By the time
I was fully grown, I was a little over 24 feet long and almost a foot in diameter.
But I was still just as friendly with Paul as I was when I was little. Being such
a large snake, he'd bring me whole pigs to eat. That is, until one day when I found
out exactly why he bought me. He wanted me to be the prime source of entertainment
for him and his snake-loving friends. I became worried when it was almost three
weeks since he last brought me a pig, and I was beginning to get hungry -- he usually
fed me once ever week and a half or so, which was just enough time for me to have
my last pig digested and be hungry enough to eat a new one. However, he still continued
to come into my enclosure daily. On that one particular day, though, I saw him bring
a pig into the garage. I immediately slithered over to wait by the door of the enclosure,
happy he finally brought food. I managed to forget about my hunger for the last
few days, but seeing that pig simply reminded me just how hungry I was. Instead
of bringing it in, though, he left it outside, walking in by himself and closing
the door.
"I'm hungry," I said to him, knowing he
would usually bring me food if I reminded him.
"Well, today we're going to try something,"
he said casually. "Why don't you curl up into a circle, with your nose touching
your tail?" I looked at him, confused. He had never asked me to do such odd
things unless he was checking me to make sure I was clean, but figured it was yet
another new way to check, so I complied. He clapped. "Very good!" he said.
"Now, can you tie yourself into a knot?" I stared blankly at him. Besides
the fact I had no idea what a knot was, I knew he wasn't planning on anything helpful.
"What is the point of all this?" I asked.
"It's simple, I'm trying to teach you tricks!"
Paul said with a smile.
"Tricks? But I don't want to do tricks. I'm not
a circus animal," I hissed quietly. "Besides, I'm hungry."
"I know you're hungry, I haven't fed you for
the last few weeks to make sure you digested all of your last pig and that you were
at your most flexible state so that you could do the tricks! And until you learn
to do a few, that pig is going to stay right out there in the garage!" With
that, he simply got up and walked out, closing the door behind him. "Maybe
you'll think about doing those tricks if you don't eat for a few more days."
And with that, he went back into his house.
As soon as he was gone, I couldn't decide whether I was more furious or starving. I tried banging against the glass with my body, but it was quite strong and wouldn't break. He had also locked the door, and it was impossible to unlock it from the inside. I was forced to sit in my enclosure, which once seemed like paradise, but was now nothing more than a prison. It was all even more frustrating seeing that pig wandering around in the part of the garage that wasn't taken up by my enclosure. With nothing better to do, I slithered into the water, my head resting out, thinking. I realized he didn't care about me. For all the years Paul had had me, he simply wanted me for amusement, his own personal trained monkey! And this realization didn't please me one bit. But a snake's got to do what he's got to do, and I decided to myself I would do whatever I needed to do to eat.
About three days afterwards, he came back into my
enclosure.
"Well, have you decided to learn some tricks?"
he asked. I nodded meekly; the hunger was beginning to catch up with me. I twisted
my body into a circle, a triangle, and every other shape I could think of. I had
no idea what he wanted me to do, but I hoped that would please him enough to get
some food. He shrugged.
"Well, that's good... but you need to learn some
better tricks. Any stupid snake can do those." I felt my entire body begin
to burn with anger. Quick as a flash, and before he could even so much as blink,
I was wrapped around him from his neck to his ankles, my head staring into his eyes,
my own burning with hatred. I had never felt this angry before in my life. His contained
a look of infinite fear, however, and he began to struggle against my coils for
everything he was worth. I was much too strong for him, however, and he was barely
moving. I grinned.
"So who's the stupid snake now? How's this for
a new trick?" I asked him mockingly. He whimpered softly.
"Please... please, don't do anything you'll regret,"
he whined. "I'm sorry, please, please let me go..."
"Oh, but I can't! I have to show you my new trick,
after all," I said. "Don't you want to see it?" He simply whined,
continuing to struggle to escape. I hissed loudly, tightening my grip on him slightly
causing him to wheeze. "Don't you?" I shouted. He nodded meekly, tears
building up in his eyes.
"Yes, p-please... I w-want to see your n-new
trick..." I grinned.
"Good, good! See, since you apparently like playing
games with me, I decided I'll return the favor. You said I don't get to eat unless
I do tricks for you? I have a better idea. How about you don't get to breathe until
you do tricks for me?" With that, I tightened my coils even more, causing him
to wheeze and gasp for breath.
"No! Don't!" he wheezed between desperate
attempts for breath. I just laughed spitefully.
"What's the matter? It's okay for you to let
me eat, but it's not okay for me not to let you breathe? That's such a hypocritical
thought." I squeezed him even tighter, and now he was completely unable to
breathe due to the pressure that I was squeezing him with. He choked, and gagged,
and tried to breathe, squirming more furiously than he had before. Just as he was
about to fall unconscious, though, I loosened my grip, and he was able to wheeze
a few ragged breaths, keeping him conscious. He was now crying, looking at me, begging
me to let him go. If he wasn't wrapped up in my body, I'm sure he would have been
on his hands and knees. What a pathetic thought.
"Please. Please," he wheezed. "Let
me go." I frowned.
"Of course, of course I'll let you go,"
I said. He looked at me hopefully, but I moved my head near his, pressing my forehead
to his so that my eyes were looking directly into his. "Once I've squeezed
every last breath of air out of your body." I tightened my coils one last time,
and If he could have, he would have gasped. Instead, he gagged and choked for breath,
and closed his eyes, finally falling limp in my coils. I smiled; after all, I finally
had a meal.
It wasn't very long afterwards that they found me; only a day had gone by, I suppose. I was in a deep sleep after such a large meal, and the police came after receiving a report from a friend of Paul's that he was missing. When they checked the garage, I suppose it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out where he was. His body hadn't really started digesting yet, and his form was clearly visible and recognizable against the inside of my stretched body. I woke up at all the commotion, but before I knew what was going on, my mouth was taped shut, and four police officers grabbed hold of me, injecting me with something. I don't remember anything after that, but when I woke up again, I found myself here where I am now, in this tiny glass case that I can barely move inside of.
So that's my story. I don't know if I was just insane with hunger or insane with anger. But it wasn't my fault, you have to believe me! And I think it's been weeks since I've eaten, because I'm starving.
...say, would you mind taking the lid off this case? I won't hurt you, I promise...