The Serpent's Story

by Leonid Andreyev

　　I always was a fascinating creature, tender, sensitive, andgrateful. I was wise and I was noble. And I am so flexible in thewrithing of my graceful body that it will afford you joy to watch myeasy dance. Now I shall coil up into a ring, flash my scales dimly,wind myself around tenderly and clasp my steel body in my gentle,cold embraces. One in many! One in many!

　　Hush! Hush! Look into my eyes!

　　You do not like my writhing and my straight, open look? Oh, my headis heavy--therefore I sway about so quietly. Oh, my head is heavy--therefore I look so straight ahead, as I sway about. Come closer tome. Give me a little warmth; stroke my wise forehead with yourfingers; in its fine outlines you will find the form of a cup intowhich flows wisdom, the dew of the evening-flowers. When I draw theair by my writhing, a trace is left in it--the design of the finestof webs, the web of dream-charms, the enchantment of noiselessmovements, the inaudible hiss of gliding lines. I am silent and Isway myself. I look ahead and I sway myself. What strange burden amI carrying on my neck?

　　I love you.

　　I always was a fascinating creature, and loved tenderly those Iloved. Come closer to me. Do you see my white, sharp, enchantinglittle teeth? Kissing, I used to bite. Not painfully, no--just atrifle. Caressing tenderly, I used to bite a little, until the firstbright little drops appeared, until a cry came forth which soundedlike the laugh produced by tickling. That was very pleasant--thinknot it was unpleasant; otherwise they whom I kissed would not comeback for more kisses. It is now that I can kiss only once--how sad--only once! One kiss for each--how little for a loving heart, for asensitive soul, striving for a great union! But it is only I, thesad one, who kiss but once, and must seek love again--he knows noother love any more: to him my one, tender, nuptial kiss isinviolable and eternal. I am speaking to you frankly; and when mystory is ended--I will kiss you.

　　I love you.

　　Look into my eyes. Is it not true that mine is a magnificent, apowerful look? A firm look and a straight look? And it issteadfast, like steel forced against your heart. I look ahead andsway myself, I look and I enchant; in my green eyes I gather yourfear, your loving, fatigued, submissive longing. Come closer to me.Now I am a queen and you dare not fail to see my beauty; but therewas a strange time--Ah, what a strange time! Ah, what a strangetime! At the mere recollection I am agitated--Ah, what a strangetime! No one loved me. No one respected me. I was persecuted withcruel ferocity, trampled in the mud and jeered--Ah, what a strangetime it was! One in many! One in many!

　　I say to you: Come closer to me.

　　Why did they not love me? At that time I was also a fascinatingcreature, but without malice; I was gentle and I danced wonderfully.But they tortured me. They burnt me with fire. Heavy and coarsebeasts trampled upon me with the dull steps of terribly heavy feet;cold tusks of bloody mouths tore my tender body--and in my powerlesssorrow I bit the sand, I swallowed the dust of the ground--I wasdying of despair. Crushed, I was dying every day. Every day I wasdying of despair. Oh, what a terrible time that was! The stupidforest has forgotten everything--it does not remember that time, butyou have pity on me. Come closer to me. Have pity on me, on theoffended, on the sad one, on the loving one, on the one who dances sobeautifully.

　　I love you.

　　How could I defend myself? I had only my white, wonderful, sharplittle teeth--they were good only for kisses. How could I defendmyself? It is only now that I carry on my neck this terrible burdenof a head, and my look is commanding and straight, but then my headwas light and my eyes gazed meekly. Then I had no poison yet. Oh,my head is so heavy and it is hard for me to hold it up! Oh, I havegrown tired of my look--two stones are in my forehead, and these aremy eyes. Perhaps the glittering stones are precious--but it is hardto carry them instead of gentle eyes--they oppress my brain. It isso hard for my head! I look ahead and sway myself; I see you in agreen mist--you are so far away. Come closer to me.

　　You see, even in sorrow I am beautiful, and my look is languidbecause of my love. Look into my pupil; I will narrow and widen it,and give it a peculiar glitter--the twinkling of a star at night, theplayfulness of all precious stones--of diamonds, of green emeralds,of yellowish topaz, of blood-red rubies. Look into my eyes: It isI, the queen--I am crowning myself, and that which is glittering,burning and glowing--that robs you of your reason, your freedom andyour life--it is poison. It is a drop of my poison.

　　How has it happened? I do not know. I did not bear ill-will to theliving.

　　I lived and suffered. I was silent. I languished. I hid myselfhurriedly when I could hide myself; I crawled away hastily. But theyhave never seen me weep--I cannot weep; and my easy dance grew everfaster and ever more beautiful. Alone in the stillness, alone in thethicket, I danced with sorrow in my heart--they despised my swiftdance and would have been glad to kill me as I danced. Suddenly myhead began to grow heavy--How strange it is!--My head grew heavy.Just as small and beautiful, just as wise and beautiful, it hadsuddenly grown terribly heavy; it bent my neck to the ground, andcaused me pain. Now I am somewhat used to it, but at first it wasdreadfully awkward and painful. I thought I was sick.

　　And suddenly... Come closer to me. Look into my eyes. Hush!Hush! Hush!

　　And suddenly my look became heavy--it became fixed and strange--Iwas even frightened! I want to glance and turn away--but cannot. Ialways look straight ahead, I pierce with my eyes ever more deeply, Iam as though petrified. Look into my eyes. It is as though I ampetrified, as though everything I look upon is petrified. Look intomy eyes.

　　I love you. Do not laugh at my frank story, or I shall be angry.Every hour I open my sensitive heart, for all my efforts are in vain--I am alone. My one and last kiss is full of ringing sorrow--and theone I love is not here, and I seek love again, and I tell my tale invain--my heart cannot bare itself, and the poison torments me and myhead grows heavier. Am I not beautiful in my despair? Come closerto me.

　　I love you.

　　Once I was bathing in a stagnant swamp in the forest--I love to beclean--it is a sign of noble birth, and I bathe frequently. Whilebathing, dancing in the water, I saw my reflection, and as always,fell in love with myself. I am so fond of the beautiful and thewise! And suddenly I saw--on my forehead, among my other inbornadornments, a new, strange sign--Was it not this sign that hasbrought the heaviness, the petrified look, and the sweet taste in mymouth? Here a cross is darkly outlined on my forehead--right here--look. Come closer to me. Is this not strange? But I did notunderstand it at that time, and I liked it. Let there be no moreadornment. And on the same day, on that same terrible day, when thecross appeared, my first kiss became also my last--my kiss becamefatal. One in many! One in many!

　　Oh!

　　You love precious stones, but think, my beloved, how far moreprecious is a little drop of my poison. It is such a little drop.--Have you ever seen it? Never, never. But you shall find it out.Consider, my beloved, how much suffering, painful humiliation,powerless rage devoured me: I had to experience in order to bringforth this little drop. I am a queen! I am a queen! In one drop,brought forth by myself, I carry death unto the living, and mykingdom is limitless, even as grief is limitless, even as death islimitless. I am queen! My look is inexorable. My dance isterrible! I am beautiful! One in many! One in many!

　　Oh!

　　Do not fall. My story is not yet ended. Come closer to me.

　　And then I crawled into the stupid forest, into my green dominion.

　　Now it is a new way, a terrible way! I was kind like a queen; andlike a queen I bowed graciously to the right and to the left. Andthey--they ran away! Like a queen I bowed benevolently to the rightand to the left--and they, queer people--they ran away. What do youthink? Why did they run away? What do you think? Look into myeyes. Do you see in them a certain glimmer and a flash? The rays ofmy crown blind your eyes, you are petrified, you are lost. I shallsoon dance my last dance---do not fall. I shall coil into rings, Ishall flash my scales dimly, and I shall clasp my steel body in mygentle, cold embraces. Here I am! Accept my only kiss, my nuptialkiss--in it is the deadly grief of all oppressed lives. One in many!One in many!

　　Bend down to me. I love you.

　　Die!