The Characters

George

Harry

The Snake

(In a reading performance the introduction and the stage action at the close may be read by the actor playing George, or by a third person who serves as narrator.)

Two men are talking. George and Harry. Both are very ordinary looking. Harry is holding one end of a rope. The other end is tied around the neck of an enormous snake - really big. The snake is straining a bit to be on its way. It becomes more insistent as the scene progresses.

GEORGE: I can’t believe it, Harry.

HARRY: It’s true, George.

GEORGE: No more than a foot long?

HARRY: That’s right, George;

GEORGE: This ... thing ... was no more than a foot long when you picked it up?

HARRY: I didn’t say I picked it up, George. It sort of picked me up.

GEORGE: What do you mean, Harry?

HARRY: It just came into the…