A Snake For A Friend

There once was a silly little snake named Strike. He always liked to go
down to the barn and play with the mice. The mice wouldn't play with any of
the other snakes. Only strike could play with them. Strike loved playing
with the mice. He thought that the mice were more fun to play with then the
other snakes.

One day Strike got very very hungry while he was playing with the mice. He
decided to eat just one little mouse. All of the other mice never thought
that Strike would eat any of them. They asked Strike why he ate one of his
friends.

Strike replied, "Because I'm a snake. Just because we play together it
doesn't mean that I'm not a snake. Snakes eat mice, that's what we do."

The mice knew that Strike was a good snake, but he was still a snake. They
asked if he would please not eat any more of them.

Strike could see that it bothered his hairy little friends. He added, "I
have never asked any of you to not be mice. That's who you are. I thought
that a true friend would accept someone for who they were, no matter what.
I will, however try to not eat any more of you.

The mice knew that it was true. He had never asked them to change, so it
was rude for them to ask him to change. He was still their friend. After
that incident the mice tried to only play with Strike when he had already
eaten and was full.

Every once in a while though a mouse would come up missing. When they would
look at Strike he would just smile real big and say "Sorry!" They would all
laugh and continue playing. It's a good thing that mice reproduce as
quickly as they do they all thought, including Strike.

Told on Dec. 15, 2010