Pinocchio wandered down the worn trail without any direction. The day darkened and strange shapes and shadows appeared in the foliage. All of a sudden, Pinocchio heard a soft hiss to his right. He looked over...

A large serpent stretched out across the road. It had green skin, fiery eyes, and a pointed tail that smoked like a chimney stack. Pinocchio waited for an hour, two hours, and three hours, but the serpent was still there. Pinocchio finally spoke: "Excuse me Signor Serpent, I wonder if you would do me a favor of moving over a little bit, just enough to let me go by?" The serpent did not respond. Pinocchio wondered if it could really be dead. So, Pinocchio attempted to leap over the Serpent. However, the Serpent suddenly shot up like a released spring. Pinocchio leapt back and landed with his head in the mud. The Serpent proceeded to laugh so violently that he burst a blood vessel in his chest and died.

Pinocchio got up, shook off the mud, and continued on his way...