There was just enough moonlight for him to see the bottom of his door, so he blew out his candle and unsheathed his sword. Then he stood waiting.

He watched for hours wondering what the snake might do. What if it slithered through the window instead, crept up behind him, and struck him with its venomous fangs? What if it slithered to the top of the wardrobe and dropped down from above? He was thinking of fleeing for his life, when he finally saw the snake glide under the door-first its head, then its body, then its tail.

Slash! He swung the sword so quickly that the snake had no warning. And the tip of its tail began writhing, all by itself, there on the floor. The snake raised its head as if to strike, but then it hissed viciously and slithered out of the room. And when he looked down the hall, he saw it disappear under his uncle’s door.

The young man couldn’t stand looking at that quivering tail, so he scooped it up with his sword and flung it in a drawer. He hardly slept all that night, and when he did snakes chased him through his dreams.

The next morning, he opened the drawer a crack to look at the snake’s tail and was amazed to see that it had turned into human toes.

He raced back to the forest to tell the hermit what had happened. "And now my aunt is staying in bed, but do you know what my aunt said? She told him she hurt her foot while sleepwalking!"

"Either she will fear you now," said the old man. "Or she will try to get rid of you. Listen carefully. If you think you are in danger, you must search her bedroom for her snakeskin, and when you find it, burn it."

The young man thanked the hermit, but he was concerned. What would happen if he burned the snakeskin? He decided to give his aunt one last chance.

While she was recovering, she caused no trouble, but as soon as her wound healed, she resumed her nightly slithering about the house.

Sometimes, when the young man was lying in bed, he saw the snake slip in and out of his empty boots or up the sleeve of a coat he had worn. One dreadful night, he felt the snake wiggling under his pillow, and he jumped out of bed in a cold sweat.

His dreams grew worse. He had a terrifying nightmare in which his aunt was trying to choke him. He awoke gasping for breath and realized that something was coiled tightly around his neck.

It was the snake.

He pulled it off and threw it across the room. And after he caught his breath, he knew he had to follow the hermit’s advice.

The next day his aunt said her back was sore, but this didn’t keep her from going for a walk with his uncle.

As soon as they left the house, the young man slipped into their bedroom to look for the snakeskin, but he couldn’t find it. He was about to give up when he noticed dusty footprints on a chair. He stepped up on the seat and looked on top of the wardrobe, and there neatly coiled, lay the shiny snakeskin. But just as he picked it up, he heard the door open downstairs, and he knew that his aunt and uncle were home. He rolled up the snakeskin tightly and hid it in his fist before he raced back to his room. And that’s when he heard hideous sounds coming from the lower hall.

His aunt was shrieking, "Something is crushing me!"

When her nephew heard her cries, he almost lost his resolve. But then he remembered how he felt when the snake wrapped itself around his neck and tried to choke him.

He threw the snakeskin into the fire and watched it burn.

By the time he went downstairs, he was startled to see his aunt lying dead on the floor. He thought he was getting rid of the snake, but now his aunt was gone too.

"I’m sorry," he said to his uncle.

But the old man seemed relieved. "It’ssss only the poisonousssss onessssss who are dangerousssssss," he said, and he licked his lips.

月光刚好能让他看清房门底下的地方，于是他吹灭了蜡烛，拔出剑来站在那等着。

一连几个小时他都盯着那，脑袋里想着那条蛇可能会做些什么。如果它从窗户进来，在身后爬到自己身上用毒牙攻击自己那该怎么办呢?或者，那条蛇要是先爬到衣柜上然后再从上面下来呢?他正琢磨着是不是要先逃命，这时终于看见了蛇从房门下面悄悄的爬进来，先是脑袋，然后是身子，最后是尾巴。

咔嚓!他迅速挥舞着手中的剑，蛇还没有警觉到的时候尾巴尖就被削断了，掉到地上以后还在扭动着。它抬起头，似乎是要展开攻击，但只是恶狠狠的嘶嘶叫了几声然后就爬出去了。他向楼下的客厅看去，只见蛇消失在了叔叔卧室的房门下。

看着那截还在扭动的尾巴，年青人心里直发毛，于是就用剑把尾巴挑了起来，甩到抽屉里去了。那晚上，他基本上没怎么睡，因为，只要他一睡着，他就会梦见那条蛇在追他。

第二天早晨，当他把抽屉拉开一条缝去看那段尾巴，然而惊奇的发现尾巴变成了人的脚趾。

他赶忙跑回森林与老隐士讲了事情的经过，“婶婶正在床上休息，但是您知道她是怎么和我叔叔说的吗?她说自己是在梦游的时候把脚弄伤的。”

“要么她会怕了你，”老人说道，“要么她就会想办法彻底除掉你。仔细听着，如果你觉得自己有危险了，那就必须去她的房间找到蛇皮然后烧掉。”

年轻人谢过了老隐士，但是他也在琢磨着，烧了蛇皮以后会怎么样呢?他决定还是再给婶婶最后一个机会。

婶婶养伤期间什么异常情况都没有了，但是伤口刚刚痊愈以后她就继续和以前一样每晚在房子里面到处游走。

有的时候，年轻人正躺在床上，就看见蛇爬进他的靴子里面然后又爬出来，或者爬到他的大衣袖子上。在一个可怕的夜晚, 他感觉到蛇在枕头下面蠕动着，吓得他出了一身冷汗，马上跳下床。

他的噩梦越来越吓人。有一天晚上，他甚至梦见婶婶想要勒死他，真是太可怕了。他马上就惊醒了，大口喘着气，这时意识到有东西紧紧地绕在脖子上。

正是那条蛇。

他把蛇拽下来扔到了对面的墙上。喘过气来以后，他知道自己必须要按照老隐士的建议做了。

第二天早上他婶婶说自己后背很酸，但这并不妨碍她跟丈夫一起出去散步。

他们刚一离开，年轻人就匆匆进入了他们的卧室去找那张蛇皮，但是没有找到。他刚要放弃，这时发现一把椅子上有脚印的痕迹。他站上去检查衣柜上面，只见有一张卷好了的蛇皮放在那，闪闪发光。他刚拿到手里，就听见楼下开门的声音，叔叔婶婶回来了。他把蛇皮紧紧卷好，攥在手里然后跑回了自己的房间，从楼下客厅传来的声音让他心惊胆战。

他婶婶尖叫着：“啊…，压死我啦!”

年轻人听到她的叫声，几乎动摇了信心。但是随即又想到当时蛇盘在他脖子上想要勒死他的情景，他还清楚地记得那时的感觉。

他把蛇皮扔进炉子里，眼看着被火烧成了灰烬。

他走下楼来，惊奇的发现婶婶已经死在地板上了。他原来是想把蛇杀死，没想到现在婶婶也死了。

“我很抱歉。”他对叔叔说。

然而，老人看上去有点如释重负，说道，“只有有有恶毒的东西西西才是危险险险的，”他嘶嘶地说着，同时用舌头舔着自己的嘴唇。