open, and then he backed off into the bub, bubâI mean bushes.â
âVery funny,â said Freddy. âAnd if heâd swallowed you, I guess youâre the one that would have died laughing.â
âShucks, I can jump faster than any old rattler can strike,â Theodore said. âAnd thatâs all bub, bubâI mean boloney about snakes hypnotizing you so you canât move. Any old snake tries to hypnotize me, Iâll hypnotize him right back.â
Before Freddy could say anything, a little hissing voice came from somewhere in the bushes. âAll right, frogâletâs see you do it. Look at me!â
They all looked. Cy reared and snorted, and Freddy backed slowly away from the bush under which they now saw the rattlesnake, coiled and ready to strike. But Theodore just stared at the snake, and even moved a step or two towards him.
âHey, hold it, Theodore!â Freddy said, and he cocked his pistol. âBeat it, snake, or Iâll blow you apart.â
âBeat it, snake, or Iâll blow you apart. â
But the rattler, without removing his eyes from the frog, said in his sharp whisper: âYou wouldnât kid me, would you, pig? I know there are no bullets in that gun.â
Freddy stopped quickly and scooped up a handful of gravel which he poured down the pistol barrel. âMaybe this wonât kill you,â he said, pointing the gun again, âbut I bet it will sting some.â
âTake it easy, take it easy!â the snake protested. âPoint that thing the other way. I wasnât going to swallow your friend. I just wanted to prove to him he doesnât know what heâs talking about. Matter of fact, we canât hypnotize anybody. They just get so scared they canât move.â His forked tongue flickered out mockingly. âGo on, frog, hop it. Iâll call another day when youâre not busy.â And he uncoiled and started to glide away.
âJust a minute,â said Freddy. âAre you planning to stay in this neighborhood?â
The front part of the snake turned around, and he flickered his tongue at Freddy. âSuppose I amâyou want to make something of it, pig?â
âIâll make a snakeâs funeral of it, if you want to stay around here,â Freddy said.
âMy, my; such big talk!â the rattler sneered. âUnhealthy talk, too. Keep your eyes open, pig, when you walk through the long grass, or when you climb a stone wall. Iâll be waiting there for you.â He lowered his head and slid off through the undergrowth.
âYou ought to have plugged him, Freddy,â said Cy. âMostly rattlers arenât so bad; they donât bother you unless you bother them first. And they always rattle a warning before they strike. But this is a bad hombreâheâll be laying for you.â
âI donât think so,â Freddy said. âHe was just trying to scare me. But weâve got to get rid of him. Weâve never had rattlers in this part of the country, and we donât want any. Guess Iâll consult Old Whibley.â
Theodore, who had taken a standing leap into the water when the snake had turned away, now crawled out on the bank again. âYeah,â he said, âb-but how you going to do it? Look, Freddyâthat gug-gugâI mean guy, heâs got me scared. Can I come down and stay at the farm? Just until you get rid of the snake?â
âSure. Only there isnât any water for you to sit in; you wonât be very comfortable,â Freddy said.
Cy said: âThereâs the watering trough in Hankâs stable.â
âThatâs right,â said Freddy. âOnly you want to be carefulâHank shuts his eyes when he drinksâhe might swallow you.â
âYou warn Hank to be careful,â said Theodore. âHeâll be d-darned uncomfortable if he swallows me.â He leaped straight from the ground up