Serpy, the Snake

Author: Rajiv Tambe

Illustrator: Rijuta Ghate

In a thick, dark forest lived Serpy, the snake.

A snake does not have legs.
A snake cannot walk. It cannot run. A snake does not have wings.
A snake cannot fly. A snake cannot swim in a straight line.

But Serpy wanted to walk, run, fly and swim in a straight line.

That was all he could think of.

‘If I had legs, I would walk in a straight line.

If I had wings, I would fly in a straight line.’

‘But oh, I am so weird!
I can’t walk straight, can’t run straight!
I can’t fly straight, can’t swim straight.

I can only slither

zig zag , zig zag , zig zag .’

Serpy saw some birds flying in the sky one day.

They were going up, going down, going around in circles and arcs. Not a single bird was flying straight.

This made Serpy t h i nk !

Looking across the plains one day, Serpy saw some fawns.

The fawns ran here and there. They ran in the most
zigzag way. Not a single fawn walked in a straight line.

This made Serpy t h i nk !

Serpy went towards the river.

The fish in the river wiggled and waggled as they swam.

This made Serpy t h i nk !

Serpy sat on the river bank, lost in thought. Just then a crab came by. Serpy moved aside. The crab walked past. But not in a straight line! The crab had half a dozen legs and yet could not walk straight!

This made Serpy think some more!

Serpy thought, did he really need wings? Did he really want those legs? Now zigzag, then criss-cross, is not the way he moved.

‘I am fine the way I am. My slithering ways are always the same.

My zigzag ways are the same each day. And the rest of them are

silly any which way!’

Do it yourself!

1. Draw five geometric shapes made out of straight lines.

2. Name five animals that move in funny ways.

3. Look around you. See if you can spot at least five living things that are made up of straight lines.

This book was made possible by Pratham Books' StoryWeaver platform. Content under Creative Commons licenses can be downloaded, translated and can even be used to create new stories provided you give appropriate credit, and indicate if changes were made. To know more about this, and the full terms of use and attribution, please visit the following link .

Story Attribution:

This story: Serpy, the Snake is written by Rajiv Tambe . © Pratham Books , 2015. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.

Other Credits:

'Serpy, the Snake' has been published on StoryWeaver by Pratham Books. www.prathambooks.org

Illustration Attributions:

Cover page: Snake slithering and zigzagging on the road , by Rijuta Ghate © Pratham Books, 2015. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 2: Snake smiling and wondering , by Rijuta Ghate © Pratham Books, 2015. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 3: Snake dreaming of walking on two legs , by Rijuta Ghate © Pratham Books, 2015. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 4: Snake dreaming of flying and swimming , by Rijuta Ghate © Pratham Books, 2015. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 5: Snake slithering on the road with a row of ants , by Rijuta Ghate © Pratham Books, 2015. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 6: Snake looking at birds flying in the air , by Rijuta Ghate © Pratham Books, 2015. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 7: Snake looking at fawns playing and jumping around , by Rijuta Ghate © Pratham Books, 2015. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 8: Snake looking at two fish swimming in the water , by Rijuta Ghate © Pratham Books, 2015. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 9: Snake looking at a crab walking in a zigzag manner , by Rijuta Ghate © Pratham Books, 2015. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 10: Snake looking at a spider on its web , by Rijuta Ghate © Pratham Books, 2015. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 11: Snake zigzagging in a square , by Rijuta Ghate © Pratham Books, 2015. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Disclaimer: https://www.storyweaver.org.in/terms_and_conditions

Some rights reserved. This book is CC-BY-4.0 licensed. You can copy, modify, distribute and perform the work, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. For full terms of use and attribution, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

This book was made possible by Pratham Books' StoryWeaver platform. Content under Creative Commons licenses can be downloaded, translated and can even be used to create new stories provided you give appropriate credit, and indicate if changes were made. To know more about this, and the full terms of use and attribution, please visit the following link .

Illustration Attributions:

Page 12: Roots, caterpillar, and colourful geometrical shapes , by Rijuta Ghate © Pratham Books, 2015. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Disclaimer: https://www.storyweaver.org.in/terms_and_conditions

Some rights reserved. This book is CC-BY-4.0 licensed. You can copy, modify, distribute and perform the work, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. For full terms of use and attribution, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Serpy, the Snake (English)

Serpy wants to move in straight lines. But have you ever seen a snake move in a straight line? Serpy looks at the world around him and comes up with a straight answer!

This is a Level 2 book for children who recognize familiar words and can read new words with help.

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