The Seven Snakes of Wisdom

Introduction

Long ago during the medieval era existed seven snakes. These weren’t ordinary snakes, they were keepers of the seven crystal orbs of wisdom. The seven crystal orbs of wisdom were love, knowledge, sharing, giving, faith, gratitude and belief.

         They especially looked for children to teach one of these important lessons to. This story teaches these lessons from each snake. Each snake existed to find a child to teach that child it’s lesson they stood for.

         The snakes were the size of a six foot man and were created by Merlin. Merlin loved these snakes and they were good. Merlin trained them to be knowledgeable about each crystal orb of wisdom.

Chapter 1 - John Learns How To Share

         “John, please! I want some of your bread. I’m still hungry,” said John’s brother, Luke who was heavy set.

“You don’t need any more, I’m the one that’s still hungry,” said John eating the rest of his small bun.

         All of the sudden, one of the seven orb of wisdom snakes appears. He is the one who teaches children how to share. He was hiding behind a bush and over heard the two boys conversation.

“Hello John. I know that you didn’t share your bread with your brother. I need to teach you how to share and why it’s so important to share,” said the wisdom snake of sharing.

“Oh no! Not a giant snake! I’m afraid of you! Go away!” shouted John.

“I won’t hurt you. I was sent to you by Merlin,” said the wisdom snake of sharing while backing away a few feet from John, hoping that would help keep him from being afraid of him.

“I don’t want to learn how to share. My brother’s fat. He didn’t need my bun!” said John angrily.

“I know. But you do this to him with everything, not just your food. Merlin told me about you,” said the snake of sharing wisdom.

“Oh alright. I see that you’re good and you’re from Merlin. I’m no longer afraid of you. I agree to learn how to share from you then,” said John.

         Luke went back to his parents home. He had no interest in the snake of sharing wisdom. John continued learning from the snake of wisdom of sharing.

“John, sharing is very important. You need to love your brother more too. At least share your toys with him. Someday, you might be in a situation where your life depends on sharing something,” said the snake of wisdom of sharing.

“Alright, I’ll share my toys with my brother but not my food. He needs to lose weight anyway,” said John.

“That’s great. I’ll be watching you John. It sounds like I taught you well,” said the wisdom snake of sharing going away from John.

         That same night, John and his brother Luke were playing outside in the forest with their toys and there was a hunter nearby. Luke asked John if he could play with John’s toy. When John was passing his toy to Luke, an arrow appeared in John’s toy, which acted as a shield to protect John from being hit! This saved John’s life!

“Sorry! I was trying to get that deer over there! Are you alright?!” asked the hunter.

“Yes, we’re both fine thanks,” said John.

“That’s good. I was worried I hit you. It looks like I got your toy instead. Here’s two gold coins since I ruined your toy,” said the hunter giving John the gold coins.

“Wow! Thanks!” said John.

“You’re welcome. Take care!” said the hunter leaving John and his brother.

“I heard and saw everything. You saved your own life by sharing your toy with your brother. You have learned how to share well. I am happy for and with you. My work is done here,” said the wisdom snake of sharing.

         John continued to share his toys with his brother. He eventually shared his food with him too. Every now and then the wisdom snake of sharing heard and saw John doing that and told Merlin. Merlin was happy that his snake of wisdom of sharing succeeded in his important task. Now Merlin hoped to hear back from his other six snakes of wisdom.

Chapter 2 - Matthew Learns About Gratitude

Matthew just keeps taking things, especially because his family is living in poverty. He’s a thief too on top of that. He never seems to be thankful for what he has or gets which is awful. Merlin sent his snake of wisdom for gratitude to Matthew to help him.

“Thief! Come back here!” said a man who ran an apple stand in town.

“No way! I’m starving!” said Matthew while continuing to run away until he reached the forest nearby.

         All of the sudden, he runs into the snake of wisdom of gratitude. He got knocked unconscious! The snake of wisdom of gratitude stands by Matthew until he wakes up.

“Wh...where am I?” asked Matthew rubbing his eyes because his vision was a little blurry.

“You ran into this forest after you stole an apple at the stand in town Matthew,” said the snake of wisdom of gratitude staring down at Matthew.

“Who are you? How do you know my name?” asked Matthew.

“I am the snake of wisdom of gratitude. I was sent by Merlin to help you. You must learn about how to be thankful for what you have and get,” said the snake of wisdom of gratitude.

“My family’s poor! We hardly ever have anything to eat though. I steal food because I’m starving!” said Matthew sadly and staring down ashamed at the ground he’s sitting on.

“You can see if that apple stand man needs help and ask him for a job. You also need to repay him for stealing that apple,” said the snake of wisdom of gratitude.

“Ok. I’ll go back into town and will ask him how I can repay him and if I can work for him or not,” said Matthew.

“Good. I’ll be keeping an eye on you Matthew. Remember, you need to be thankful for what you get. If the man offers you a job, thank him,” said the snake of wisdom of gratitude.

         Matthew went to town to talk to the man he stole the apple from. Matthew didn’t eat the apple he stole and gave it back to the man. The man was still upset at Matthew for doing that.

“Well, thanks for bringing back my apple. So, you want to work for me when you tried stealing from me?” said the apple stand man.

“Yes please. I’m my family’s poor and I’m starving!” said Matthew staring down at the ground ashamed.

“So, that’s why you stole from me? Now I feel bad I was so hard on you. Here, have this apple. Go ahead and eat it. And yes, you can work for me. I’ll give you four more apples to feed your family with after the day is over. Go tell your Mother you got a job now before you work for me though. Here’s your apple to eat, now run along! Oh, and I’m Hans by the way. What’s your name?” asked the apple stand man.

“I’m Matthew. Thanks for the apple and the job!” said Matthew no longer feeling ashamed and looking into Hans’s large brown eyes.

“It’s nice to meet you. Now go tell your Mom about your new job. I’ll still be here when you return,” said Hans.

         Matthew went to tell his Mom about his new job. He didn’t eat the apple and gave it to her to eat instead. He knew that she was starving. She cut the apple in a third and gave a section to herself, her husband and Mathew. Everyone scarred it down hungrily. Once again, Mathew said thank you, but now to his Mother.

“Thanks Mom, I was starving!” said Mathew politely.

“You’re welcome love. I love you. Now go do your new job,” said Mathew’s Mom.

         On his way to his new job, he came across the snake of wisdom of gratitude. He was impressed with how well Mathew was doing being thankful for what he gets. He spoke to him happily and sent Mathew on his way.

“Well Mathew, here you go. I’m giving you the apples now in case you want to eat yours and you’re hungry now while I train you,” said Hans.

“Thank you,” said Mathew kindly.

         Hans taught Mathew how to run the apple stand. Mathew learned quickly! Mathew thanked Hans so many times that Hans wound up paying him three gold coins. Mathew took the money home and Mathew’s Father took the money and went to buy them a good supper for the night.

         The snake of wisdom of gratitude went back to report everything to Merlin. Merlin was very pleased with the snake of wisdom of gratitude’s success with Mathew. Now Merlin eagerly waited to hear back from his other five snakes of wisdom.

Chapter 3 - Elizabeth Learns About Knowledge

         Elizabeth is ten. She loves to read science books. But she only reads small parts of them and not the entire book. She only does it for fun though and doesn’t really learn anything from them. Merlin knows about this and he sent his wisdom snake of knowledge to her.

“Elizabeth, why don’t you want to learn about anything in any of those books you’re reading?” asked her older sister who’s fourteen, Eva.

“Because, I’m only doing it for fun,” said Elizabeth while putting her science book down again.

“You could really learn something important in there someday or make a discovery about something on your own,” said Eva.

“I know, but as I said, I’m doing it for fun,” said Elizabeth picking up to read something in her book again while sitting outside of her home on a log facing a forest.

         After Eva went into the home, the snake of wisdom of knowledge slowly came toward Elizabeth. At first, she didn’t notice because she was looking down in her book. When he stood right in front of her, she looked up from her book and closed it to stare up at him.

“Hello. I’m the snake of wisdom of knowledge. I was sent to you by Merlin. I’m here to help you understand the importance of knowledge,” said the snake of wisdom of knowledge.

“Hello. I’m Elizabeth. I love snakes. I read for fun though,” said Elizabeth.

“I know, Merlin told me about you. Like your sister said, you could make a discovery or maybe knowing something could save your life one day,” said the snake of wisdom of knowledge.

         Not long after Elizabeth was talking to the snake of wisdom of knowledge, Eva came outside. She saw him and closed the door and went back inside. She didn’t like snakes and was afraid of him.

         The snake of wisdom of knowledge felt bad for Eva. He then went back to talking to Elizabeth. He gave her a small white pointed quartz crystal.

“This is a gift from Merlin and I. You can use it to ask it about anything. Keep it with you at all times,” said the snake of wisdom of knowledge.

“Thank you,” said Elizabeth while she took the crystal from the snake of wisdom of knowledge.

         Not long after that, Elizabeth got up from the log and decided to take a walk into the forest. She soon saw a small snake. She took out the crystal and asked it about that snake.

“This snake is poisonous and you should leave it alone. Don’t get close to it. Wait until it goes away before you move. This snake isn’t in your science book but Merlin knows it’s poisonous,” said the crystal.

“Alright,” said Elizabeth admiring the dangerous snake and letting it slither away.

         After that, Elizabeth started to walk again. She came to a small hilled area near a small creek. She saw all kinds of rocks sticking out of the mud right by the creek. She bent down to pick a few of them up. A few of them looked like mini honeycombs, and another looked like a large stone bug.

“Crystal, tell me about these stones,” said Elizabeth curiously.

“In the future, scientist’s they call paleontologist’s call these fossils. The ones you think look like a bees honeycomb are sponges from the ancient ocean that turned to stone over many millions of years ago. The other one is a kind of ancient bug that lived in the ocean called a trilobite,” said the crystal.

“Wow! This is great! I discovered something new!” said Elizabeth.

         Not long after Elizabeth discovered the fossils, the wisdom snake of knowledge came and appeared by her. He was happy that she’s been using the crystal and is learning more about the importance of knowledge. He told her that fossils weren’t discovered yet and made Elizabeth draw and document them in her own science book. The town’s scientists loved her work and included her in their circle afterward.

         When Merlin heard all of this good news from his wisdom snake of knowledge, he was very happy. He came to Elizabeth and made a magical copy of her book from one of his crystals. He then waited to hear back from his next snake of wisdom.

Chapter 4 - James Learns About Giving

         James is 12 and lives in a wealthy family. He’s even given his own bag of gold. He has no friends and doesn’t understand why. He’s at the local food cart with his Father, Walter.

“Dad, can I buy a few apples?” asked James.

“Yes. Buy anything you want,” said Walter getting rabbit meat.

“Thanks Dad,” said James.

         All of the sudden, a man sitting near the cart started to talk to James. He’s wearing dirty clothes and is clearly homeless. James saw him outstretching his hand asking for a gold coin or apple.

“Please, just give me only one apple, I’m starving,” said the homeless man.

“Just ignore him son, let’s go,” said Walter grabbing his son’s hand.

         Not long after James gets home, he stands outside of his home eating an apple. The homeless man stuck in his mind. He was wondering about giving him an apple.

“Hello James. I am the snake of wisdom of giving. I’m here to teach you about how to give,” said the snake of wisdom of giving.

“Wow! A giant snake! And I’m James,” said James while taking another bite out of his apple.

“Go back to that market and give one of your apples to that man. It’s time for you to learn more about giving and how to give to others,” said the snake of wisdom of giving.

         James went back to give one of his apples to that man by the cart. He wasn’t there. He saw that he was now by the car where his Father bought the rabbit at.

“Hello, I’m James. I’m here to give you one of my apples,” said James handing the homeless man one of his apples.

“Thank you!” said the homeless man quickly eating the apple in three bites.

“My name is Philip. I’m homeless because I lost my job as a weapon smith. I lost my job because I can no longer forge weapons due to loosing my right hand,” said Philip.

“I’m sorry to hear this. Is there anything else I can do for you?” said James.

“Yes. I’m still hungry. I’d love to have a rabbit. I haven’t had a good meal for a very long time now,” said Philip.

         James bought a rabbit and gave it to Philip. Philip eats the entire rabbit in a few bites, then he thanked James. He then pulled something out of his right pocket.

“Here, take this. I was not only a weapon smith, I knew how to make magical items. I’d like to be your friend. This is no ordinary dagger, you can use it to protect yourself,” said Philip.

“Thank you. Yes, I’d like to be your friend too,”:said James happily and took the magical dagger.

         That night James went home and thought about Philip. He wondered what else he could do for him to help him. He knew a man that needed little help and was looking for an assistant at a farm. In the morning James went to talk to the farmer.

“Hello, I’m James. I know of a man named Philip who’s looking for a job. He would be a great assistant for you,” said James.

“Hello, I’m Hans. Yes. Please send him my way. He’d only need to help feed the animals,” said Hans.

         James went to tell Philip about the farmer. Philip was overjoyed. He thanked James and they went to talk to the farmer. Philip got the job and as able to then live a much better life because James kept giving to him.

         That same night, the snake of wisdom of giving came to James. He was very pleased with how James kept giving to Philip and even helped give him a new and better life. The snake of wisdom reported this back to Merlin and he was also very pleased about this. Merlin then waited to hear back from his next snake of wisdom.

Chapter 5 - Amanda Learns About Faith

         Amanda is 13. She has trouble believing in her ability to create anything. She creates crafts to try to sell at an art stand in town. Her Mother, Agnes tries to teach her but is having a difficult time in doing this because Amanda doesn’t have faith in herself.

“Amanda, let’s create a flower wreath for our art stand this time. I bet the ladies would love to have one. Since it’s spring, we’ll make them out of tulips and lilacs,” said Agnes.

“But Mom, I don’t know how to place the flowers on the wreath well,” said Amanda sadly not having any confidence in herself even though she never tried making a flower wreath before.

“Don’t worry, I’ll teach you,” said Agnes confidently.

“Alright Mom, thank you,” said Amanda happily.

         Agnes tried to teach Amanda how to properly place the flowers on the plant wreath. Amanda still lacked confidence in her ability to do that. Agnes was sad for Amanda but still tried. She showed her her wreath and Amanda still had difficulty doing hers.

         After they stopped doing this, Agnes went into the kitchen to prepare their lunch. Amanda gave up and went outside. She stood there thinking about how to place the flowers on the wreath.

         All of the sudden, the snake of wisdom of faith appeared near Amanda. Merlin sent him to Amanda because he knew she lacked faith in herself. The snake of wisdom of faith then spoke to Amanda.

“Hello Amanda, I am the snake of wisdom of faith. I’m sent to you by Merlin because you lack having faith in yourself,”. said the snake of wisdom of faith.

“A giant snake’s talking to me sent by Merlin? Wow! Yes, I know I lack having faith in myself. How can I overcome this though?” asked Amanda.

“Just keep trying on something you’re doing and don’t give up until you succeed,” said the snake of wisdom of faith.

         After that, Amanda went back into the house to work on her wreath again. She had to put it down though because her Mother made her husband and all of them lunch. After Amanda ate, she went back outside to pick some more tulips and lilacs for he wreath.

“This should be enough for the wreath. These flowers are perfect!” said Amanda while working on her wreath again outside and placing the flowered on it.

         Amanda still struggled doing her wreath. She didn’t give up though and kept working on it. She decided to go back into the house with it and worked on hers with her Mother.

“Wow Amanda, your wreath is really looking great! Keep working on it, maybe it will look even better than mine does,” said Agnes having faith in Amanda’s work.

“Thanks Mom,” said Amanda.

         After attempting to continue working on her wreath, Amanda believed she was finished. She had alternated her flowers on the wreath. She had her Mother look at it.

“What do you think Mom?” said Amanda holding her wreath by her Mother.

“Wow! It looks wonderful! You alternated the flowers on it going in a circle. I love it, and I bet the ladies will love it too,” said Agnes happy that Amanda finally had faith in herself to do her wreath.

“Thanks Mom,” said Amanda.

         Over a few days of working on more wreaths, Amanda and Agnes placed their wreaths at the art stands. Amanda made thirty of them and so did Agnes. When the ladies saw Amanda’s, they bought them. When the day was over, all of Amanda’s wreath’s sold. Agnes still ten of hers left to sell. Amanda had faith in herself and taught Agnes how to create a wreath the way she made hers. Agnes quickly learned and they both made thirty more wreath’s to sell at their craft stand. By the end of the day, they sold all of their wreath’s. Agnes was happy, so was Amanda.

         That same night, the wisdom snake of faith visited Amanda. He was happy that Amanda finally had faith in herself. He then reported this to Merlin. Merlin was happy at Amanda’s success and waited to hear from another one of his snakes of wisdom.

Chapter 6 - Alan Learns About Magic & Merlin

         The second to last child that needed to be taught something which was belief, name was Alan who was eleven. He didn’t believe in anything. This included dragons, elves, unicorns, magic and even wizards, especially Merlin. Merlin sent his snake of wisdom of belief to Alan and hoped that he’d succeed in his task with Alan.

         Even though Alan didn’t believe in magic, he always tried practicing doing magic tricks. He wasn’t that great at them but knew a few tricks that did make his magic tricks good. He could make objects disappear which was his best trick and could do a couple of others. He could also make gems and gold appear that another person had in their gold bag. He could make a rabbit appear too, which was actually his pet.

“Alan, I’d love to see Alexander, your rabbit appear,” said Berta his younger sister.

“Not now, later. I’m busy working on trying a new trick,” said Alan.

“Oh, please!” said Berta whining.

“Oh, alright, but only once,” said Alan while getting Alexander.

         Alan made Alexander appear for his sister. She was excited to see him and then went to pet him. Then she went in the yard to play with her doll.

         Alan went back to practicing his new trick. Suddenly out of nowhere, the wisdom snake of belief appeared. Alan didn’t notice him yet until he got closer to him.

“Hello Alan, I’m sent to you by Merlin. You must be taught how to believe in something or someone. I am here to try doing this for you,” said the wisdom snake of belief.

“I never saw a giant snake before, ahhh!” shouted Alan loudly.

“I won’t hurt you, I am only here to help you,” said the wisdom snake of belief.

“Oh ok. I’m practicing a new magic trick,” said Alan no longer afraid of the snake of wisdom of belief.

“You will be visited by Merlin. He knows that you don’t even believe in him. He’s going to appear after I leave you now,” said the snake of wisdom of belief.

“Hello Alan, I’m Merlin. So, you’ve met my snake of wisdom of belief? And you do magic tricks but don’t believe in me or magic? This is a task I must do myself I see,” said Merlin while taking out one of his white crystal orbs.

“I thought you weren’t real. Wow! You are real!” said Alan excitedly.

“Yes, yes indeed I am real Alan. Now, I must teach you about magic. There are all kinds of magic. I’m going to give you this crystal orb and teach you how to use it. This magic is called an ability to scry,” said Merlin.

“Great! Now I can use this to do a new magic trick!” said Alan happily.

         Merlin showed Alan how to scry using the crystal ball. Alan was a natural using it. The crystal orb showed Alan that his sister was going to soon ask him to show her another magic trick. Merlin then disappeared leaving Alan to see if he could use the crystal orb on his own.

“Alan, can you show me your new magic trick? Did you learn it yet?” asked Berta.

“Yes, I did. Here it goes!” said Alan showing her what’s in the crystal orb.

         The crystal orb showed them a unicorn with Merlin standing near him. Alan didn’t believe in them and thought that the crystal orb was wrong. He shut it off and apologized to his sister for the magic trick not working.

“I’m sorry Berta, my magic trick must not work yet, I’ll have to show you another old one,” said Alan disappointedly.

“That’s ok. Just show me an old one then, thanks,” said Berta.

         Not long after Berta spoke, Melvin and an unicorn appeared. Alan was surprised, and so was his sister. Alan didn’t know what he was looking at and Berta told him.

“Hello Alan, I’m here to show you that your crystal orb was right. You now can use it and believe in me, magic and now you’ll believe in unicorns too,” said Merlin merrily.

         Merlin showed Alan and his sister the unicorn. Their parents came outside and met Merlin and the unicorn too. Alan got stung by a bee, and Merlin even showed Alan about the magic of healing a unicorn has. Now Merlin was happy that he completed his task and was waiting to hear back from his snake of wisdom of love.

Chapter 7 - Grecia Leans About Love

         Grecia, who’s nine, lives on a farm with her Father, Aldred. She’s not close with her Father only because he’s so busy having to do all of the work taking care of the crops and animals. He lost his wife years ago from an illness she had.

“Grecia, can you help feed the pigs our leftovers from breakfast?” asked Aldred.

“Yes Dad,” said Grecia while scraping what was on her dish on to her Father’s dish, then taking it to the pigs.

         When Grecia was done, she didn’t know what else to do. Her Father hardly spoke to her because he was that busy. Their neighbor, Beatrice was also widowed and also lost her husband to an illness he had. She visited the farm often to get eggs.

“Grecia, can you get the dozen eggs for Beatrice ready?” asked Aldred.

“Yes Dad,” said Grecia.

“Hello, Grecia. Thanks. Is your Father home?” asked Beatrice.

“Yes, I’ll get him for you,” said Grecia.

         Greciangot her Father for Beatrice. Grecia didn’t know what else to do, so she started to feed the chickens some corn. Then not long after that, the snake of wisdom of love appeared.

“Hello, I was sent to you by Merlin. I am the snake of wisdom of love. I am here to teach you about love,” said the snake of wisdom of love.

“Hello, I’m Grecia. Are you hungry?” asked Grecia.

“No, I don’t eat or drink, but thank you,” said the snake of wisdom of love.

“I’m not close with my Father and my Mom is dead. My Dad is unwell. The animals keep dying too,” said Grecia.

“You need to love them. Love has the power to heal,” said the snake of wisdom of love.

“I don’t know how to love them though,” said Grecia sadly.

“Just keep feeding the animals. Talk to them too. Try talking to your Father and tell him you love him. Offer to make him breakfast, lunch and supper,” said the wisdom snake of love.

“I’ll do that,” said Grecia.

         Soon after that, the snake of wisdom of love disappeared. He left her to watch what she does. Beatrice left and then Grecia went to ask her Dad if he wanted her to make them lunch.

“Dad, I know you’re sick. Would you like me to make us some lunch?” asked Grecia.

“Yes please, thank you sweetheart. Beatrice and I are starting to love each other. I hope you don’t mind, but I asked her to join us for dinner tonight,” said Aldred.

“That’s good Dad. I like her. I’ll make us lunch and dinner then ok?” said Grecia.

“Thanks sweetie. I’ll make supper. We’re going to have roast pig with carrots and potatoes,” said Aldred.

         Grecia made her and her Father lunch. After lunch, she told he rFather she loves him. She also offered to clean the house for company and he was very happy and told her he loved her too.

         When Grecia was done, she went to feed the animals. She spoke to them lovingly. When she was done, the snake of wisdom of love appeared.

“You are doing really well Grecia. Keep doing what you’re doing and the animals will no longer get sick and die and your Father will get better,” said the snake of wisdom of love.

“This is great! I love doing what I’ve been doing!” said Grecia happily.

         Grecia kept feeding the animals and lovingly spoke to them. They died because they weren’t being fed enough. Since Grecia fed and loved them throughout the day, they got enough food and they lived longer.

         Over time, her Dad got better by her telling him that she loved him and helping him around the home and farm more. He was overjoyed that his daughter kept telling him she loved him. He also got better because of that and her cooking for him because she made healthier meals than he was making.

         When the wisdom snake of love appeared, he was happy about what he kept seeing Grecia do. He was also loved by her. This made the wisdom snake of love become a real snake. When Merlin heard about that and how he succeeded in making Grecia learn about love, he came to her with his other six snakes. She loved all of them and they became real snakes too.

         Merlin was finally finished hearing back from all of his snakes. He succeeded in his plan and was very happy with the results. He kept continuing to send them to other children that needed to learn the wisdom that each of them taught.