One day at Ponderings Pond, snakes Jake and Joe were hungry, so they began to slither anywhere they could in search of a bite to eat. It was getting warmer, so they decided to crawl over to a bush to get in the shade for awhile.

While there, they heard a voice asking “How are you doing guys?” When they looked up, they could not see anyone at first, so they were scared.

“Ahhhh! The bush talks! The bush talks!” they both said with great surprise.

“Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! You guys are silly!”

“Let’s run, Jake!” cried Joe.

“We can’t. We don’t have feet,” said Jake.

“I mean, crawl out of here at top speed,” said Joe.

“Guys! Guys! Guys! Take it easy! It’s only me, Delilah!”

“What? Where?” asked Joe.

“Up in this bush,” said Delilah Duck.

Sure enough, when Joe and Jake looked up, there was Delilah, right in the bush.

Joe asked, “What are you doing in the bush?”

“Looking for food to eat. You can see a lot more if you are higher,” said Delilah.

Jake and Joe began to think about it, and got angry. Why, of all of God’s creatures, were they so low to the ground?

Then they thought of Seymour the giraffe, one of the tallest creatures at Ponderings Pond. Now Jake and Joe were not only angry, but jealous.

“Rats! You creatures are always better than us snakes. You are all taller than us. It’s not fair! It’s not fair, I tell you!” cried Jake.

“Easy there Jake. I’m not tall either. I only flew up here,” said Delilah.

“Well, we can’t fly, so it’s still not fair,” said Joe whining.

“You guys can climb, can’t you?” asked Delilah.

“Uh, uh, yeah,” they both mumbled.

“Well?” asked Delilah.

“Uh, I guess we did not think of that,” said Jake.

“I don’t know if I want to climb,” Joe said and added, “I fell off of a fence the other day.”

“Well, climb but be careful. Try those wooden steps over there,” said Delilah.

So Jake and Joe slithered up the steps. When they got to the top, they were able to see much further.

They looked and looked, then Jake whispered, “Hey Joe! I see some rats!”

“Where?” asked Joe.

“Near Pedro Persistence’s back door. Let’s sneak over there,” said Jake.

So both of them quietly slithered close to Pedro’s back door, hiding in the grass. Then, they saw their chance. They coiled, lunged,caught a couple of rats and gobbled them up.

“Delicious!” said Jake.

“Good to the tip of the tail,” said Joe.

Now, all of this rat catching caused somewhat of a commotion, and Pedro Persistence had seen Jake and Joe get their bite to eat.

He was really happy that they were able to catch some rats near his house. After all, who wants rats near their house?

Pedro came out to talk with Joe and Jake.

“Thank you so much for catching those rats! That is a big help to me. You both have done a very good job,” said Pedro.

“Thank you Pedro,” they said.

“You are great friends to have around. It’s nice to have so many friends. Delilah and Freddy Frog eat the bugs off of my plants, and Seymour has been eating that bush I showed him so now I don’t have to trim it. Donkey Don eats some of my tall grass, and you guys have eaten some pests. Thank you for your help,” said Pedro.

After they chatted some more, Joe and Jake went on their merry way. As they crawled through the grass, Joe said to Jake, “Wow, I feel like I am worth something now.”

“Me too,” Jake said, adding, “looks like all of God’s creatures have a purpose.”

And, they do, even you and I.