1.Snakes have no legs to walk with，no wings to fly with，not even fins to swim with.The only bones in their bodies are the backbone and the ribs.Theirbackbone has so many joints that they can turn and twist in all directions，but it is chiefly by means of their ribs that they creep.
2.Other animals have ribs，and when they breathe，their ribs move backwards and forwards a little.The snake can move his ribs almost as freely as if they were little legs inside his skin.
3.The skin on the under side of his body is covered with hard scales.Theedges of these scales slope backwards，so that they slide easily over the ground when he moves his ribs forwards.When he moves his ribs backwards，howe ver，the edges of these scalescatch hold of the ground，and push or pull his body forward as if they were little feet.
4.There are many different kinds of snakes，most of which live in hot countries.Some of them have a poisonous sting.In pictures of serpents you often see a two-prongedthing，like a little fork，darting out of theopen mouth.Many people think that this is the sting of the serpent.But the forked part is only its tongue，and is quite harmless.
5.The real weapons of the serpent are two long teeth，called fangs，in the upper jaw.Each of them is hollow，and has a little bagof poison above it.When the serpent bites an animal，the fang strikes deep into its flesh，while the poison flows down the hollow part into the wound.
6.One of the most dangerous of poisonous serpents is the rattlesnake.It gets its name from the rattling sound made by its tail when it moves.A gentleman，called Winthrop，who travelled by canoeand saddle across North America，tells a story of how a rattlesnake was killed in a curious way.
7.He was at the time riding among the RockyMountainswith two Indianguides.Suddenly Mr.
Winthrop‘s horse started back from a rattlesnake which lay coiledin the track.The snake glided away into a thick bush.There it stopped and turned to defend itself，with its fangs ready to strike.All the while its tail made a harsh rattling sound，showing that it was in a great rage.
8.In the bush the snake could not easily be reached with a stick，and Mr.Winthrop was about to shoot it，when one of the Indians said that he would show him how to kill the snake.The man took his pipe from the deerskin pouchat his side，removed the stem from the bowl，and passed a stiff stalk of grass through the stem，so that some of the tobacco juice stuck to the point.
9.He crept slowly up to the bush and held the juice-covered end of the straw near the rattlesnake’s nose.At once the snake became quiet-watchful，but no longer angry.It seemed to like the smell，and rattled no more.Its tongue moved gently out and in，and when the point of the straw at last touched its nose it was lulledas if to sleep.
10.Then the Indian slowly drew away the straw，and the snake followed it，swayingfrom side to side.It crept slowly out upon the path，and when the Indian touched its nose with the oily stalk its rattle gave a gentle burr，as if to say，“How nice！This is charming！”
11.At last the other Indian quietly came near.He suddenly drew his keen hunting-knife，and cut off the snake‘s head at a blow.Long and loud laughed the Indians at their clever trick；and they carried off the body for their supper，seeming to look upon it as a rare tit-bit .