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delicate forked tongues vibrating like streaks of red flame, while
Brandu removed a slat from a crate of rabbits and put a half-dozen of
them on the floor. The little animals had no instinctive fear of the
serpents, for they hopped about among them and over their wriggling
bodies unconcernedly, but the snakes were hungry after a fast of two
weeks and they wasted no time in getting to the business before them.
The proceeding was the same in each case. A serpent would crawl up to
the rabbit and place its nose, at which the little furry beast would
sniff curiously, close to that of its prospective supper. The red forked
tongue would pass rapidly over its face and the rabbit made no attempt
to move. Whether it was the effect of some anaesthetic quality in the
breath of the snake or the traditional charm of the serpent, it was hard
to say, but the rabbit made no move to escape. Slowly but surely it
yielded to the fascination of the snake, the large transparent ears
dropped to the side of the head and the body muscles relaxed until the
tickling of the serpent's tongue caused no reflex movement of the paws.

The snake then carefully withdrew its head until the slim neck was in
the form of a letter S, and when it again straightened out it was with
the force of a released steel spring and the aim of the flat head was
unerring. The stroke was so rapid that it was difficult for the eye to
follow and the rabbit never knew what happened, for its body made a
quick circle in the air and in less than a second all that was to be
seen was one small paw protruding from the coiled body which had brought
it a quick and merciful death. The jaws of the serpent have seized it by
the snout and thrown it back into its coils and the first pressure kills
it, although the ever tightening embrace continues until the bones are
crushed within the unbroken skin, so that it can be easily swallowed.

It is not swallowing in the ordinary sense of the word, for the snakes
pull themselves over the rabbits as a glove is pulled over the finger,
and the progress to the stomach can be watched through the length of the
snake's neck. The snakes which were too small to manage a rabbit were
fed on white rats and mice, but the process was the same in each case,
except that the Hindoos held the rodents by their tails until the snakes
had hypnotized them.

"I suppose that this seems cruel to people because the rabbits are such
harmless little beasts," said the Pro