The Ploughman and the Serpent That Killed His Son

A serpent crept up to a ploughman's child and killed him. The ploughman felt terrible grief; so, taking an axe, he went to lie in wait by the serpent's hole, ready to strike it the moment it came out. When the serpent put its head out, the ploughman brought down his axe, but missed and split the nearby rock in two. Afterwards, fearing the serpent's revenge, he urged it to make peace with him; but the serpent replied, "We can no longer hold kind feelings, neither I for you, when I see the gash in the rock, nor you for me, when you look on your child's grave."