"Once upon a time, long, long ago, when the world was young, lived old
Mr. Snake, the grandfather a thousand times removed of little Mr.
Greensnake and all the other Snakes whom you know. Of course he wasn't
old then. He was young and spry and smart, was Mr. Snake. Now there is
such a thing as being too smart. That was the trouble with Mr. Snake.
Yes, Sir, that was the trouble with Mr. Snake. He was so smart that he
soon found out that he was the smartest of all the meadow and forest
people, and that was a bad thing. It certainly was a very bad thing."
Grandfather Frog shook his head gravely.

"You see," he continued, "as soon as he found that out, he began to
take advantage of his neighbors and cheat them, but he would do it so
smoothly that they never once suspected that they were being cheated.
Mr. Snake would go about all day cheating everybody he met. At night
he would go home and chuckle over his smartness. It wasn't long before
he began to look down on his neighbors for being so honest that they
didn't suspect other people of being dishonest, and for being so
easily cheated.

"Now one bad habit almost always leads to another. From cheating, Mr.
Snake just naturally slipped to stealing. Yes, Sir, he became a thief.
Of course that made trouble right away, but still no one suspected
Mr. Snake. He was always very polite to every one and always offering
to do favors for his neighbors. In fact, Mr. Snake was very well liked
and much respected. When any one had been robbed, he was always the
first to offer sympathy and join in the hunt for the thief. He was so
spry and slim, and could slip through the tall grass so fast, that he
could go almost where he pleased without being seen, and this made him
very bold. If he did happen to be found near the scene of trouble, he
always had a story ready to account for his presence, and it sounded