The Girl and the Snake Chief

A beautiful young woman refused every suitor, finding fault with each one. One day, a handsome and wealthy chief from a faraway land arrived, and she agreed to marry him. She went with him to his village, which was magnificent. But her new husband had a secret: he and all his people were actually snakes who took on human form. At night, they would shed their human skins and revert to their true forms. The woman was terrified when she discovered the secret. She managed to send a message to her brother, a great warrior, by tying a note to the leg of a friendly bird. Her brother gathered the other warriors and, following the bird, they came to the snake village. They set a great circle of fire around the village while all the snakes were sleeping in their human forms inside the huts. As the snakes awoke and fled the burning huts, they were trapped. The story is a cautionary tale about the dangers of choosing a partner based only on outside appearances and wealth, and the importance of knowing a suitor's true nature and people.