A Frightening Encounter

- by Wesly Kong, SMK Taman Tunku

It was an extremely hot afternoon. I was home alone and doing my revision for an examination in my study. After revising for about 2 hours, I felt hungry and wanted to have something to eat and drink. So, I went downstairs to the dining room to have some biscuits and a cup of tea.

After I had finished having my refreshment, I heard a hissing sound when I was cleaning up the dining table. I did not know where the hissing sound came from. So I searched carefully in the dining room. Suddenly, I saw a rope-like object under the cupboard. I used a stick to push it to see whether there was any response. After the push, the object moved. It emerged from under the cupboard and I could see that it was a cobra! When it saw me, it stood on its belly, flattened its hood and hissed fiercely at me. It then opened its jaws and exposed its fangs. I was terrified at the sight. I screamed loudly and rushed out of the dining room as fast as I could.

In the living room, I picked up my mobile phone and telephoned my neighbour, Encik Ramasamy, at once. He knew how to deal with the venomous creature. Not long after, he came with 2 pieces of wood and a cage. He asked me where the snake was. I told him it was in the dining room. We walked slowly and quietly into the dining room. I told Encik Ramasamy that the snake was about 1 meter long. In the dining room, we saw the snake's tail under a table where my mother put her cooking utensils.

Encik Ramasamy told me not to come too close for the sake of my security. He then urged the cobra to emerge from its hiding place with one of the pieces of wood. When it appeared from under the table, it opened its jaws again and hissed fiercely at Encik Ramasamy. I was scared but Encik Ramasamy, who was as brave as a lion, pinned it against the floor by its head with the wood. It then wriggled desperately to get free. Skilfully, Encik Ramasamy caught hold of its head and put it into the cage carefully.

After closing the cage, Encik Ramasamy looked at the backyard of my house. He said that the yard was overgrown with weeds. He advised me to remove the weeds, since they attract snakes and other creatures which might be dangerous. He also told me that snakes loved to hide in cool places. Since the weather was hot that day, the snake might have found my house a cool place to rest. So, it came into my house.

I thanked Encik Ramasamy for helping me and offered him a glass of cold orange juice as a token of my gratitude. After the refreshing drink, he took the snake to the countryside and released it into the wild.

In the evening, when my parents came home from work, I told them everything. We then weeded the backyard to make sure that there was no hiding place for unwanted creatures. My parents also thanked Encik Ramasamy for helping us to get rid of the snake.

What a frightening encounter!