English Original
The old man longed for children. But he and his young wife had none, so he invited his nephew to live with them. This infuriated his wife, who had a vile temper. When her husband welcomed the young man with great affection, she turned pale with jealousy. Her eyes narrowed and her head flattened. And when she licked her lips, her nephew saw that her tongue was forked. From that day on, the young man spent as much time as possible with his uncle and tried to avoid his aunt. But she seemed to enjoy startling him, suddenly appearing when he least expected her.
One evening, the nephew returned to the house quite late. He lit a candle and started up the stairs. Halfway up, he tripped on what seemed to be a coiled rope. Imagine his horror when that rope uncoiled and slithered up the steps in front of him! Then he saw it glide across the hall and under the door of his uncle's bedroom.
"Wake up! Wake up!" the young man shouted, and he knocked on the door until his knuckles hurt. But when his sleepy uncle finally let him in the bedroom, there was no snake in sight.
His aunt seemed to be sleeping, so the young man whispered in his uncle's ear. "I saw a snake." But his uncle was too groggy to respond, and he slid back under the covers. The young man searched the room quietly, looking into drawers and cupboards and corners. He peered under the bed and behind chairs. He was beginning to think he was going mad when suddenly his aunt sat up in bed, narrowed her eyes, and gave him an evil look that made his flesh creep.
"I'm sorry to bother you," he cried, racing to his bedroom and firmly shutting the door.
When he awoke the next morning, he noticed that the bottom of his bedroom door was arched up in the center, leaving just enough space for a snake to slither through. He bolted out of bed trembling. When he went downstairs, he was shocked to see that every door in the house had a snake-sized arch beneath it.
His aunt was sitting at the table, eating. "Your uncle left for the day," she said, licking her lips with her forked tongue. The young man was too terrified to speak, but his silence only made matters worse.
"I don't like the way you treat me," she said and grabbed his arm. Then she pressed her fingernails so deeply into his skin that he felt as if he were being bitten. He rushed outdoors and saw his arm was swelling. His hand and fingers were beginning to throb.
He knew he must seek help, so he ran into the forest to find the wise old hermit who lived there. The old man examined him carefully and handed him some leaves. "These are best for snakebite," he said. "Bind them around your arm and keep them wet."
"But I wasn't bitten by a snake," said the young man. "Those marks were made by my aunt's fingernails."
The old hermit shook his head in despair. "The touch of a snake-woman is even worse," he said, "but try these leaves. They should help."
The young man was appalled. "Is my aunt really a snake-woman?" he asked.
"If you want to find out," the hermit replied, "stay awake tonight, and if a snake enters your room, cut off the tip of its tail."
The young man wasn't sure how this would help, but he thanked the hermit for his advice and returned to his uncle's house. By afternoon, he was happy to see that the wet leaves had reduced the swelling.
He watched his aunt closely that evening, but he didn't notice anything strange until she tasted her soup. She said it needed more "ssssseasoning" and lingered on the "s" as if she were hissing. Her nephew felt gooseflesh rise from the tips of his toes to the top of his head. He excused himself from the table and went up to his bedroom, but not to sleep.
He planned to watch for the snake all night long.
There was just enough moonlight for him to see the bottom of his door, so he blew out his candle and unsheathed his sword. Then he stood waiting.
He watched for hours wondering what the snake might do. What if it slithered through the window instead, crept up behind him, and struck him with its venomous fangs? What if it slithered to the top of the wardrobe and dropped down from above? He was thinking of fleeing for his life, when he finally saw the snake glide under the door—first its head, then its body, then its tail.
Slash! He swung the sword so quickly that the snake had no warning. And the tip of its tail began writhing, all by itself, there on the floor. The snake raised its head as if to strike, but then it hissed viciously and slithered out of the room. And when he looked down the hall, he saw it disappear under his uncle's door.
The young man couldn't stand looking at that quivering tail, so he scooped it up with his sword and flung it in a drawer. He hardly slept all that night, and when he did, snakes chased him through his dreams.
The next morning, he opened the drawer a crack to look at the snake's tail and was amazed to see that it had turned into human toes.
He raced back to the forest to tell the hermit what had happened. "And now my aunt is staying in bed, but do you know what she told my uncle? She said she hurt her foot while sleepwalking!"
"Either she will fear you now," said the old man. "Or she will try to get rid of you. Listen carefully. If you think you are in danger, you must search her bedroom for her snakeskin, and when you find it, burn it."
The young man thanked the hermit, but he was concerned. What would happen if he burned the snakeskin? He decided to give his aunt one last chance.
While she was recovering, she caused no trouble, but as soon as her wound healed, she resumed her nightly slithering about the house.
Sometimes, when the young man was lying in bed, he saw the snake slip in and out of his empty boots or up the sleeve of a coat he had worn. One dreadful night, he felt the snake wiggling under his pillow, and he jumped out of bed in a cold sweat.
His dreams grew worse. He had a terrifying nightmare in which his aunt was trying to choke him. He awoke gasping for breath and realized that something was coiled tightly around his neck.
It was the snake.
中文翻译
老人渴望有孩子，但他和年轻的妻子没有子嗣，于是邀请侄子来同住。这激怒了他脾气暴躁的妻子。当丈夫满怀深情地欢迎年轻人时，她嫉妒得脸色发白。她的眼睛眯了起来，头也变得扁平。当她舔嘴唇时，侄子看到她的舌头是分叉的。从那天起，年轻人尽可能多地和叔叔待在一起，并试图避开他的阿姨。但她似乎很喜欢吓唬他，总在他最意想不到的时候突然出现。
一天晚上，侄子很晚才回家。他点了一支蜡烛，开始上楼。走到一半时，他被一个看起来像盘绕的绳子一样的东西绊倒了。想象一下他的恐惧——那“绳子”竟然自己展开，在他面前滑行上了楼梯！然后他看见它滑过大厅，钻进了叔叔卧室的门下。
“醒醒！醒醒！”年轻人大喊着，用力敲门直到指关节都疼了。但当睡眼惺忪的叔叔终于让他进卧室时，却不见蛇的踪影。
他的阿姨似乎睡着了，于是年轻人凑到叔叔耳边低语：“我看见一条蛇。”但叔叔昏昏沉沉，没有回应，又滑回被子里去了。年轻人悄悄地搜查房间，查看了抽屉、碗橱和各个角落。他窥视床下和椅子后面。正当他开始怀疑自己是不是疯了时，阿姨突然从床上坐起来，眯起眼睛，恶狠狠地瞪着他，让他毛骨悚然。
“抱歉打扰了，”他喊道，飞奔回自己的卧室，牢牢关上了门。
第二天早上醒来时，他注意到卧室门的底部中央向上拱起，刚好留出足够一条蛇溜进来的空间。他颤抖着跳下床。下楼后，他震惊地发现房子里每扇门下面都有一个蛇大小的拱形缺口。
阿姨正坐在桌边吃饭。“你叔叔今天出门了，”她用分叉的舌头舔着嘴唇说。年轻人吓得说不出话，但他的沉默只会让事情更糟。
“我不喜欢你对待我的方式，”她说着抓住了他的胳膊。然后她把指甲深深地按进他的皮肤，让他感觉像被咬了一样。他冲到屋外，看到胳膊肿了起来。他的手和手指开始阵阵作痛。
他知道必须寻求帮助，于是跑进森林，找到了住在那里的睿智老隐士。老人仔细检查了他，递给他一些叶子。“这是治蛇咬伤最好的药，”他说，“绑在你胳膊上，保持湿润。”
“但我不是被蛇咬的，”年轻人说，“这些痕迹是我阿姨的指甲弄的。”
老隐士绝望地摇摇头。“蛇女的触碰更糟，”他说，“但试试这些叶子吧，应该有用。”
年轻人惊骇不已。“我阿姨真的是蛇女吗？”他问。
“如果你想知道，”隐士回答，“今晚别睡，如果有蛇进你房间，就切下它的尾尖。”
年轻人不确定这有什么用，但还是感谢了隐士的建议，回到了叔叔家。到了下午，他高兴地看到湿叶子已经让肿胀消退了。
那天晚上他密切观察阿姨，但直到她尝汤时才发现异常。她说汤需要更多“嘶嘶嘶嘶调味料”，并拖长了“嘶”音，仿佛在嘶嘶作响。她的侄子感到鸡皮疙瘩从脚趾尖一直冒到头顶。他找了个借口离开餐桌，上楼回到卧室，但不是为了睡觉。
他计划整夜守候那条蛇。
月光刚好能让他看清门底，于是他吹灭蜡烛，拔出剑，站着等待。
他守候了几个小时，猜测蛇可能会做什么。如果它从窗户溜进来，爬到他身后，用有毒的尖牙攻击他怎么办？如果它爬到衣柜顶上，从上面掉下来呢？他正想着逃命，终于看到蛇从门下滑了进来——先是头，然后是身体，最后是尾巴。
咔嚓！他挥剑如此之快，蛇毫无预警。它的尾尖开始在地板上独自扭动。蛇抬起头，仿佛要攻击，但随后它恶毒地嘶嘶叫着，滑出了房间。当他望向走廊时，看见它消失在叔叔的房门下。
年轻人无法忍受看着那颤抖的尾巴，于是用剑把它舀起来，扔进一个抽屉。那晚他几乎没睡，即使睡着，梦里也有蛇在追他。
第二天早上，他把抽屉拉开一条缝看蛇尾，惊讶地发现它变成了人的脚趾。
他跑回森林告诉隐士发生的事。“现在我阿姨卧床休息，但你知道她跟我叔叔怎么说的吗？她说自己梦游时伤了脚！”
“现在她要么会怕你，”老人说，“要么会试图除掉你。仔细听好。如果你觉得自己有危险，必须去她卧室找到她的蛇皮，找到后就烧掉它。”
年轻人谢过隐士，但很担忧。烧掉蛇皮会发生什么？他决定再给阿姨最后一次机会。
在她养伤期间，她没有惹麻烦，但伤口一愈合，她就恢复了每晚在房子里四处滑行的习惯。
有时，年轻人躺在床上，会看到蛇溜进他空着的靴子又溜出来，或者爬进他穿过的大衣袖子。一个可怕的夜晚，他感觉到蛇在枕头下蠕动，惊出一身冷汗，跳下了床。
他的梦越来越糟。他做了一个可怕的噩梦，梦见阿姨试图掐死他。他醒来时喘着粗气，意识到有东西紧紧缠住了他的脖子。
正是那条蛇。