Serpents and Werewolves by Lari Don

The Snake Prince
    Punjabi folktale
    Snakes can hide in the most unlikely places.
    One hot morning, an old woman carried her clay pot down to the river. She stood the pot on the riverbank while she washed her hands and face. When she lifted the pot to fill it with water, she saw a snake coiled up inside.
    A small, brightly coloured snake.

    It was beautiful, but she knew that such bright colours usually meant deadly poison. The snake hissed at her and stuck out its forked tongue. She threw her veil over the top of the pot and backed away.
    But it was her only clay pot. She couldn’t afford to buy another. She had to get rid of the snake. She took a deep breath and used a stick to lift the veil.
    The snake had vanished.
    Inside the pot now was a beautiful necklace, made of gleaming gold and bright jewels, shaped like a snake with its tail in its mouth.
    The old woman gasped. She’d never seen anything so beautiful (except possibly the snake, with its vivid jewel-coloured scales) and she’d certainly never seen anything so valuable.
    She picked the pot up, with the necklace rattling inside, and she ran to the King’s palace. She showed the serpent necklace to the King and Queen, and told them the story of the snake in the pot, which they laughed at kindly. They offered her many coins for the necklace. She accepted, because coins to buy food were more use to her than fancy jewellery.
    The King and Queen laid the necklace in a wooden box in their room, for the Queen to wear on a special occasion.
    And a special occasion arrived the next day. The King and Queen were invited to a feast in the neighbouring kingdom, to celebrate the birth of a baby princess. The Queen tried to smile when she read the invitation. She had no children of her own, and while she was pleased for the neighbouring queen, she was sad too.
    â€œCheer up,” said the King, “this is a chance to wear that beautiful serpent necklace.”
    They went to the bedroom and opened the wooden box.
    The necklace had vanished.
    Inside the box now was a baby boy, waving his arms and gurgling.
    A perfect, healthy, smiling baby boy.
    The Queen picked the baby up and hugged him. “This is a gift to us. A child, at last!”
    So they raised the boy as their own, as the Prince of their kingdom. When he was eighteen, he was betrothed to the Princess next door.
    But rumours of his unusual arrival, whispered stories of clay pots and snakes and necklaces, had spread from his city to the neighbouring kingdom. The Princess heard people mutter that she was going to marry a snake prince.
    At the feast to celebrate their betrothal, the Princess whispered to the Prince, “Is it true that you’re really a snake?”
    He refused to answer.
    She asked again, “Are you really a snake? Tell me the truth or I’ll refuse to marry you.”
    He answered, “You will regret it if I tell you the truth.”
    â€œWe will both regret it if you don’t. I can’t marry a man who keeps secrets from me.”
    So they left the feast and sat on the veranda, overlooking the river.
    The Prince sighed. “As a tiny child, I was enchanted by the Queen of the... erm... slithering things, to be... umm... a thing with scales. But I was granted the right to be human until someone asked me that very question. Until someone forced me to utter the word...”
    â€œWhat word? What were you turned into? Who enchanted you? Tell me everything!”
    â€œI was enchanted by the Queen of the Snakes...”
    As soon as he said the word ‘
snakes
’ the young man vanished.
    And the Princess was sitting on the veranda beside a snake. A long, smooth, beautifully coloured snake. Its head drooped sadly onto the ground, then it slid away into the darkness.
    The Princess sighed. She knew his secret, but now she had lost him forever.
    Unless she could persuade the Queen of the Snakes to give him back.
    The next morning the Princess spoke to the men