“The Man and the Snake” is a short story by American Civil War soldier, wit, and writer Ambrose Bierce. It tells of a man who dies of fright inspired by a toy snake with buttons for eyes.
“The Man and the Snake” shows that “death for Bierce was hardly the occasion for high tragic or sublime musings; nor was it particularly repulsive but instead a sort of low comedy, in which the joke is often played upon the reader”.
A train of reflections followed—for Brayton was a man of thought— and he unconsciously lowered his book without altering the direction of his eyes. As soon as the volume had gone below the line of sight, something in an obscure corner of the room recalled his attention to his surroundings. What he saw, in the shadow under his bed, were two small points of light, apparently about an inch apart.
Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce born June 24, 1842 and died 1914, was an American short story writer, journalist, poet, and American Civil War veteran. His book The Devil’s Dictionary was named one of “The 100 Greatest Masterpieces of American Literature” by the American Revolution Bicentennial Administration. His story “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” has been described as “one of the most famous and frequently anthologized stories in American literature” and his book Tales of Soldiers and Civilians was named by the Grolier Club one of the 100 most influential American books printed before 1900.
In Public Domain
First Published 1890
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