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 you 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.

　　他知道自己必须要找人帮忙，于是跑进森林去了，那有位聪明的老隐士。老人仔细检查了他的伤口然后给他几片树叶。“这是治蛇咬伤最好的药了，”他说，“包扎在胳膊上并且保持湿润。”

　　“但是我并不是被蛇咬伤的啊，”他说道，“伤口是被我婶婶用指甲抠的。”

　　老人绝望的摇摇头，“如果是蛇女那就更糟糕了，但是也先试试这些叶子吧，会有帮助的。”

　　年轻人觉得不寒而栗，“我婶婶真是个蛇女？”他问道。

　　“如果你想知道答案，”老隐士说，“今晚别睡觉，要是有条蛇进了你的房间，把它的尾巴尖割下来。”

　　他并不知道这些会有什么用，但还是谢过了老人给他的建议，随后回到了叔叔家。到了下午那树叶起作用了，伤口肿得已经没有那么利害了，年青人很高兴。

　　晚上他仔细打量婶婶，但是并没发现什么异常。直到她喝汤的时候才有点不对劲，她说汤有点淡并且把“嘶”的音节拉得很长，就好像是蛇嘶嘶叫着的声音。听到这个声音，年轻人就觉得鸡皮疙瘩从脚底一直长到了头顶，于是找个借口离开饭桌回屋去了，但是并没有睡觉。

　　他打算在夜里等着那条蛇。