Catherine Palmer

I could save the pet baby snake.

So I got a clear casserole dish out of the cabinet and put it over the snake.

So the snake could see out, but the cat couldn't get at it.

Problem solved.

So I headed back to the living room with my drink.

But I could not relax because I got thinking, how much oxygen is in a casserole?

And how much oxygen does a baby snake need?

And to this day, I don't know the answer to either of those questions.

But I decided it would be safe if I went back like every 10 minutes and just lifted the casserole, there'd be new oxygen, we'd be fine.

So I headed back to the kitchen and there were four baby snakes.

one under the casserole, three loose.

So I got three more baking dishes and sequestered the snakes.

And right then, there's a knock on the door.

The hostile people have arrived.

Now the good news is, they don't need to come through the kitchen, so I get them settled, but now it's been like 15 minutes, I've got to get back and get oxygen to all the baby snakes.

So I'm back, and there are five new baby snakes.

Okay, so I realized two things.

One, snakes have litters of babies, clearly.

And two, I don't have any more clear baking dishes.

So I go over to the hostel to raid their baking dishes, and I come back with an armful, and there are two more baby snakes added to the crowd.