A long time ago there lived a little cabin next to a stream. In this cabin there were two brothers, a spider, and a snake.

The spider provided wisdom and helped stop insects from getting inside.

The snake had the task of making sure the fields were barren of mice. It was a good job, and he was paid in the vermin he killed.

The brothers plowed the fields and kept them in nice order, and the stream kept the crops watered.

One day, the snake grew bored of his task. He was now a rather old snake, and sometimes he would hear whispers about things that weren't there. He ignored them, though. There was no reason to be anything other than a snake.

The snake was envious of the spider. The spider was able to glean wisdom from the wind on his web, and had mastered the ability to make music by plucking his web. He did not have to manage the fields and kill so many vermin. So he listened to the spider's song and stole wisdom from the web with his long forked tongue.

He heard tell of trees not to far away that had long ago been deserted. A town was springing up, and lumber was rare and the trade was high.

He heard tale of something in the sky.

He heard tale of a bird who lived in a small grove of trees. It preyed on dead things and living a like.

The snake had an idea.

The next day, the snake went out into the fields and then slithered away to the trees. It was a long journey, but the snake was more than just a snake, even if he didn't know that.

As he had heard by stealing from the web, there were several great trees. They were older than he thought, and it took him some time to figure out how to get the bird's attention.

He went back to the field and killed a rat and brought it to the trees, and then waited.

Up in the trees, he was watched. A bird came flying down and grabbed the rat...

... and the snake reared up, hissing. "Wait..." Said the snake.

"I want to make a deal with you." Said the snake.

"I have more food." Said the snake.

"Please." Said the snake.

The bird took the rat up into it's nest... and then dropped down to the ground.

The snake saw that it was an immense black crow, wisened by years of living and with feathers as black as the eyes of the snake.

"Hello." It said, with a voice like coal dust.

"Hello."

"Are you going to make your deal?" Said the crow.

"I have a field not more than a few miles away from here." Said the snake. "And it is full of rats just as plump as the one I gave to you. Would you help me clear it out?"

The crow cocked it's head to the side. "What do I get for it."

The snake looked around. There were no other birds in the trees, nor food. The trees were dying. "Why... you get to keep the rats." Said the snake.

The crow nodded. "Fair enough. I will be by at noon to help."

And the crow did.

And the snake was happy.

And the brothers were happy.

And the spider was unhappy.

Since the snake now had free time, he had taken up singing. The snake sung far better than the spider could, and insisted on singing the last song of the night, something which hurt the pride of the spider.

The spider listened to its webs.

No matter how much it listened, it could not figure out how the snake had free time.

The birds were flying, said the web.

The field mice are dying, said the web.

The rats are dead, said the web.

The crow is well, said the web.

Then the spider knew.

There had been a crow hanging around.

The spider knew what to do.

The spider snuck away during the night and made a trap out of web for a rat. A rat soon came for it, for when there is a trap made for rats, rats will always fall for it.

The spider presented the rat to the bird and said a few simple words, having figured out how the snake was having time to spare. "The snake is swindling you. He says nothing of how you help him, only brags that he has gotten grand at clearing the fields."

The crow cocked her head to the side and frowned. "I will talk to him about it."

The next day, the crow tore out the right eye of the snake and ate it, before telling the brothers the truth.

"Never trust the snake." Said one.

"I wouldn't have asked the spider." Said the other one.

Author's Notes:

Hey guys. I have a question. The real reason for no updates, (apart from laziness) is that I am having trouble with a crossover. I can give you guys a short condensed version of it and keep writing, or I can spend the next 8 months without updating as I try to get it into my standards. Which do you prefer?