Snakes in Space

[vovat]

When I was in sixth grade, I wrote a few stories (although I think I only actually completed one) about an evil serpent named Froomosongs. He was basically a snake with legs, because I had the idea as a kid that "serpent" referred to a fantastic creature with legs, while "snake" was a perfectly ordinary animal without them. Actually, it seems like "serpent" is used both ways, but I think I might have gotten the idea from the Genesis story. Since God cursed the serpent to crawl on his belly and eat dust (you know, if all snakes really ate was dust, why would anyone be afraid of them?), I figured he must have had legs prior to that. I'm not sure if that was my own idea or one that I read or heard somewhere. Anyway, the first Froomosongs story I wrote was "The Return of Froomosongs" (obviously paving the way for a prequel that I never wrote), in which the serpent escapes from a cave on a planet of mythological beings. I don't remember too much about what actually happened in it, although I do recall that the teacher liked my reference to the serpentine fiend "spewing poisonous venom." I think my next one (which I might or might not have finished) was "The Revenge of Froomosongs," which had the villain causing trouble on several different planets, including one inhabited by furry thirteen-legged animals. I had some other ideas involving Froomosongs, but I don't think any of them ever came to fruition.

An even earlier story I wrote involving snakes involved my travelling throughout the solar system, and meeting weird creatures on each of the planets I visited. Jupiter had a baseball diamond maintained by the Diamond Cutter, a footrace run by the Muses, and a bear who provided us with lunch. Pluto had an ice cave inhabited by ghosts and aliens for radios for heads, and I believe either Uranus or Neptune (or perhaps one of their moons) was home to a turtle who always told the truth and a pig who always lied. I also remember a giant Lunar Mouse that could jump from one planet to another in a single leap, and some guy named Mistasooktoes. But the part relevant to this entry is that I was accompanied throughout much of my journey by a winged female snake called the Wingdra. She was like the Hydra, but had an abundance of wings instead of heads. And I don't think this character actually appeared in the story, but one of her brothers was the Taildra (and I'm sure you can guess what his primary characteristic was). I know the Wingdra and I rescued Persephone, but I never finished the whole thing. I had an idea that it would involve a battle in the heavens (I think I'd already started having the villains of the piece get together), but I didn't get around to writing that part.

Comments

[colbyucb.livejournal.com]

Wingdra and Taildra are really neat to say out loud.

I also remember a giant Lunar Mouse that could jump from one planet to another in a single leap

When I was really little, I thought this was how space travel worked (minus the mouse.) I just thought astronauts suited up and JUMPED TO THE MOON. I had several nightmares about accidentally jumping into space and floating and not being able to get back down.

[vovat.livejournal.com]

Wingdra and Taildra are really neat to say out loud.

Thanks. I'm glad my eleven-year-old self was able to come up with such fun words. {g}

None of the space travel in my solar system story was at all realistic, but I'm pretty sure I realized that at the time. I also knew no one lived on Jupiter or Saturn, but that wouldn't have made for a very interesting story, would it?