The Little Turtle Doted on by a Silly Snake Beastman

A certain snake is the black-scaled serpent beast nobody dares to mess with in the mountains. Its scales gleam with a cold light, and a flick of its tongue can scare off every beast. Yet it falls for one tiny turtle, small enough to fit in the palm of a hand. The little turtle’s shell is a tender shade of green. It takes three steps, then rests for two, and can even topple over while sunbathing and fall asleep on the snake’s scales. The snake curls into a ring to shelter it at the center. When it hunts, it brings back fresh berries wrapped in its tongue; when it rains, it tucks the turtle into the warm folds between its scales. Even the fawns passing by are dumbstruck. Who would have thought that a serpent beast with such a fearsome reputation would pamper a tiny turtle so much that not even a breeze could reach it? Then one day, when the little turtle sheds its shell, patterns that glimmer faintly come into view. Only then does the snake realize that the little one it has protected for so long is no ordinary turtle. But whatever it may be, in the snake’s heart, this little darling who loves to nap on its head will always be a precious treasure to cradle on its scales and pamper to its heart’s content.