The Snake, Serpent
The snake was supposed to be able to understand what men said. A tale was told me by an aged man at Penrhos, Montgomeryshire, of an event which took place in the last century. His father, he said, saw a number of snakes, or nethers, as he called them, basking in the sun, and he said when passing them, “I will make you jump to-morrow.” The next day he, provided with a rod, passed the spot, but no adder could be seen. The next day he passed again the same spot without his rod, and the man was now obliged to run for his life, so furiously did the snakes attack him.
Traditions of Flying Snakes were once common in all parts of Wales.