It happened in a very cold winter 。 One day a farmer was on his way home 。 Suddenly ， he saw a snake lying on the ground ， almost frozen to death 。 “Poor snake ！ Let me save your life ！”said the farmer 。 Then he put the snake under his coat ， next to his warm body。

A few minutes later ， the snake came back consciousness 。 The farmer did not get any signs of thanks for saving the snake’s life 。 Instead ， the snake bit the farmer and left 。 “Poor me ！ Why did I save the life of a cold-blooded snake ？” cried the dying farmer。