Blessing in disguise

It was winter time,
when cold bloods go into hibernation
A snake unfortunately strayed
far off from its subterranean nest

And was caught in the open,
when that unavoidable sluggishness invaded
Helpless it lay there exposed,
An easy quarry to dangerous predators

As it dwindled down into the unconscious
It perceived a sharp bite to its tail
Enraged it looked around and saw a small rat
That woebegone creature, dares to attack me!

The furious snake swung at its irritant
But the rat smartly scurried away
The snake gave a raging glare
As the rat looked on from a safe distance

Then sleep invaded yet again
And the snake tired slumped down
But ere it could drift off
There the irritating rat bit him again

The snake went mad
Such anger was aroused
That this time it slithered some distance
Pursuing that rodent

But the rat as usual
Ran away to safety
And the snake could but
be flustered in its fury

But now it was less sleepy than earlier
And was constantly on the alert
To catch the audacious rat
and teach him a fine lesson

Thus the months passed away
Every time the snake looked like drifting away
He received a biting wake up call
But soon the season of dormancy passed away
And the snake felt energy flow in back into his being

He looked around and saw vultures hovering above
Then suddenly realized what a service that rat has been
Keeping him awake through the winter months
And thus saved him from greater peril

Sometimes even rats can be
A blessing in disguise
Sometimes irritation is the
only visible sign of life
The alert action it inspires
is the reason one survives