Creepy Crawly

Creepy crawlies there were certainly plenty of them around while I was in New Guinea .The one I am going to try to tell you about is the time I went to stay at Fatima station,in the middle of the bush.

We had been invited into there for a get together, so about twenty Priest Nuns and lay missionaries were there for the weekend, the girls all bunked in with the Nuns in one big school room. These were just square rooms with blow up beds on the floor not the most luxurious of bedrooms with just cut out windows, so anything could come in if it had a wish to, but was a lot of fun, all there together.

We had had a very nice celebration with a fair amount of wine, so we were in a very good mood when we walked down to the bunk room ,joking and laughing among ourselves. Now walking around was very dark, we just had a small torch so you could only see a little around were you put your feet. This station was built right on the edge of the mountain, so it was bush all around. The paths were only like goat tracks so we were walking in single file down the path which was going down hill. Something made a noise off to the left in the bush right beside me, I jumped and sent the others all stumbling forward, and they screamed. This set the whole bush off, so they were screeching and calling out. It takes awhile for them to settle down again.

We settled down in the room but the bush was still going off, weather it was us or just the startled creatures we didn’t know, but it certainly was loud. I looked up towards the top of the door for some unknown reason, and thought I seen something just look in the door, but it was so fast I thought I must have imagined it. When we all get together it is hard to get to sleep, as one would say something set us off laughing again.Well in one of these fits of giggling I again looked up to the door, coming in on the top of the door was the biggest head on a snake I have ever seen, the size of a small football, its eyes were very bright and he looked straight at me as much as to say,
“Well you are right here, were I want you”
My mouth opened wide I tried to talk to tell the others, but my lips were moving nothing was coming out. I was terrified sat there pointing opening my mouth and still no sound.
“See I have control of you nothing you can do” it was so true it did have control of me, it was like I was frozen and no sound would come out.
“Sit there don’t move I am coming in”, it started to come in along the top of the door sliding around and then down onto the window ledge.The others are laughing and carrying on. Me I am frozen in time watching this huge snake getting closer to the floor, where we were in bed.

This snake is about ten feet long, as round as a small tree trunk, it’s just looking at me saying,
“Not a sound, don’t tell anyone I am here,” as it winds its way further along the wall and closer to the floor, as it is about a foot from the ground I finally pull my gaze from its eyes
“SNAKE SNAKE” but still unable to move, as it is behind them all, they just say.
“Oh Kathy sure” and carried on laughing. Now this snake has now got its head on the floor and has started to turn towards the beds, I jump up and finally scream.
“Snake and its bloody well big enough to eat us all” I dived out the window, they all look
at me, then seeing the snake and there are people flying out windows in all directions.

Picking myself up and I help this little old Nun to her feet, thinking
Poor old sister not nice for her, she looks at me and says,
“That damn big snake is not getting my teeth. I am not going around here without teeth for months, till they make me new ones.” With that she dives back in the window grabs the glass full of her teeth, and dives out the window again, before we could say don’t. She puts the teeth in and throws the glass and hits the snake on the head. With that it starts to head for the door. We scream and run down the path all the men are coming to see what
all the noise is about. They see the snake coming out the door.
“You girls are not frightened of that poor little snake he wont hurt you, just a baby carpet snake.”
“Baby hate to see when it gets full grown.”