work:  and hungry?--oh, no, I reckon not!  And there warn't a blessed snake up there when we went back--we didn't half tie the sack, and they worked out somehow, and left.  But it didn't matter much, because they was still on the premises somewheres.  So we judged we could get some of them again.  No, there warn't no real scarcity of snakes about the house for a considerable spell.  You'd see them dripping from the rafters and places every now and then; and they generly landed in your plate, or down the back of your neck, and most of the time where you didn't want them.  Well, they was handsome and striped, and there warn't no harm in a million of them; but that never made no difference to Aunt Sally; she despised snakes, be the breed what they might, and she couldn't stand them no way you could fix it; and every time one of them flopped down on her, it didn't make no difference what she was doing, she would just lay that work down and light out.  I never see such a woman.  And you could hear her whoop to Jericho.  You couldn't get her to take a-holt of one of them with the tongs.  And if she turned over and found one in bed she would scramble out and lift a howl that you would think the house was afire.  She disturbed the old man so that he said he could most wish there hadn't ever been no snakes created.  Why, after every last snake had been gone clear out of the house for as much as a week Aunt Sally warn't over it yet; she warn't near over it; when she was setting thinking about something you could touch her on the back of her neck with a feather and she would jump right out of her stockings.  It was very curious.  But Tom said all women was just so.  He said they was made that way for some reason or other. We got a licking every time one of our snakes come in her way, and she allowed these lickings warn't nothing to what she would do if we ever loaded up the place again with them.  I didn't mind the lickings, because they didn't amount to nothing; but I minde