Back to the pit they went, but this time the next snake they picked, a smaller one, was not too keen on coiling around their spear. They tried again and again to get it, but it evaded them every time. Closer and closer they got to the edge of the pit, their bare feet inches away from the ledge. Grunting and sweating beneath the unforgiving sun, they refused to let the snake get away.

And then, with a scream of terror, Achmed fell face forward into the pit. He scrambled to his feet as the snakes around him hissed loudly and circled him with raised heads. Their black eyes glittered as they sized up their enemy.

“Hassan! Pull me out!”

Hassan leaned forward and held out his spear. Achmed grasped it tightly and Hassan began to pull upward. The spear broke, and Achmed fell back into the pit.

“Just stay still, and I’ll get something to pull you out with!” Hassan tried not cry from panic. “Hold on, and I’ll be back!”

“No!” Achmed screamed. “Don’t leave me in here with them! Help me!”

Hassan’s face was white with terror. “Try climbing out! Just try!”

Achmed took a flying leap and began scaling the walls of the pit. Hand over hand he pulled himself up as the snakes hissed and darted just below his feet. Digging his feet into the soft walls of the pit, Achmed steadily rose, climbing until he was within arm’s reach of his brother.

“Grab my hand!” Hassan reached out, and his hand clasped tightly around Achmed’s wrist. “Come!”

Just as Achmed was clearing the ledge, a snake shot out of the dirt from the pit’s walls and bit him on the forearm. Achmed screamed and began to fall back into the pit.

“No!” Hassan pulled his brother up with herculean effort, and they both tumbled backward. Achmed was out of the pit, but in Hassan’s haste to rescue his brother, he had not noticed a snake leaving the pit. It wrapped itself around his ankle. With one jab of its fangs, it left a deep bite on the Arab boy.

The brothers ran for help, both feeling the effects of the deadly venom now coursing through their veins. They collapsed onto the ground, then stood up and continued running. This cycle repeated itself until they both crumpled to the ground, lying exposed beneath the boiling sun.

An hour later, a merchant found them and dragged them to their home.

Their family stood around their beds, unable to provide any effective medication. The boys slipped closer and closer to death’s door, but then someone had an amazing idea.

“There is sheikh who lives not too far from here. It is said that he possesses incredible powers. His prayers have literally brought people back from the threshold of death. And perhaps even more than that, he can accurately predict who will live and who will die. If we can get the boys to the sheikh, I am sure he can save them!”

The boys were immediately loaded onto a wagon, and the driver set off to find the mysterious sheikh. When they got to his house, they were surprised to see it was a rather simple place. The sheikh himself greeted them at the door. He was an unassuming man, short with a gray beard and piercing black eyes.

“These boys have been bitten by serpents! They are dying! Please, can you do something?”

“Come in, come in!” The sheikh led them into his house where they put the motionless boys down on a rug on the floor. “How long ago where they bitten?”

“It’s already been hours.”

“I see…” The sheikh shook his head. “This is terrible…”

“We have come all this way to see you. You must do something! They say you can perform miracles. We beg of you, rescue our boys!”

“I cannot perform miracles.” The sheikh shook his head. “Who told you such a thing?”

“Please do something!”

“Wait here. I shall return in half an hour.” The sheikh turned and began to walk toward the back of the house. “Do not follow me.”

“Wait! The boys are dying. You cannot leave for half an hour! If you do that, they will certainly die!”

The sheikh gazed at them and said firmly, “As I have already said, wait here for half an hour. I will return, and then we shall know everything.”

to be continued…

(Originally featured in Mishpacha Jr., Issue 874)