Barbara Smith

We never saw much of the Gaffer. He hardly ever came round anymore. Not like in the early days, then we couldn't get rid of him. Running around like a madman, creating things all over the place.

" Look I've come up with this. I think I will call it a tree, put lots of them everywhere. That space over there needs filling up, I'll have to go and create something." From dawn to dusk, it made you tired just to watch him. Anyway he must have got bored eventually, because he hardly ever appeared now. Not that we were bothered, we were to busy living it up.

When he turned up that day, we hadn't seen him for months. There was this big grin on his face, all excited like. He had this creature with him and everyone was gawking at it.

"Adam," he said" This is Eve. She is a woman and I created her for you." I looked around at Adam. His mouth was open and he had this strange glassy look in his eyes. I thought,' oh-oh trouble' and I wasn't wrong either.

At first she came on all sweetness and light, but she soon had the measure of the place. In no time at all she had Adam wrapped around her finger. Adam do this, Adam do that and him running after her with that puppy-dog look on his face. She put a stop to the watering hole as well.

" I hope you don't think that you are hanging around that place every night?" she said. And that was the end of that. It wasn't the same without Adam and soon no one bothered to go at all.

We were always polite to one another, her and me, but there was a sort of mutual distrust, if you know what I mean. It really niggled me how she had spoilt everything. But to be honest I never sat down and planned it. It wasn't premeditated at all, it just happened.

She was talking to me one day[most probably had no one else to talk to and it was any port in a storm sort of thing] anyway, she was going on about how hard it was to stick to a diet. How she was sick to the teeth of lettuce and that sort of thing and the idea just popped into my head.

"You ought to try some of the forbidden stuff," I said. "One taste of that and you will never crave chocolate again. And the best bit is that it doesn't have any calories in it."

"You mean that you have----?" She gazed at me in horror."B-but it's forbidden, what if he saw," she whispered

"Oh come on." I said convincingly. "How often is he around? And what he doesn't know can't upset him." I tipped her a wink with the last bit and she stared at me wide eyed.

"Oh I couldn't," she said, but I could see she was thinking about it.

A few days later she sent Adam off to collect some bananas, then sidled over to me.

"What does it taste like?" she said

"What?" I asked as if I didn't know.

"The forbidden stuff." I could see she was hooked.

"Let's put it this way sweetheart, you have never tasted anything like it before." Which was the truth really, none of us had.

I kept a close eye on her after that and to give her credit, she held out longer than I thought she would. It was two days before I saw her pull an apple from the tree and bite into it. I scuttled off rubbing my hands. A quick word to the monkeys and it would be all over the garden in no time flat. The boss was bound to hear about it, and then she would be history. Lo and behold, not two hours later, his Nibs comes storming through the garden calling for her.

"Have you eaten from the forbidden tree?" he bellowed at her. There was no need for a reply, guilt was written all over her face. Behind her I could see Adam, he was looking scared and holding his hands behind his back.

"Show me what you have in your hand!" the governor ordered him. For a minute I thought Adam was going to burst into tears, then he slowly held out his hand and it was my turn to be shocked. She had only gone and talked him into it as well, the devious---.

"Out!" screamed God. "You are banished, both of you" Eve got a bit hysterical then and swung round, pointing at me.

"It was him," she wailed. "He did it, it's his fault." I put on my 'would I?' expression and started to sidle away.

"Wait one minute," ordered the Boss. "I wouldn't be surprised if you did have something to do with this. I have had my doubts about you from the start. Time for a spot of recreating I think."

Well that is about it really. They got chucked out and I got recreated. I'm not the smooth-tongued snake I used to be. It's got a fork in it now and the legs went too, so I have to crawl around on my belly all day, making this lousy hissing noise. I was a bit down about it for a while, but life goes on as they say, you have to make the most of it. Oh and we had a visit from the Almighty yesterday. Seems he has created a lady snake and wants me to look her over, so that is where I'm off to now. Sounds like it might be fun. SssseeeYa