St. Paisios and the snakes

"When you love animals," said Father Paisios "they feel it and look at you as a friend.
When Adam and Eve lived in paradise, animals were their favorite friends. Adam helped the animals, and the animals obeyed him. But after the fall, when man did not fulfill the commandments of God, the animals became wild, stopped obeying man and began to attack each other.
But even now, if a person obeys God, animals are not afraid of him and obey him in everything.
I will tell you one case.
The elder lived in a lonely hut. Food was brought to him from time to time. And he prayed and worked all day. He was a very simple and kind old man.
Where he lived, there were many snakes. They were not afraid of the elder, crawled very close to him and interfered with his work. Then the elder grabbed them and threw them out. But one snake all the time tried to approach him and was so annoying that the elder, angry, grabbed it, wrapped it around his belt and tied it in a knot. And then he continued his work.
At this time, a monk came to the elder, bringing him food. Seeing the snake with which the elder was girded like a belt, he was horrified and shouted:
Take this snake away!
And a simple elder said:
Do not be afraid! After all, Christ said: "Behold, I give you the power to tread on snakes and scorpions, and on all the power of the enemy, and nothing will harm you!"
You yourself can read these words of the Lord Jesus Christ in the Gospel of Luke, in the tenth chapter."

The parables of St. Paisios for the little ones." Retelling by M. Alyoshina.