The Serpent Interrogated About Why Its Bite Kills the Whole Body

Rabbi Samuel bar Rabbi Nachman said: They said to the serpent, "Why are you found among the hedges?" It said to them, "I breached the hedge of the world." They said to it, "Why do you go about with your tongue dripping?" It said to them, "It is what caused this to me." They said to it, "Why is it that all the beasts bite and do not kill, but you bite and kill?" It said to them, "(as it is written): 'If the serpent bites without a whisper-charm' (Ecclesiastes 10:11) — is it possible for me to do anything, when it has not been told to me from on high?" "And why do you bite with one limb, yet all the limbs feel it?" It said to them, "To me you say this? Say it to the master of the tongue, who is here and yet kills in Rome."