Dissidence in Eden

Dissidence in Eden

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground”
- Gen 1:26


"We shall have to do something about this!" said Horse, a lock of thick black mane falling across one of his big brown eyes, "Yaw-yaw-you’re telling me." added Chicken, her neck craned in an effort to see Horse's face. Chicken's feathers ruffled as she flapped her wings in exasperation. She wished she had arms sometimes, usually at times like this when she was frustrated. At times like this she wanted to get a bit more violent, to throw things, but the best she could do was flap her small and inadequate wings.

"I know what he is planning for me and I don't like it one bit! He wishes me to carry him on my back over great distances as fast as I can!" Horse said, shaking his head and stomping his hoof on the ground. From her position next to Dog Mouse saw a little dust puff rise from the dirt around his heavy hoof like a halo.

"Well, he is going to set traps to kill me and mine. Or he will catch us alive and feed us to his pet, Snake!" Mouse exclaimed while preening his little whiskers with his front paws. By now the numbers of the congregation of animals on the bank of the river Eden had swelled, representatives from each family gathered there.

"He-he-he wants to eat my flesh, my eggs and use my guts to catch fish!" cried Chicken, her wings flapping around more than ever,
"He wants my flesh too!" Baahed Sheep,
"Us as well!" chorused Pig and Bull.
"It seems to me that he has something horrible in mind of all of us," hooted Owl from high above the land dwellers heads, "I think we need to formulate some kind of plan!" she added, flying down to land on a rotted stump in the middle of the group.

"I may have a sssuggestion,” said a smooth voice within the group. From between Donkey’s front feet Snake emerged, his long black body shining in the pale moonlight,
“Snake, what are you doing here?” Horse asked, snorting in disapproval. The other animals studied Snake, suspicion in their eyes. They had all long ago learnt not to trust Snake, their suspicion had only grown since he had been living with Man and Woman.
“I couldn't help but over hear, you ssseem to have a problem that I might have the anssswer to. Asss you know I have been living with Man and Woman, held captive againssst my will. Yesssterday I heard Man and Woman talking about God and how he had told them not to eat from a ssspecial tree in the garden. It isss the tree of knowledge, which I found today. Purhapsss I can get them kicked out of here by God.” Snake answered, moving into the middle of the group, eyes gleaming as he took the main stage.
“How would you do that?” Camel spat in his deep drawl,
“I would have to talk to one of them, break our vowsss of sssilence. I could tell the woman to eat the fruit, tell her it isss becaussse eating the fruit will make them become like God, that he isss keeping it from them on purpossse.” Snake said, finishing with a big lazy yawn,.
“And if it doesn't work?” Owl asked, head cocked to one side; sceptical of Snake,
“If that doesssn't work I will sssimply bring the fruit to them, they won't know what it isss and they will eat it!”
“Why should we trust you?” asked Horse.
“Becaussse you have no choice. I want to be free from their threat asss much asss you.” Snake answered flatly,.
“Then tell me Snake, what is it you want from us?” Owl asked knowing too well that nothing was ever free when it came to Snake.
“I will need your help. We will have to get Eve away from Adam and I can’t do that on my own. I need sssome of you to caussse a dissstraction. I alssso need help to hide tonight, Adam isss looking for me. You help me, I’ll help you,” Snake answered, his voice silky, “though I am sure you will all be willing to give me a little bit of extra compensation.” he added quietly on the side.
“I don't think we should do this at all, Man is an animal just like us! We should all stick together, shouldn't we? I think we should trust God.” Dog said, frowning at all the other animals,
“Damn you! You know, you’re free to go with him if you want; it makes no difference to us. But we can't just let him eat us like that!” Cow barked back.
“Ssso, are we agreed? Will we try and get them kicked out tomorrow then?” Snake asked, looking from one animal to the other. The other animals looked at each other and one by one nodded in agreement,
“Tomorrow it is, now we should split up, in case Man hears us talking.” Owl said, and with that the congregation broke, all the animals retreating back to their rightful places.

* * *
The next day was perfect in all respects, as every day in Eden tended to be. Man and Woman woke as early as all the other animals and began their daily chores. It wasn’t long before Man and Woman heard a commotion in the field not far away. Man, or Adam as we know him, had recently constructed a fence around the closest field and filled it with buffalo to provide easy access to meat.
As soon as he heard the ruckus from the field he left Eve to check on the buffalo, Dog acting as his second shadow; barking and growling in an attempt to get Adam’s attention. When Adam reached the field he couldn’t believe what he was seeing; a herd of elephants had broken through the furthest part of the fencing, allowing half the buffalo to escape and a pride of lions to enter.
The lions had begun chasing the remaining buffalo around the field while the elephants had proceeded on their path of destruction straight out the other side, tearing down trees that now lay strewn through the field. “Oh great, this is going to take me all day to fix!” Adam muttered under his breath as he ran towards his now ruined attempt at agriculture. Being pre-occupied with the sudden destruction of his work Adam didn’t notice the smiles on the faces of the remaining buffalo, nor did he notice the way Dog glowered at them all.

Meanwhile Eve had decided to pick more fruit to replace the harvest that had gone missing in the night. She walked through the grove of trees collecting as much fruit as possible in her little woven basket. She spent a long time standing in front of the lemon tree; intoxicated with the smell and the colour of its dimpled skin. As she was wandering around collecting oranges, grapes and persimmons she heard a strange noise from behind the main grove amongst the taller and much darker trees.

Eve placed her full basket of fruit on the ground and gingerly walked towards the darker grove, listening for that strange sound. The lower bushes rustled slightly in the distance as she heard the noise again, a long hissing like steam gushing from a spout. Her features softened as it dawned on her what the sound was, "Snake!" she said standing in full confidence once again, "So this is where you have been all day! Adam has been looking for you, he will be so happy I have found you!" she sang out in joy and walked further into the dark wood. As she walked she didn’t notice the cache of fruit nestled comfortably under a nearby bush.

"Oh Snake, you have had Adam worried sick, come on now, I'm going to take you home." she said as she reached one hand towards the legless creature.
"Before you do, I want to ssshow you sssomething Eve." Snake said, he voice smooth and slick. Eve pulled her hand back sharply and looked down confused at Snake, "Did you just talk?" she asked him blankly. Snake straightened himself along the rough path and raised his front half off the ground. "Yesss, I ssspoke, I have alwaysss been able to ssspeak, you have never given me the opportunity before. Now follow me, I have sssomething to ssshow you." he replied, then turned and slithered up the path.
As Eve followed Snake she couldn't shake the feeling that this was someplace she was never supposed to see. It was a lot darker in here then amongst the fruit trees. The air was thick with the smell of damp wood and all the animals here were strange and flighty, hiding from her amongst the shadows. Every now and then she could hear the crack of a twig and a strange bird call, everything seemed much more primitive here. Eve was sure that if God had intended her to come here he would have made it a much more appealing place. She was almost going to turn back when Snake said "Ahhhh, here we are! Thisss isss what I wanted to ssshow you."
They had reached a clearing where the sun shone just as warm and happy as in the fruit grove. Eve stood mouth open, eyes wide, gaping at an unusual sight. There was one single solitary tree in the clearing, a tree like she had never seen before. The leaves were a perfect shade of green, the trunk light brown and smooth. The branches of the tree were speckled with big red fruit and silky white flowers, each as perfect as the next. "What is it Snake?" Eve asked as she touched a finger to one of the red pieces of fruit, "It isss the tree of knowledge" replied Snake as he slithered up the trunk of the tree.

"Oh, the tree of knowledge, I have heard of this place but have never been here before. I shouldn't be here, God told us we can't eat the fruit of this tree or it will kill us, We should leave in case anything bad happens!" she said and turned to leave,
"It won't kill you. I heard God talking earlier while I wasss here. He sssaid that he didn't want you to eat from thisss tree be becaussse it will make you into a god like him!" Snake said, gazing down at Eve from his tree branch.
"I don't know Snake, why would he lie to us like that?"
"I told you, he doesssn't want you to be a God like him. Think about thisss, why would I wait all thisss time to talk to you and then lie to you?" he asked, his voice sweet and innocent.
"I don't know, but I don't think I should take any of the fruit, just in case."
"Didn't God tell you not to eat from it? You can ssstill pick one or two and take them back with you, even if you don't eat them you can ssstill look at them." Snake suggested, flicking his tongue in the air.

Eve walked around the tree of knowledge breathing in the scent of apples, "Oh, they do smell nice. Maybe I could take one or two, just to smell and look at." she said and then carefully plucked two of the big ripe apples from the tree. She stood still, waiting for a clap of thunder or a booming voice, but nothing happened at all. "Lets go Snake!" she said and began walking back towards the regular fruit grove.
She placed the two apples with her other fruit then picked up Snake and put him in the basket as well. "Oh Eve, jussst one more thing, don't tell Adam I talked to you or he may get jealousss, ok?" Snake asked as he coiled himself protectively around one of the apples, "Ok." Eve answered as she walked back towards her home.

As Eve walked down the path towards home Snake poked his head up out of the basket and looked out over the fields. At the edge of the path, hiding among the long grass, he saw Mouse and he nodded his head once as they passed him. When Mouse saw Snake nod he ran through the wood to where some of the other animals waited; telling them so far so good.

* * *
When Eve finally got home she placed the basket of fruit on the rustic wooden table in the middle of the kitchen, "Now Snake, when Adam comes in you tell him not to touch any fruit until I tell him which ones he can eat." she said as she put Snake back into his cage, "I have to go and make sure there are toilet leaves on the stick, Adam never replaces them when they are gone!" she continued absently as she went back outside. Not long after Eve had left Adam came in through the back door.

"Oh Snake, you're home! Where have you been?" He asked, walking straight to Snakes cage. "Eve found me in the foressst. I ssshowed her some new fruit, ssshe picked two, one for you and one for her" Snake answered, extending his body towards Adam's hand. "Snake, why haven't you ever talked to me before? All this time I figured it was only me and Eve that could talk, now I find out that my legless friend has a voice as well!” Adam said, hanging Snake around his neck, “What fruit are you talking about Snake?"
"That big red fruit there on the top. Why don't you have a bite now, before ssshe comesss back?" Snake said, motioning with his head towards the basket of fruit.
"I know that fruit, that's the apple from the tree of knowledge, I am not going to eat that! God told me it would kill me, that is a poisonous fruit!" Adam said in dismay.
"It won't kill you Adam. I heard God talking about it today, he sssaid he didn't want you to eat it ssso you couldn't be a God like him. He jussst wantsss all the power for himssself! Think of all you could do if you had the power of God! I only tell you thisss becaussse you are my very good friend Adam. Would I lie to you?" Snake asked gently, "I suppose not Snake. Well, I must admit it would be nice to have the power of God, I could make myself another woman helper....another woman would be good" Adam mused as he paced around the kitchen.

He stared at the red fruit sitting at the top of the basket. It looked delicious and smelt sweet. He picked it up and ran his fingers over the waxy skin. He smelt the little brown stem poking out of the round fruit, then taking a stone knife cut the apple in half, "It smells so sweet, and look at the juice" he said to Snake who was now on the kitchen table next to the cut fruit. "Could anything that sssmellsss ssso sssweet be poisssion?" he asked Adam who was still enchanted with the fruit.

Adam sliced the apple again and picked up one of the pieces, smelling the flesh. He opened his mouth and placed the slice inside just as Eve walked back into the room, "What are you doing?" she yelled as she saw Adam chew the piece of apple, "Snake told me you picked the apple for me to eat, and that's what I am doing" he replied, apple juice running down the sides of his mouth, "I told Snake to tell you not to eat it! You stupid bastard, you've just poisoned yourself!" Eve cried, picking up the remains of the cut apple.

"It's alright Eve, I am fine. I don't have the power of god but I am fine. Eat a piece; it's very sweet and juicy." Adam said, sitting down on the matching rustic chairs. Eve looked at the fruit, raised an eye brow at Adam, smelt it and then popped it in her mouth. As she chewed the slice of apple her mouth filled with juice, it tasted like nothing she had ever tasted before. "Oh, that is beautiful" she said placing the remaining half back on the table. Adam studied Eve as she stood in front of the cutting board and sniggered, "What are you laughing at?" she asked, "Oh nothing, it's just I never noticed before but you're naked!" he said and sniggered again. "So I am, and so are you!" Eve replied, her cheeks turning pink, "We will have to make some clothes. I don't know why we didn't think about that before".

* * *
Later that day Adam and Eve were walking along the banks of the river Eden when they heard a familiar voice calling their names, "Oh no, It's God!. He must know what we did!" Adam said and pulled Eve behind one of the thick bushes in an attempt to hide.
"Eve, Adam, I know you are here somewhere, I can hear you!" God called out, his booming voice filling the garden.
"We can't hide from God, he knows everything you fool!" Eve hissed at Adam and pulled him into the open, "We are over here God!" she yelled. God walked along the bank towards his two favourite creations. He saw Adam first and his expression grew stony, his eyes hard.
"Why do you look on us like that God? I thought you would be happy to see us!" Adam said.
"What do you have wrapped around your body there Adam?" He asked, fire blazing in his eyes.
"Oh these, Eve made these, " he replied, holding out both legs of his untreated leather pants, " It was the funniest thing, we were standing in the kitchen when we all of a sudden realised we have been walking around all this time naked, why didn't you tell us we were naked?" he asked, a big smile on his face.
"How did you know you were naked Eve?”
"Well, Adam told me and then I realised he was right, why? What’s wrong?”
"Adam, did you eat the fruit I told you not to?”
“Ummm.....no.”
“You would lie to me? You ate that fruit; I know you ate that fruit. That is how you knew you were naked. You also now know right from wrong, so you know lying to me is wrong; yet you do it anyway? This is exactly why I didn't want you to eat that damn fruit. Did you take that fruit from the tree?” God asked, his rage showing through a twitch in his right cheek.
“No, it wasn't me, it was Eve! It's all her doing, she picked the apples!” Adam stammered.
"Eve, why did you pick the fruit I told you not to touch?”
“It was Snake, he told me you lied to us about it being poisoned. I told him not to let Adam eat it, but he told him to do it anyway!”
“You believed the snake over me?” God asked, his voice suddenly even.
“He talked to me; no other animal had talked to me before. I thought if he could talk to me he must be telling me the truth. The only other being ever to talk to me is you, how was I to know?” Eve pleaded,
“Because I told you not to touch it! All the animals can speak; they just choose not to speak to man. I am going to have to punish all of you, go home and don't leave until I return.” God ordered, leaving Adam and Eve alone to ponder what would happen to them next.

* * *
God didn't waste time getting to the root of the problem. He found Snake as soon as he left Adam and Eve and as all sneaky creatures do Snake immediately
gave up his fellow conspirators. God, not being completely beyond compassion, punished all involved accordingly. He threw Adam and Eve from Eden and sentenced all mankind to a life time of working to gain what he had been delivered on a silver plate. As Eve had so mistrusted God he sentenced her with both an increased drive to have children and the pain that being a mother brings. For blindly following the bidding of his wife, he punished Adam with his own sex drive, making it impossible for him to both think and be aroused at the same time.

All the animals in Eden were punished and likewise expelled from the garden. Not only did God decree that the animals would indeed fall to the will of man, but that no animal would have the capabilities to talk to man again. Though Dog had been faithful god said she should have come to him and told him what the animals had planned, he blessed Dog with the ability of understanding man but cursed her by not giving her the means to respond.

Snake, however, was given another punishment all together. Snake was sentenced to a life time of living under rocks and fallen tree stumps. He was to eat rodents, bats and bugs and he himself was to become prey to birds and animals of all sorts. Man, on the whole, would fear the snake and kill him with extreme prejudice, driving his kind into the bush to live a miserable life.

And Eden?
Well eventually Eden was rediscovered by man, by this time the technologically advanced man. Eden was bulldozed flat to make room for cattle, sheep and pig farming, where the dog still worked by the side of man and the other animals fled from them both in fear.