Some years ago I was keeping a watchful eye on my young daughter from a window as she played in the woods surrounding our home. For a long time she had remained perfectly still in a crouched position, so I decided to go out and check on her.
As I neared her I could see that this was no game she was playing! She was in a state of terror—trembling and with the front of her little T-shirt wet with tears.
She was looking at what appeared to be a snake coiled around a tree, and she was doing exactly what a friend had told her one should do in such a situation. She was trying to stay motionless.
