Several years ago when we first moved from Bamako to Kangaba, we went on a village visit to meet some relatives of a friend. As our visit was drawing to a close, our host sent his children on an errand. Gleefully they ran throughout the village, cornering and grabbing two young chickens—a rooster and a hen. Tying the bewildered birds’ legs together and carrying them unceremoniously back to us upside-down, they dumped them on the ground in front of us. Our host explained that they were a gift to our children. Hmm, I thought. I wonder how this is going to turn out.

Now, surveying our big flock of chickens as they peck around our yard, I can see that God had a hand in that generous gift. He has made our flock a real blessing to us and to others. Chicken meat is popular and expensive here, and a big chicken can cost as much as six dollars. Our flock has now reached a size where Neil has a steady supply of cockerels (juvenile roosters), as well as hens with chicks to give away to people around us. Being vegetarians, we do not choose to eat our chickens, but we find that taking care of them is an excellent way to relieve stress and a lot of fun for the kids. Well, at least most of the time. Sometimes, though, it can be stressful and downright dangerous!

The other night, the kids and I were enjoying our evening worship time, expecting Neil to join us. He had gone out to do his regular evening check of the chicken house, but he was taking longer than usual. As the children and I sang worship songs, we heard a huge racket coming from the chicken house. I didn’t think much about it since Neil had mentioned he wanted to catch two cockerels to give to friends the next day.

After the kids were in bed, Neil finally reappeared, looking somewhat disheveled. “What happened?” I asked.

“Come with me,” he replied. “I want to show you something.”

With trepidation, I followed him across our yard. When our flashlight beams fell on the black shape outside the chicken house, I gave an involuntary gasp. A dead spitting cobra about four feet long and almost as thick as my wrist!

Neil took me inside the chicken house and showed me what had happened. When he had arrived at the chicken house, he noticed that the chickens were unusually agitated. Most of the chickens were perched on the roost poles about four feet off the ground, but there were a few hens on the ground with baby chicks, and some sitting on eggs. That’s when Neil looked down and saw the cobra just a few feet away. Praise the Lord, he saw the cobra before it saw him. It was somewhat distracted since its head was under a sitting hen, and it was busy swallowing eggs.

Neil had placed a shovel in the hen house for just such an eventuality. His first blow only wounded the snake. Surprised in the middle of its supper, in one quick motion it vomited up the five eggs it had swallowed and slithered deeper into the chicken house. Now the battle was on. As Neil pursued the snake to one corner of the hen house and then another, the chickens made a huge commotion. Finally, Neil was able to crush the cobra’s head and drag it out of the chicken house. Unfortunately, during the skirmish the snake bit two hens, one of which had been trying to protect her chicks. Both hens died the next morning.

We examined the five eggs that had made the journey into the cobra and back out again. Three of them were broken, but two looked fine, so Neil placed them back under the hen with the two other eggs that were still there. The hen had not been bitten, probably because she sat still and didn’t show aggression toward the snake. Would the eggs hatch after their adventure? Hens sit on their eggs for 21 days, so it would be a while before we would know.

Faithfully, the hen sat on her four remaining eggs, and we were all excited when the day came for hatching. Three of the four eggs hatched—two golden chicks and one that was brownish black. I joked with Neil that the brownish black chick must have been saved from the cobra.

Yes, our chickens do provide us with interesting times. I also see a spiritual aspect to this story. We have all been swallowed by the serpent of sin, Satan. But we praise God that Jesus came to redeem us from the serpent’s belly. He wants to free each one of us and wash us in His cleansing blood. There are so many people here who don’t understand that yet! Please pray for the people around us, that they will want to know about Jesus and accept Him as their Savior.

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