A woman noticed that her belly started growing. Still, she could not eat anything, because her stomach felt always full. She could barely walk then.
One day she brought some food to her husband working in the field, who sat down for a meal. The woman, in her turn, said, "I would rather sleep".
So she fell into a deep sleep. The man, having finished the food, was cutting grass nearby. As he would find some berries in the grass, he would put them by her head, and keep cutting.
He cut and glanced, now and again, to the woman. She was laying down, as if dead, mouth open. A serpend started crawling out of it. As it all was near some trees, the man put his scythe down, hid behind them, and took a couple of sticks.
While the snake slithered on, he moved the berries further and further away, then even further with his stick, till the snake was all out completely - then hit it with the second one. It turned around, trying to come back, but could not, perishing. The man took the snake on a hoe, moved it to a stump, and said nothing to the wife.
She felt better after that, saying she was healed after her rest.
Thus she was feeling better still day after day after the husband killed the serpent, and they both lived better, too. Perhaps they are still alive.
From Ukrainian Folk Tales in 40 books, compiled by Mykola Zinchuk, as posted on the ukr.witch Instagram account. Translated by myself.
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