Snake, snake, snake.
His name was Jake.
He likes to bake a cake.
He had an ache.
He put on the brake.
He had a flake.
Snake, snake, snake.

When I read Jon's poem (Jon is seven) I knew there was a story behind it. The story goes like this.

While down at the lake, Jon came across a strange looking creature. It looked like a snake. It slithered like a snake. The tail made its body move. But attached to the tail were three snake heads. Not one, not two, but three. That is what Jon counted. Jon ran to the cabin to find a box for his find. He also dug a deep hole to put the three-in-one snake in. Very carefully each day, Jon fed his pet. He caught grass-hoppers, bugs of all kinds, and even brought some meat from his supper. No one seemed to notice Jon's preoccupation with the snake which had come up out of Dogtooth Lake. John gave his pet a name: Jake. Why Jake? For the simple reason it rhymed with snake.

The day came when Jon had to tell his parents about his new pet. "Please, Please let me take it home." After much, much pleading and even more promises, Jon was allowed to take his pet home. Outside the three-headed pet must stay. They found the perfect place for him, under the sun porch in a cage made especially for Jake.

"Pets should be allowed to stay in the house and be a part of the family," Jon thought. One day Jon was alone at home. It was his day to make dessert. The perfect day to bring in Jake. The pet would watch Jon make a Betty Crocker no-bake cake. On the kitchen counter Jon put the cake mix, a cup of water, utensils and the bowl. On the far end of the counter he set Jake in a box to watch the goings on. As Jon was getting himself a chair so that he could reach the counter for the mixing procedure - Oh, no! Jake had already crawled out of the box, across the counter, and knocked over the water. Jon had to work fast. First he must put Jake back into his cage, the outdoor one. Quickly he cleaned up the water mess on the counter. Incredibly, Jon did get it all straightened out before anyone came home.

Jon continued to take Jake out of his cage every day after school. One day, Jake could not be found. This was the explanation Jon gave. "Jake ached to live with his own snake friends. So he just slithered his way over to the tool shed and now made his home there. Only once a month on a moonlit night, Jake, the three-headed snake, came out on the lawn. He would do a writhing, squiggly dance, then put on his brake. He would flake out, then slowly crawl back to his nest under the shed.

This is the story behind Jon's poem, "Snake, Snake, Snake".