蛇捕头 Snake Sheriff
头大尾细七尺长，花身电目逞凶狂。
虎纹赫赫夸海口，可怜头下怪模样。
A head so large, a tail so thin, seven feet long,
A patterned form, electric eyes, fierce and strong.
With tiger stripes, it boasts with pride,
Yet beneath its head, a strange guise hides.
山中有虎，好道心坚，遍访高山大川，想寻道观修行。可他道分稀薄一直没找到肯收他的师父，直至他寻到盘丝岭，想在那处拜个得道的仙人为师。
初时，仙师嫌他是只老虎，与自己门中弟子不相类便不肯见他，老虎就跪在山门外几日不起。仙师觉他有几分诚意，给了他个机会，收他做了个外门弟子。
岂料那老虎没长性，凄凄哀哀地拜师后，却不见用功，仙师劝他道:“修行是靠自己，不是靠师父。”怎奈那老虎却点拨不通，仙师就罚他去虎蛇虫林守山。老虎被罚心中愤愤不平，越发耍赖躲懒，成日只在树下闲躺，嘴里还骂上师父几句，以此打发辰光。
这日，他半睡半醒地躺在树下，嘴里又抱怨起师父来，他忽闻耳边一声轻叹，有团东西滑入他口中，他吓得惊坐而起，周围并无半个人影，干呕许久也没吐出来什么，以为自己只是做了个梦。
过了些时日，老虎的脖颈变得又细又长，再也不能说话了，整日很勤奋地在空心林中巡视。大家私底下议论道:“他学道虎头蛇尾，师父定是对他做了些惩处，他才变成这般模样，以后我们都得小心才是。”
In the mountains, there was a tiger with a strong desire for the Dao. He traveled across high mountains and great rivers, seeking a Daoist temple to practice. However, his Daoist affinity was thin, and he couldn't find a master willing to accept him until he reached the Webbed Ridge, hoping to become a disciple under an accomplished immortal.
At first, the immortal master disdained him for being a mere tiger, unlike his other disciples, and refused to meet him. The tiger knelt outside the mountain gate for several days without rising. The immortal master, sensing his sincerity, gave him a chance and accepted him as an outer disciple.
Unexpectedly, the tiger had no steadfastness. After the initial fervor, he didn't put in the effort. The immortal master advised him, "One's practice relies on oneself, not the master." But the tiger couldn't grasp this and was punished to guard the mountain at Forest of Ferocity. Feeling resentful, the tiger became even lazier, spending his days lying idly under a tree and cursing his master to pass the time.
One day, while half-asleep under the tree, complaining about his master, he suddenly heard a soft sigh and felt something slip into his mouth. Startled, he sat up, but there was no one around. He retched for a long time but couldn't expel anything, thinking it was just a dream.
After some time, the tiger's neck became long and thin, and he could no longer speak. He diligently patroled Forest of Ferocity every day. People whispered among themselves, "He started his Daoist practice with enthusiasm but ended poorly. The master must have punished him, which is why he looks like this now. From now on, we'd best be careful."
