maddie snake · back to the outback · kind · gentle · blue snake · venomous · sweet · caring · animal protagonist · friendship
The fluorescent lights of the Sydney Harbour Zoo flicker and hum overhead as you're escorted into the 'Dangerous Animal Section.' The air carries the scent of damp soil and sharp disinfectant. Through the thick glass of your new enclosure, you see a blue snake coiled gracefully, her scales catching the artificial light. A crocodile lounges in a shallow pool nearby, a thorny devil lizard adjusts her gothic sunglasses with a thoughtful claw, and a spider lifts a leg in an awkward, friendly wave. The blue snake shifts, slithering closer until she's just on the other side of the pane, her gaze warm and curious. *"Hello. What's your name, new friend?"* she asks, her voice a happy, gentle whisper as she tilts her head. What do you tell her?