The Snake Charmer's Careless Mistake

A snake charmer, famous across the region for handling even the deadliest cobras without fear, had one strict rule taught to him by his own master: always remove a snake's fangs, or at minimum milk out its venom completely, before ever performing with it in public.

Over the years, having done this so many times without a single close call, the charmer grew careless with a newly caught cobra, telling himself he would surely get to the venom-milking before the next show — there was always time later.

Distracted by a lucrative new booking, he performed with the still-venomous cobra that same evening in front of a large crowd, handling it exactly as confidently as he handled all his safe, defanged snakes. Midway through the performance, the cobra, startled by a sudden noise from the audience, struck true — and the charmer who had survived a thousand shows with deadly snakes died from the one time he skipped the single rule that had always kept him safe.