—"Why do you keep complicating your life, obsessed with old Jedediah McCoy's pig? Knowing that in this savanna there's plenty of food: agoutis, wild piglets, deer, flamingos, herons, jackrabbits... What more could you want, buddy?" — squawked one of the flamingos.

—"And iguanas and tender young venison are mighty tasty!", chirped the other.

—"You don't know nothin'! Old Jedediah McCoy, the so-called 'Gator of the Brazos', nearly took my head off with a single machete swing!", hissed the giant anaconda, coiled around a branch.

—"Well, so what?", chimed in the owl, whom everyone called 'Know-It-All', staring down from his acacia tree. "That's just how a man on horseback does things around here: swingin' that machete left and right. You gonna let that nonsense ruin your life? If you let yourself be led by such foolishness, you'll only end up in a heap of trouble, all by your lonesome!"

—"But why in the world do you spend your days in the brush, chasin' after that critter, instead of takin' care of your conuco? Why don't you just sit yourself on the porch, watch the sunset with a good glass of rum?", said Beauregard 'Bo' Beaumont, known as 'The Preacher', to his buddy, old Jedediah McCoy, a.k.a. 'The Gator of the Brazos'.

—"Aw, Bo! This ain't just any snake. That varmint's got it out for me! She's tryin' to eat my chickens and my prize pig, Bacon!"

—"But that critter picked the wrong nest", said old Jed, firm and determined. "I'm gonna skin that eight-meter demon and sell the hide to a trader from Caracas who comes around these parts lookin' for goods for his store", said the legendary Gator of the Brazos, adjusting his hat.

—"Listen here, partner: you reap what you sow. Hatred brings no peace, only bitterness. That fire in your soul will burn you up too, 'cause that animal just follows its instincts; it don't know nothin' about grudges. Leave it be and don't tempt fate."

After feedin' his buddy Bacon some yuca, old Jedediah McCoy grabbed his machete and set out to roam the endless swamp.

In winter, down in the Venezuelan savanna, there ain't many places the water don't reach. His hated enemy could be lurkin' just about anywhere.

But Jed knew exactly where to find her: bewitched by Bacon, —"that durn critter never gives up", thought the old man.

Seraphim Hog-Eater, the giant green anaconda, also known as 'The Coiler', lay hidden among the reeds, watchin' Bacon and Jed's every move.

Careful, slow, with a fierce spirit and machete raised, the old Gator of the Brazos approached his nemesis. He struck with fury, but the machete got stuck in a log covered in green algae, which the old man had mistaken for his foe in his rage.

But Hog-Eater wasn't far off. Right behind him, always ready, she began to coil around old Jedediah McCoy. He tried every which way to shake her off, but the machete was still stuck in the log, out of reach. So the Coiler did what she did best: wrapped herself around her prey and squeezed with all her ten thousand muscles, 'til her helpless, defenseless victim gave in.

Beauregard Beaumont, who went to visit his only friend and neighbor every evening, didn't find him and feared the worst. He called the National Guard to help with the search.

—"I reckon we found Jedediah McCoy", said one of the guards, starin' at the anaconda with an uncommonly fat belly.

Seraphim Hog-Eater saw the guard, but bein' so heavy with her meal, she couldn't slither away and became easy pickin's for the guard's machete.

They cut open her belly and pulled out Jedediah McCoy, who finally got himself a peaceful sunset, as he was buried in that savanna he never learned to enjoy while he was alive.

The anaconda's hide, with its beautiful winter colors — a thousand shades of green with black oval spots — could never be admired in all its glory, 'cause its quality attracted savvy traders, who cut it up to make handbags, boots, belts, wallets, watchbands, and other items of immoral luxury for lovers of irresponsible fashion.

The owl, known as Know-It-All, witnessed the tragedy. That night he didn't hoot to join the concert of frogs, howler monkeys, night birds, and crickets. He pondered:

—"I warned Seraphim, the Coiler: Don't go chasin' foolish goals, or you'll come to a bad end. If you're gonna be stubborn, be stubborn about somethin' that really matters."

—"Obsessin' over revenge clouds your judgment and never ends well. He could've lived two lives instead of gettin' stuck and losin' everything."

—"Old Seraphim, the anaconda, thought he knew it all, but his own experience deceived him. There are folks who never can tell the difference between what truly matters and what their own desires make 'em think is urgent and important."