The idea that the hair snakes come from hairs thrown into water, is much more universal than you may suppose. It was only the other day that a lady was talking with the Professor:
“You needn’t tell me that it isn’t so, because I’ve pulled hairs out of my own head and put them in water, and have seen them turn into snakes before my own eyes.”
What could a poor Professor say? For, of course, he didn’t believe her for a minute. She may have seen the hairs move with the motion of the water, and so made up her mind that they must have turned to snakes. You may feel very sure, however, that no hair put into water ever became a snake. In fact the so-called hair-snake is only a worm. You will find it at certain seasons of the year in small pools of water and even on wet or damp cabbages.
Examine one through a microscope and you will see that it has little rings around its long, slender body. It is what scientific books call an annulated worm.
There is one very strange thing about these creatures; they are never still, but constantly wriggling about. Neither do they stretch themselves to their full length when on the ground, but curl themselves up in some way or other.
You have seen an ordinary earth worm crawling into his hole, and have noticed that he pulls his body in almost a straight line; but when the hair worm creeps, his body is generally in the form of a semi-circle.
You remember the notices in the paper about a great “shower of snakes” in Memphis, Tenn., a year ago last winter. These were our hair worms; and, as they were found only in one place in the city, scientific men thought that the heavy storm must have blown and washed them from some neighboring pool or garden.
For such little fellows they seem to be just crowded with life, it being comparatively difficult to kill them when in water.–Christian Union.