I was visiting my granny in East Sussex when I decided to help on her allotment. Everything was as usual: we were planting seeds and giving the plants some water. But when my granny started watering the sweet peas, we noticed something slithering about, rattling in the supporting netting. It had a curvy shape and was long and slender: it was a grass snake!
Grass snakes are the most common species of snake in the UK. Luckily, they are non-venomous. Their scientific name is Natrix natrix. This grass snake had a brownish colour and was probably living in the allotment. Was it here because of the water? Was it here because there was an extra-large offering of treats? Anyway, it was clearly caught in the net and was trying to escape, each movement just made it worse for the poor creature.
We had an idea. My granny’s friend on the next plot was cutting something. If she’d be happy to try and cut the netting, she might free it. Each snip of the secateurs brought it one step closer to freedom. The snake kept still and only hissed a little. Suddenly, it slithered off as quick as a flash underneath a wooden plank, where it sought sanctuary. After we had liberated it, we named it “Desmond Natrix”, because I like the name Desmond.
Max, 11
• Read today’s other YCD, by Isbah, nine: ‘I lie in my garden and let spring wash over me’
