Did you hear about the family that brought home a really tall, full tree they purchased from the outdoor lot? They put it in a stand to let it fluff out overnight and planned to decorate it the next day.

The next morning, while they were decorating, the little girl saw a movement among the pine needles. The mother parted a couple of branches and looked closely. Suddenly she was struck in the left eye by a six-foot rattlesnake that had been curled around the trunk. It was an Eastern Diamondback, not native to here, so it probably had been in the tree since it was cut and transported from Wisconsin.

The woman died, lying among the broken ornaments, before the ambulance could get there on the icy roads. In all the commotion, with boxes and ribbons and tinsel scattered on the floor, no one noticed a quick slither along the baseboards.  The family moved out that day, left everything behind. The husband sold the house.

If your family recently moved into a nice new home that you got for a steal, you should probably know, the snake was never found.