"''Poison''" is a short story written by
Roald Dahl that was originally published in June 1950 in ''
Collier's''. In 1950 it was adapted for the radio programme ''
Escape''. In 1958 it was turned into an episode of ''
Alfred Hitchcock Presents'', directed by
Alfred Hitchcock himself. In 1980 it was adapted as the fifth episode of the second series of ''
Tales of the Unexpected''.
Plot summary
The story is set in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
during the time of
British rule
The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent;
*
* it is also called Crown rule in India,
*
*
*
*
or Direct rule in India,
* Quote: "Mill, who was hims ...
. The main character is Harry Pope and the narrator of the story is Timber Woods. Timber goes over to his friend Harry Pope. Harry is in bed, motionless, sweating, and panicked. He explains that a venomous snake, the
krait
''Bungarus'' is a genus of venomous elapid snakes, the kraits ("krait" is pronounced , rhyming with "kite"), found in South and Southeast Asia. The genus ''Bungarus'' has 16 species.
Distribution
Kraits are found in tropical Asia, from near Ira ...
, has crawled onto his stomach, underneath the covers, and asks Timber to fetch a doctor. Timber calls Dr. Ganderbai, a local Indian doctor who rushes to help. Timber and Ganderbai frantically try to get the snake off of Harry through various methods (which include sedating the snake and giving Harry an antivenom). As the story progresses, it is revealed that there is in fact no snake on Harry.
After the initial panic, Ganderbai inquires whether Harry is certain that there actually was a snake. Harry, believing that Ganderbai is calling him a liar, berates the doctor with racial slurs. As Ganderbai walks out of the room, Timber thanks him and apologizes for Harry's behavior. Ganderbai's only reply is that the only thing Harry needs is a good vacation.
References
Short stories by Roald Dahl
1950 short stories
Works originally published in Collier's
Works about racism
Fictional snakes
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