Anyone spot the Speckled Band reference? :-P
Adders. They were everywhere at this time of year and father was afraid for the chickens.
He had tried every kind of fortification he could think of but still they ventured into the garden. Now he could see no alternative, he would have to trap them and kill them. But how ever does one attract an adder?
"You could leave out a saucer of milk" John piped up at dinner only to blush brightly as his family gazed at him as if he was an idiot.
Everyone knows snakes don't drink milk.