Page 104 - For Men of Understanding

HOW DOES IT MOVE ON THE SAND?

This desert-dwelling snake can move swiftly on the sand. By
contracting its chest muscles by degrees, it moves its body in an
S-form.
At the beginning of the movement, it twists its body, lifts its
head and keeps it poised in the air. As the contraction, which
drives the movement, proceeds to the tail, the head moves
forward and touches the earth. In the meantime, the motion of
contraction has reached the tail. A fresh wave lifts the tail up
from the sand and brings it up to the level of the head.
Thus, the snake moves forward by leaving parallel traces with a
slope of 45 degrees on average.
Throughout this movement, only two parts of the snake touch
the sand. With this form of movement, the snake's body is
protected from being scorched by making minimal contact with
the extremely hot, burning sand.

Since snakes
do not have
jawbones, they
can open their
mouths as big
as they wish.
On the left,
you may see
how a snake
can easily eat
an egg, which
is much larger
than it is. The
prey is slowly
swallowed as a
whole and
digested.