What's Going On? (In Modern Texas Folklore) Page: 39
xi, 310 p. : ill., ports. ; 24 cm.View a full description of this book.
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out on the parking lot. When she fell unconscious, they rushed
her to the emergency room at Shannon Hospital. Finally, doctors
determined she had been bitten by a cobra. Back in the boxes of
coats at K-Mart they found a whole bunch of baby cobras that
had hatched out in the linings of the garments during shipments.
The woman is in critical condition and isn't expected to live. A
friend of my sister's neighbor was in the store just after it, and I
hear the store is trying to keep it quiet and is paying off the
family."
While I was dismayed that my student hadn't recognized
folklore when she heard and repeated it, I was intrigued to
find out why she believed "this isn't folklore, but it sure is a
good story."
The department store snake legend is one of those migra-
tory tales that drift into an area, add local details and are
ardently adopted by the folk without question of the
story's accuracy. Known for years throughout America in
many cultural and economic groups, this story has enjoyed
at least two recent periods of interest: one during 1968-69
and another in 1974.' Variants from New York collected in
1969 contain just about every element of the legend as it
was circulated in Texas in 1974, such as one text in which
a woman dies after being bitten by a snake curled up inside
a pile of folded blankets she was examining in Two Guys, a
department store in Buffalo. Similarly, in Columbus, Ohio,
one text concerns three poisonous Japanese krait snakes
found in carpets in a local discount store after a woman
bitten by the snake dies; and in Virginia, a woman gets a
swollen arm after she "pricks" her arm trying on a sweater,
and investigation reveals baby cobras in the box contain-
ing sweaters imported from Hong Kong. Further variants
will be needed to trace the geographical spread of the
legend, although available evidence suggests general
movement from east to west.
The snake story suggests that modern legends can travel
with astonishing speed. In my class meeting when theCobras At K-Mart
39
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What's Going On? (In Modern Texas Folklore) (Book)
Volume of "a collection of essays by contemporary folklorists who are writing about the customs and traditions and the songs and the stories that are going on now" (inside the front cover). It includes information about the folklore of cowboys, rodeos, chain letters and marijuana, as well as information about country, swing and gospel music. Index begins on page 301.
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Abernethy, Francis Edward. What's Going On? (In Modern Texas Folklore), book, 1976; Austin, Texas. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc38877/m1/57/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Press.