The Witches

     "Come down out of that tree, little boy, " she said, "and I shall give you the most exciting present you've ever had."  Her voice had a curious rasping quality.  It made a sort of metallic sound, as though her throat was full of drawing-pins.
     Without taking her eyes from my face, she very slowly put one of those gloved hands into her purse and drew out a small green snake.  She held it up for me to see.
     "It's tame, " she said.

Roald Dahl, The Witches