 As I listened to the rattle, I realized how directly I've been conditioned to associate that sound with imminent death, nature's equivalent of the theme from Jaws. But as it went on, I stared at these snakes, trying to see them through Kale's eyes. And the longer I looked at them, the less they seemed like vicious mercenaries, and more like they were trying to figure out how they ended up at the bottom of a bucket.