The battle of the snakes and newts is one that rivals King Kong and Godzilla. Two super-animals with spectacular superpowers feud over the world’s most delicious worm ice cream in Southern California. For a long time, the two families have lived together, however, tension between the families have gotten worse over the past few years, due to the scheming of their leaders. There are known rivalries in other locations, but Southern California was notorious for their high level of feuding. Things took a turn for the worse when Queen Newtina, the queen of the newts, decided they didn’t like the snakes in their habitat anymore. How are we going to get rid of the snakes, she thought, and began scheming with the other newts to devise a plan.

The newts, clever and cunning, decided they had enough of the slimy snakes stealing their ice cream and taking up space in the neighborhood. If the snakes wouldn’t leave or stop eating the ice cream, she would have to get rid of the snakes! No matter how much Queen Newtina yelled and screamed, the snakes couldn’t leave. This was their home, too, they argued. Why do we have to leave, the snakes asked, though Queen Newtina would not tell them why. She threatened them to leave, or else. When the snakes didn’t leave, Queen Newtina decided she had to get rid of the snakes once and for all by poisoning their favorite icecream. “That will teach them!” Queen Newtina thought, and began implementing her evil scheme. The newts moved into this plan slowly and overtime, adding just enough poison to the ice cream to keep the snakes scared of eating the ice cream and getting sick.

But wait, why can’t the snakes have the delicious worm ice cream? Isn’t there enough to share? The newts, especially Queen Newtina, decided that they couldn’t. The other animals were able to share, but why couldn’t they? Queen Newtina made it so none of the newts in the area could work with snakes and had to poison the ice cream or be banished from the grasslands! What else were the newts to do? Without poisoning their ice cream, they would be left alone without their family and friends - the newts of South California had no choice but to follow Queen Newtina’s demands.

The snakes had decided that they were fed up with the icecream hoarding and began to take their chances. This is when the snakes learned that they were super, too! On the snake’s scales, were types of armour that protected them from the poison. The younger snakes learned how to use their armor more effectively to prevent them from getting as sick, while the older snakes stuck to the icecream that was not often touched by the newts to be safe. The shields use gate-keepers, like the drawbridges and moats on a castle, to prevent the poison from getting into their bellies. Overtime, the poison didn’t bother their stomach anymore and they were able to eat as much ice cream as they wanted. Sometimes their tummies would get upset and they would have to take a break, but soon, all the snakes were able to eat the ice cream like normal again.

This enraged Queen Newtina. She demanded that the newts put more and more poison in the ice cream. At first, this upset the bellies of the snake, but like before, the snakes got used to the poison and continued eating the ice cream.

Sir Snake, the leader of the snakes with the greatest super-belly that was only slightly affected by the poison since he was young and healthy, had enough of Queen Newtina. Sir Snake realized that Queen Newtina would never stop poisoning the ice cream, and the snakes had to eat ice cream to survive. How could he keep up, he thought, while watching some of the snakes get tummy-aches from the poisoned ice cream because their super powers weren’t as strong as his. What was there to do?

 The older snakes with the more sensitive bellies decided to find other ice cream sources in the area, where Queen Newtina wasn’t able to mess with their food. Not everyone could move, though! If they could, they would have left long before when Queen Newtina began her evil reign over the other newts and her ice cream poisoning scheme.  Sir Snake was tired of seeing his friends and family with achy tummies and talked to Queen Newtina.

“Queen Newtina, my friendssss and family are having a hard time finding ice cream that they can eat. If we ssstop eating so much of the ice cream, will you stop poisoning all of it? Please?” pleaded Sir Snake. 

Queen Newtina scoffed, scowling at Sir Snake. “Why would I do that? The poison doesn’t bother me or my friends or my family. If you didn’t eat the ice cream, your belly wouldn’t be upset!”

Sir Snake was beginning to get angry. How could his family be denied the ice cream that they needed to eat to survive? 

“Queen Newtina, pleassse. We will not stop eating the ice cream, but we can try to eat lessssss of it. I promise you, if we eat lessss, will you ssstop poissoning the ice cream?” Sir Snake pleaded with Queen Newtina, remembering that not all his snake friends had as good armour as he did to protect his belly from the poisonous ice cream. Some of the snakes didn’t have the super-animal armor and could not eat any of the ice cream with any amount of poison, and it was getting hard for them without any ice cream.