smiddy, it was only after reading selected bible texts (make sure of all things) that
I actually became aware of the crucial importance of that sneaky snake episode to the whole sin / redemption racket.
I was not fooled as a kid by rumbling sounds in the hallway, but was an adult swallowing it, hook line and sinker. I was past the the little Red Riding Hood and the Talking Wolf age.
Stupid? no, gullible, in awe by the cosmic context of it all.