Mr. Lee was having a party! His house was filled with friends, yummy food, and tasty drinks. Everyone was chatting and laughing.

One of his friends, a kind man named Tom, picked up his cup of juice. Just as he was about to take a sip, he looked inside. "Oh my!" he thought. He saw a little wiggly thing at the bottom of his cup. It looked just like a tiny snake!

Tom felt a bit scared. A snake in his drink? Yikes! But Mr. Lee was such a good host, and Tom didn't want to be impolite or make a fuss. So, he closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and GULP! He drank all the juice, "snake" and all.

When Tom got home, he started to feel a bit funny. Then, he started to feel really sick. His tummy hurt, and he felt weak. "Oh no!" he moaned. "I must have swallowed that little snake! It's wiggling inside me!" He went to bed, feeling miserable.

A few days later, Mr. Lee noticed Tom hadn't been around. He went to visit him. "Tom, my friend, what's wrong? You look so pale!"
Tom whispered, "At your party... I think I drank a little snake from my cup. Now I'm so sick."

Mr. Lee was very surprised. A snake in a cup at his party? That sounded very strange. He went back to his house and sat down in the exact same spot where Tom had been sitting. He poured some juice into a cup and looked inside.

And there it was! A little wiggly shape at the bottom. Mr. Lee looked closer. Then he looked up. Hanging on the wall right behind where he was sitting was a beautiful red bow, the kind used for shooting arrows. The light was shining on it, and its curvy shadow was falling right into the cup, making it look like a little snake!

"Aha!" Mr. Lee smiled.

He quickly went back to Tom's house. "Tom, come with me! I have something to show you."
Weakly, Tom followed Mr. Lee back to the party room. Mr. Lee sat him down in the same chair and gave him a cup of juice.
"Look in your cup, Tom," said Mr. Lee.
Tom peeked. "There it is again! The snake!" he cried.
"Now," said Mr. Lee gently, "look up at the wall behind you."
Tom looked up and saw the red bow hanging there. Mr. Lee wiggled the bow a little, and the "snake" in the cup wiggled too!

Tom's eyes went wide. "It's... it's just a shadow!" he exclaimed. He realized the "snake" was never real. It was just the shadow of the bow.
Suddenly, Tom started to laugh. And just like that, he didn't feel sick anymore. His tummy ache disappeared, and he felt strong again.

Sometimes, our eyes can play tricks on us, and our imagination can make things seem scarier than they really are!

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