Subduing the Coiled Hose

A thick, ribbed green garden hose lay coiled like a dormant marsh serpent beside the stone wall. *Grrr.* It blocked the southern gravel path, refusing to yield to my advance. I locked my snout forward and lowered my center of gravity, tail stiffened for balance. With a sharp leap, I drove my curved sickle claw straight into the rubber ridge. *Thump-hiss!* Trapped air burped through the brass nozzle, shuddering against the damp pebbles before settling into complete stillness beneath my talons. A massive reptile subdued; the midday path remains clear under my undisputed command.