Book excerpt: My Pet Rattlesnake is an interactive story between storyteller and children. Feel free to adlib your own words. Usually, whatever the children say, the storyteller says something different. "Do you want to hear about my pet dog, my pet cat, or my pet rattlesnake?" (If students respond dog or cat, you say "Sadly, it ran away." And pretend to wipe away the tears from your eyes for several dramatic seconds.