O, serpent! said Najalwe. How grand you are! How bright your eyes! How sharp your teeth!
The Empress was flattered. Perhaps we will not eat thee, she said.
The servant girl smiled and curtsied and said that she would be honoured to be eaten, or not, as the Empress pleased. That was politeness in those days.
from the Oshaarun folktale “The Empress’ Tooth”