How to survive an encounter with a crocodile or alligator

An account written by a Peace Corps volunteer in Reader's Digest from a few years back. Paraphrasing from memory here:

MAGICAL WHITE SKIN

The veteran Peace Corps volunteer warned new volunteers not to ignore local customs, because sometimes those customs have their basis in very real concerns.

In his account, he described his first assignment in India at a village next to a river.

The whole village seemed to turn out to watch him bathing in the river one morning. A village elder called to him, telling him to get out of the river.

A brief exchange in broken English revealed that not only could the villagers not swim, they didn't believe swimming was even possible!

To prove swimming is possible, he swam across the river and back to the amazed villagers.

"See? You can do it too," he told the elder.

"I cannot," the elder said, "for I do not have your magical white skin."

"Magical white skin?" he repeated in disbelief. "What makes you think my skin is magic?"

"It must surely be magic, for if I tried to swim the river, the crocodiles would surely eat me."

:D :D :D