The King of the Snakes was the leader of the snakes in the desert of Serenia. He was somehow trapped by a rock. The Wanderer helped him out by removing the rock from his tail, and in gratitude the king repaid the wanderer by giving him the magical phrase, Hiss.
Behind the scenes[]
The rock on the snakes' tail is one of two rocks that can be picked up in the desert. All other rocks in the desert have scorpions behind them. The King of the Snakes appears in The Story of Hassebu and the story The Language of the Beasts in Andrew Lang's Fairy Books. There is also a Queen of the Snakes in The Snake Prince.