According to Lemony Snicket, the snow gnats of the Mortmain Mountains swarm around to sting people for no reason whatsoever. Violet and Klaus find themselves in the middle of a swarm of them. Though their stings aren’t very poisonous to people, they won’t go away if you ignore them. But they don’t like fire, which doesn’t work out for the elder Baudelaires. So they decide to throw a coat over their heads. So they decide to hide  in a nearby cave, which Violet isn’t very happy about. Since there may be hibernating animals around. But they don’t have much choice.

The song I chose for this part is Donovan’s “Mellow Yellow.” The original version was rumored to be about dried banana skins which was believed to be used as an hallucinogenic drug in the 1960s. But that has been debunked. However, Donovan did admit its “electric banana” refers to a vibrator. Nevertheless, he reaffirmed that the song is really about, “it’s about being cool, laid-back, and also the electrical bananas that were appearing on the scene – which were ladies’ vibrators.” Also, Paul McCartney was one of the background revelers though it was Donovan himself who whispered “quite rightly.” In this song, Klaus discusses the snow gnats.

 

“Stinging Snow Gnats”

Sung by Klaus Baudelaire

I’ve read something on snow gnats
Heard they all swarm and sting
Though they’re mildly toxic
They’re quite a pain in the ass

They call them stinging snow gnats (Quite rightly)
They call them stinging snow gnats (Quite rightly)
They call them stinging snow gnats

Let’s put the coat on for cover
Hope it’ll just do the trick
Though they really hate fire
It’s not among our alternatives

They call them stinging snow gnats
They call them stinging snow gnats (Quite rightly)
They call them stinging snow gnats

There’s a cave not too far by
Guess we must take a chance
Yes, we might startle a bear
But they won’t give up in attack

They call them stinging snow gnats (Quite rightly)
They call them stinging snow gnats (Quite rightly)
They call them stinging snow gnats

Ouch, stinging snow gnats

I know this is risky
But we must seek a cave
Since you just can’t ignore them
Just got to find a way to evade

They call them stinging snow gnats (Quite rightly)
They call them stinging snow gnats (Quite rightly)
They call them stinging snow gnats

God, snow gnats, Ouch
They’re a pain in the ass
I just want to escape from snow gnats
Got to go into that cave

They call them stinging snow gnats (Quite rightly)
They call them stinging snow gnats (Quite rightly)
They call them stinging snow gnats

Oh, they’re stinging
Shit, those snow gnats