I was in a tent in the Rif mountains, quietly dying from the less projectile phase of the Tangier Trots, when I awoke to see a large black snake about six feet away. From my ground-level viewpoint, it looked exactly like the cobras that the snake-charmers had in the souks. The only way out of sleeping-bag and tent would have been straight towards it, so with great presence of mind, I took the only possible action: I closed my eyes, sweated a lot, and screamed silently. This worked, as when I looked again, it had gone. Would have worked as a laxative, too, if I'd needed one.

I've never seen a cockroach, though.