As part of his plot to corrupt humankind, Satan disguises himself as a serpent and attempts to persuade Eve to eat the forbidden fruit of the Tree of Knowledge. Satan uses a wide variety of tricks in his attempt to make this happen, but he mainly concentrates on trying to make it seem as though eating the fruit is the most natural thing in the world to do.

He knows that Eve is probably scared of the consequences of defying God, so he tries hard to make the act of defiance seem less scary; to make it seem like the right thing to do. Far from getting her into trouble, Satan wants Eve to think that eating the forbidden fruit will actually be good for her.

To this end, Satan cleverly persuades Eve that eating the forbidden fruit will actually make her more powerful, which is why, he claims, God has forbidden anyone from eating it. Satan tells Eve that he himself has eaten the forbidden fruit, and to just look at the power that he's been given; thanks to the fruit, he's now a serpent who can talk. Suitably impressed by Satan's reasoning, Eve plucks a piece of fruit from the Tree of Knowledge and eats it.