Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 3 - Chapter 1 - Verse 24

Sanskrit:

मैनं मायाविनं द‍ृप्तं निरङ्कुशमसत्तमम् ।आक्रीड बालवद्देव यथाशीविषमुत्थितम् ॥ २४ ॥

ITRANS:

mainaṁ māyāvinaṁ dṛptaṁniraṅkuśam asattamamākrīḍa bālavad devayathāśīviṣam utthitam

Translation:

Lord Brahmā continued: My dear Lord, there is no need to play with this serpentine demon, who is always very skilled in conjuring tricks and is arrogant, self-sufficient and most wicked.

Purport:

No one is unhappy when a serpent is killed. It is a practice among village boys to catch a serpent by the tail and play with it for some time and then kill it. Similarly, the Lord could have killed the demon at once, but He played with him in the same way as a child plays with a snake before killing it. Brahmā requested, however, that since the demon was more wicked and undesirable than a serpent, there was no need to play with him. It was his wish that he be killed at once, without delay.