Blessing or curse

In this week's parsha, the snake is "cursed" that he is relegated to eating dust/dirt for the rest of eternity. Why is this a curse? It would seem to be a blessing. He never has to worry about where his next meal is coming from. Wherever he goes there is dirt, so he has a meal waiting for him wherever he is.
A friend of mine recently told me a mashal that he used to explain yiras Hashem to someone else. He gave an example of two brothers aged fifteen and twenty two. The older one, graduated high school and college and is now working but still living at home. The younger brother is still in high school. The father goes out of town and warns the boys, have all the fun you want, but do not dare touch my sports car. Of course, boys will be boys, and they take the sports car out for a spin and of course they crash into our good friend, Mr. Murphy. Both boys are somewhat scared, but there's a difference. The fifteen year old is scared because he's not sure whether he will be grounded for a week, a month, a year or five years. The older brother, however, is more concerned. He's already quite independent, his father can't really punish him any more. He realizes though, being that the father can't really punish him, his punishment is worse. He has reached an age of responsibility and has developed a different, more mature, closer relationship with his father. This act has damaged that. He has disappointed his father. Living with that, is his punishment. That's how my friend explained yiras Hashem. We are afraid of doing something that would damage the wonderful close relationship that we have with Hashem, our Father, our Creator.
Using this example, we can now easily understand how badly the snake was cursed. Unlike the snake, the immediate source of our daily sustenance is unknown. Therefore, we pray to Hashem on a daily basis, at least three times a day, asking for among other things, sustenance, and Hashem looks forward to our daily prayers. Being that the snake always knows where his next meal is, he never has to pray to Hashem. The distance between the snake and his Creator is immeasurable. That is his punishment. The ultimate curse.