Mongooses live on Hindustan and the African mainland. These animals have an elongated body, a small head with a pointed muzzle, short rounded ears and small paws.

The fur of the mongoose is hard, orange-red or brown: light on the sides and on the stomach, and dark on the head and back. On each paw, the mongoose has five fingers, which are half connected by a membrane. The mongoose has a long thick tail that ends in a tassel. If he has to fight with the enemy, he makes a sharp sound and fluffs his tail.

In the mouth of the mongoose there are 40 strong large teeth with which they chew their food. They eat lizards, snakes, worms, rats, birds, hares, mice, and insects. There is an erroneous opinion that this predator often attacks cobras. This is not true. With snakes, the mongoose enters into a fight only if he has nowhere to retreat. In a duel with a cobra, he most often uses this technique: the mongoose, ahead of the snake, rushes at it first, trying to grab its head.

There are many varieties of mongoose. The smallest of all species is the Striped Mongoose (Zebra Mongoose). Its body is covered with striped fur. He is also a predator, but prefers to eat birds. The Striped Mongoose has a very original voice. He can chirp and whistle like a bird, and when excited, he barks and growls like a dog.

A selection of photos of mongooses

Rudyard Kipling Rikki-tikki-tavi

Genre: literary fairy tale about animals

The main characters of the fairy tale "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" and their brief description

1. Rikki-tikki-tavi. Mongoose, still young, but very brave, fearless. He entered into an unequal battle with cobras and emerged victorious, thanks to his courage and courage.
2. Nag and Nagena. Cobras, husband and wife. Evil, wicked, cruel.
3. Darcy and his wife. Tailor birds. Fearful.
4. Teddy and his parents. The owners of the bungalow, the boy and his mom and dad.

Plan for retelling the fairy tale "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi"

1. Heavy rain
2. dead mongoose
3. Mongoose comes alive
4. Mongoose examines the house
5. Darcy
6. Nag and Nagena
7. Karet
8. Ricky saved Teddy
9. Chuchundra
10. Overheard conversation
11. Bath battle
12. Smart Wife Darcy
13. Egg destruction
14. Veranda of death
15. Last Stand.

The shortest content of the fairy tale "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" for the reader's diary in 6 sentences

1. A small mongoose was washed away by rain and ended up with people in a huge bungalow
2. The mongoose likes people but doesn't like the cobras that live in the garden
3. Ricky meets the carriage and kills the snake to save the boy Teddy.
4. Ricky hears the cobras talking and fights Nag, who is killed by a man with a gun
5. Ricky destroys Nagena's eggs and distracts the cobra from the Teddy boy
6. The mongoose follows Nagena into her hole and kills the cobra there.

The main idea of ​​the fairy tale "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi"
Never judge a hero by his height, judge by his fearlessness.

What does the fairy tale "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" teach
This tale teaches to treat animals well, because in this case, animals will also treat people well. This tale teaches not to give up in the face of a stronger enemy, to use military cunning, to fight fearlessly, to protect the weak. Teaches devotion and faith in victory. Teaches pride and patriotism.

Review of the fairy tale "Rikki-tikki-tavi"
The story of the little mongoose Rikki-tikki-tavi cannot but be liked. The fearless mongoose acts like a real hero, he protects his friends, is not afraid of death, but is only afraid of dishonor. Ricky is very sweet and affectionate, but at the same time a brave fighter. I really liked this tale.

Proverbs to the fairy tale "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi"
For business and honor.
Don't judge a mongoose by its appearance.
Who dared, he ate.

Summary, a brief retelling of the fairy tale "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi"
The little mongoose Rikki-tikki lived with his parents in a mink. And one day a heavy rain washed him out of the hole and carried him quite far. Ricky swallowed water and lost consciousness.
A little boy found him on the path of the park and wanted to bury him.
But the boy's dad realized that the mongoose was still alive and ordered him to be taken to the house. There the mongoose got warm and sneezed. Then he ran around the room and climbed on the shoulder of the boy Teddy.
Parents watched the mongoose with pleasure and decided to feed him. The mongoose ate a piece of meat and ran around the whole house, sticking its curious muzzle everywhere.
In the evening, the parents saw that Ricky was sitting on Teddy's pillow. The boy's mother was worried, but his father said that the mongoose was the best snake protector.
The next morning Ricky went to the garden. There he met the bird-tailor Darcy and his wife, who were very sad. Nag ate one of Darcy's chicks.
Ricky naively asked who Nag was, and a huge cobra immediately appeared from the grass. She introduced herself as Nag and puffed out her hood. But Ricky was not at all afraid of the cobra; for his family, snakes have always been tasty prey.
Nag realized this and decided to distract Ricky. He spoke to him about eggs and chicks. At this time, Darcy shouted to Ricky - Watch out!
Ricky jumped to the side and Naga, Naga's wife, missed. Ricky bit Nagena, but did not bite her neck, and the snakes hurriedly crawled away.
Ricky returned to the house and began to think. Teddy came to him and wanted to pet Ricky. But then a small snake rose from the dust - a caret, deadly poisonous.
Rikii immediately rushed to the carriage, not thinking that a small and nimble opponent could be more terrible than a huge cobra.
Ricky quickly had a snack on the carriage, and the boy's father, who had come running, banged on the corpse with a stick in vain. Teddy's parents and the boy himself petted the mongoose all day.
At night, Ricky met Chuchundra, a musky rat. Chuchundra was very afraid, but advised the mongoose to listen. Ricky heard the soft creak of snake scales as the snake crawled into the bathroom.
In the bathroom, Ricky heard Nag and Nagena whispering behind the wall. They wanted to kill the people so that the bungalow would be empty and the mongoose would leave it.
Nag crawled into the bathroom and waited for the morning to bite the man. Ricky decided where he needed to bite such a huge cobra, and decided to bite on the hood and not unclench his teeth in any case.
Ricky sank his teeth into Nag, and he began to shake his head from side to side, breaking everything that was in the bathroom. Ricky was preparing to die in battle, but suddenly there was a strong roar and something scorched the mongoose.
It was the man who shot Naga with a gun. People rejoiced that such a brave mongoose lived among them.
And Ricky understood that he urgently needed to deal with Nagena, until the snakes hatched.
He ran into the garden, where Darcy sang a song of praise to him. Darcy said Naga was at the garbage heap where Naga's body had been dumped by the janitor. Darcy then explained to Ricky where Nagena kept her eggs.
Ricky asked Darcy to pretend he had a broken wing and distract Nagena. But Darcy was stupid, but his wife turned out to be smart. Which began to pretend to Nagena.
At this time, Ricky reached the end of the melon patch and found 25 cobra eggs there. Ricky destroyed 22 eggs when he heard Darcy's wife scream. She informed him that Naguena had crawled onto the veranda and wanted to kill.
Ricky destroyed two more eggs, grabbed the last one and ran to the veranda.
Ricky saw that Nagena's head was next to the boy's leg. People sat pale and were afraid to move. Then the mongoose ordered Nagene to turn around and look at what was left of her eggs.
Naguena turned and saw the last egg. She demanded to give it back. At this time, a man grabbed Teddy and dragged him over the table.
Naguena began to jump on the mongoose, and when he moved, she suddenly turned around sharply, grabbed the egg with her teeth and quickly left the veranda.
Ricky caught up with Nagen near the very hole and grabbed her by the tail. Following the cobra, he disappeared into a hole.
Darcy decided that Ricky was dead and prepared to sing a farewell song to him, but then a very tired Ricky appeared from the hole.
He said that the widow was dead and the red ants went to check his words.
Ricky told Copperhead to announce the death of the cobra to the entire garden. The boy's parents and Teddy himself enthusiastically greeted the mongoose.
And Ricky remained to guard the garden and no more cobra dared to appear in it.

Drawings and illustrations for the fairy tale "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi"

23.06.2015

I often have to repeat in my posts (and especially in the comments) that I am not a makeup artist or even some kind of home make-up guru; I can't do very much. That, in my opinion, is the value of blogs: here ordinary people with hands growing from anywhere show what a mere mortal can do with cosmetics.

Recently, I wanted to try making cat-eye arrows for myself, or “cat's eye”. I had no confidence that I could do it. However, it suddenly turned out that it was actually very simple, and I really got hooked on these wide, curved retro arrows. When I showed them to instagram, then some of those who commented complained about the complexity of execution; but this is not at all the case, and now I want to show you step by step how simply these arrows are drawn.

In general, there are many types of cat-eye arrows, they are often supplemented with a contour along the lower eyelid, but I don’t like this option on myself, and then the task is to make everything as simple as possible, so we make an option similar to that of the beautiful Bridget in the photo.

Here's what we start with: the eyes are not made up at all.

Now about the eyeliner. In my experience, the easiest gel eyeliner to use is in a jar with a brush. It does not blur, it is easy to draw the right amount, it allows you to interrupt the line and continue drawing (after all, the “without taking your hands off” arrow is not always given), it does not freeze tightly, like liquid eyeliner, so the line is easy to correct. Although, of course, this is a matter of taste, but I will show the arrows drawn exactly.

In order for everything to go smoothly, it makes sense to stock up on some simple accessories: a cotton swab, a toothpick with cotton wool, concealer, and, if available, a corrector pencil.

I have several of these, but for arrows I prefer - it has a sharp beveled tip, which is great for this.

We start drawing. There is a lot of debate about whether to draw the tail of the arrow first or the outline of the eyelid; in fact, in our case it is absolutely unimportant, because they are drawn separately. I'll start with the ponytail now. And here's what's important: when drawing a ponytail, you need to continue the line of the lower eyelid.

The ponytail is still “rough”, the flaws can be corrected, but here’s the idea: it is in this position relative to the eyelid line that the ponytail will create a bend with a raised look and a straight line with a lowered one.

Now we just take and draw the outline, connecting it with the tail. As you understand, it was possible to start with a contour, and then draw a tail - they do not depend on each other.

In principle, we already have a ready-made arrow, although for a thin one it would be necessary to make the tail line a little higher so that there is no kink.

But we have other tasks. Now we remember planimetry and draw such a simple thing as a triangle: we connect the upper tip of the ponytail and the middle of the eyelid.

Since the line will pass through the crease of the eyelid, it may be intermittent - it's okay, we'll finish everything. Now we need to paint over this triangle from the inside. If we did everything right, then this is what we get:

And when we open our eyes, a straight line - voila! - turns into a beautiful curve:

In general, I have already done this many times, but every time I am happy with the result, like a child. And the truth is - how simple and how beautiful!

Page 1 of 4

This is a story about a great war that Rikki-Tikki-Tavi fought alone in the bathroom of a large house in the village of Sigauli.
Darzi, the tailor bird, helped him, and Chuchundra, the musky rat (muskrat, found mainly in North America. - Ed.) - the one that never runs out into the middle of the room, but always sneaks up against the very wall - gave him advice . But he really fought alone.
Rikki-Tiki-Tavi was a mongoose (a small predatory animal with an elongated, flexible body and short legs, found in tropical countries. - Ed.). His tail and fur were like those of a small cat, and his head and all the habits were like those of a weasel. His eyes were pink, and the tip of his restless nose was also pink. Ricky could scratch himself wherever he pleased, no matter what paw: front or back. And he knew how to fluff his tail so that the tail looked like a round long brush. And his battle cry as he raced through the tall grasses was rikki-tikki-tikki-tikki-chk!

He lived with his father and mother in a narrow hollow. But one summer there was a flood, and the water carried him along the roadside ditch. He kicked and thrashed as best he could. Finally he managed to grab hold of a floating tuft of grass, and so he held on until he lost consciousness.

He woke up in the hot sun in the garden, in the middle of the path, tormented and dirty, and at that time some boy said:
- Dead mongoose! Let's have a funeral!
“No,” said the boy’s mother, “let’s take him and dry him.” Maybe he's still alive.


They carried him into the house, and some big man took him with two fingers and said that he was not dead at all, but only drowned in the water. Then they wrapped him in cotton wool and began to warm him by the fire. He opened his eyes and sneezed.
"Now," said the Big Man, "don't scare him, and we'll see what he does."
There is nothing more difficult in the world than to frighten a mongoose, because it burns with curiosity from nose to tail. “Run Find out and Smell” - is inscribed on the mongoose family crest, and Rikki-Tikki was a purebred mongoose, he peered into the cotton wool, realized that it was not fit for food, ran around the table, sat on his hind legs, put his fur in order and jumped on the boy's shoulder.
"Don't be afraid, Teddy," said the Big Man. “He wants to be friends with you.
- Hey, he's tickling my neck! Teddy screamed.

Rikki-tikki looked behind his collar, sniffed his ear and, going down to the floor, began to rub his nose.
- These are miracles! said Teddin's mother. - And it's called a wild animal! It's true, he's so tame because we've been kind to him.
“Mongooses are like that,” her husband said. - If Teddy does not pick him up from the floor by the tail and does not take it into his head to put him in a cage, he will settle with us and will run around the house ... Let's give him something to eat.
He was given a small piece of raw meat. He really liked meat. After breakfast, he immediately ran to the veranda, sat down in the sun and fluffed out his fur to dry it to the very roots. And immediately he felt better.
“There are many things in this house that I must scout out as soon as possible. My parents had never explored so much in their entire lives. I'll stay here and explore everything as it is."
All that day he did nothing but roam the house. He almost drowned in the bath, he stuck his nose in the ink, and immediately after that he burned his nose on the cigar that the Big Man was smoking, because he climbed on his knees to the Big Man to watch how they write with pen on paper.

In the evening he ran into Teddin's bedroom to see how the kerosene lamps were lit. And when Teddy went to bed, Rikki-tikki crouched down beside him, but turned out to be a restless neighbor, because at every rustle he jumped up and alerted and ran to find out what was the matter. Father and mother went before going to bed to check on their sleeping son and saw that Rikki-tikki was not sleeping, but was sitting on his pillow.
"I don't like it," said Teddin's mother. What if he bites the child?
"Don't be afraid," said the father. - This little animal will protect him better than any dog. If, for example, a snake crawls in ...
But Teddin's mother did not want to think about such horrors. By morning breakfast, Ricky rode onto the veranda astride Teddin's shoulder. He was given a banana and a piece of egg. He was on everyone's knees, because a good mongoose never loses hope of becoming a pet mongoose. Each of them from childhood dreams that he will live in a human house and run from room to room.
After breakfast, Rikki-tikki ran out into the garden to see if there was anything remarkable there. The garden was large, only half cleared. Huge roses grew in it - each bush was like an arbor - and bamboo groves, and orange trees, and lemon trees, and dense thickets of tall grass. Rikki-tikki even licked his lips.
- A good place to hunt! - he said.

And as soon as he thought about hunting, his tail swelled up like a round brush. He quickly ran around the whole neighborhood, sniffed here, sniffed there, and suddenly someone's sad voices reached him from the thorn bush. There, in the thorn bush, lived Darzi, the tailor bird, and his wife. They had a beautiful nest: they sewed it from two huge leaves with thin fibrous twigs and stuffed it with soft down and cotton. The nest swayed in all directions, and they sat on the edge and cried loudly.
- What's happened? Rikki-tikki asked.
- A big misfortune! Darzi replied. “One of our chicks fell out of the nest yesterday and Nag swallowed it.
“Hm,” said Rikki-tikki, “it’s very sad… But I’ve been here recently… I’m not from here… Who is Nag?”

Darzi and his wife darted into the nest and did not answer, because from the thick grass, from under the bush, a low hiss was heard - a terrible, cold sound that made Rikki-tikki jump back a full two feet. Then from the grass, higher and higher, an inch by inch, the head of Nag, a huge black cobra (poisonous spectacled snake; behind, slightly below the head, it has a pattern resembling glasses. - Ed.), began to rise - and there was this Nag of five feet in length from head to tail.
When a third of his body rose above the ground, he stopped and began to sway like a dandelion in the wind, and looked at Rikki-tikki with his evil snake eyes, which always remain the same, no matter what Nag thinks about.
“Are you asking who Nag is?” Look at me and shiver! Because Nag is me...


And he inflated his hood (when the cobra is angry, it puffs up its neck so that it looks like a hood. - Ed.), And Rikki-tikki saw a spectacle mark on the hood, exactly like a steel loop from a steel hook.
Ricky was scared - for a minute. For more than one minute, mongooses are generally not afraid of anyone, and although Rikki-Tikki had never seen a live cobra, since his mother fed him dead ones, he well understood that mongooses exist in the world to fight snakes, defeat them and eat. This was known to the Nagu, and therefore there was fear in the depths of his cold heart.
- So what! - said Rikki-tikki, and his tail began to swell again. “Do you think that if you have a pattern on your back, then you have the right to swallow chicks that fall out of the nest?”


Nag was thinking about something else at that time and vigilantly peered to see if the grass was stirring behind Ricky's back. He knew that if mongooses appeared in the garden, then both he and the whole snake family would soon come to an end. But now he needed to lull the attention of the enemy. So he bent his head a little, and tilting it to one side, he said:
- Let's talk. You eat bird eggs, don't you? Why don't I eat birds?
- Behind! Behind! Look around! Darzi sang at that time.


But Rikki-tikki understood well that there was no time to stare. He jumped as high as possible and below him saw the hissing head of Nagaina, the evil wife of Naga. She crept up behind while Nag was talking to him and wanted to finish him off. She hissed because Ricky had eluded her. Ricky jumped up and fell right on her back, and if he were older, he would know that now is the time to bite her back with his teeth: one bite - and you're done! But he was afraid that she would whip him with her terrible tail. However, he bit her, but not as hard as he should have, and immediately bounced off the coils of the tail, leaving the snake furious and injured.
“Ugly, ugly Darzy!” - said Nag and stretched himself up as far as he could to reach the nest hanging on a thorn bush.
But Darzi deliberately built his nest so high that the snakes could not reach him, and the nest only swayed on the branch.

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Tale of Rikki-tikki-tavi

Rudyard Kipling

Tale of Rikki-tikki-tavi summary:

The tale of "Rikki Tikki Tavi" is about a mongoose who loses his parents during a flood. Waking up, he finds himself in the garden of the house where the English family lives. He became for them not only a pet, but also a true friend. Having got acquainted with all the inhabitants of the new territory for him, he learned that a family of snakes lives next to people. Rikki-tikki-tavi finds out that the cobras want to kill the people living in the house. Therefore, protecting his loved ones, he entered into a real battle with the villains. Having defeated Naga, Ricky understood that his wife Nagaina would begin to take revenge, in connection with this, the brave animal, risking his own life, decides to end her life as well.

This fairy tale brings up courage and courage in people. A true friend will not spare his life, trying to save and protect his loved ones.

Tale of Rikki-tikki-tavi read:

This is a story about a great war that Rikki-Tikki-Tavi fought alone in the bathroom of a large house in the village of Sigauli.

Darzi, the tailor bird, helped him, and Chuchundra, the musky rat (muskrat, found mainly in North America. - Ed.) - the one that never runs out into the middle of the room, but always sneaks up against the very wall - gave him advice . But he really fought alone.

Rikki-Tiki-Tavi was a mongoose (a small predatory animal with an elongated, flexible body and short legs, found in tropical countries. - Ed.). His tail and fur were like those of a small cat, and his head and all the habits were like those of a weasel. His eyes were pink, and the tip of his restless nose was also pink. Ricky could scratch himself wherever he pleased, no matter what paw: front or back. And he knew how to fluff his tail so that the tail looked like a round long brush. And his battle cry as he raced through the tall grasses was rikki-tikki-tikki-tikki-chk!

He lived with his father and mother in a narrow hollow. But one summer there was a flood, and the water carried him along the roadside ditch. He kicked and thrashed as best he could. Finally he managed to grab hold of a floating tuft of grass, and so he held on until he lost consciousness.

He woke up in the hot sun in the garden, in the middle of the path, tormented and dirty, and at that time some boy said:

- Dead mongoose! Let's have a funeral!

“No,” said the boy’s mother, “let’s take him and dry him.” Maybe he's still alive.

They carried him into the house, and some big man took him with two fingers and said that he was not dead at all, but only drowned in the water. Then they wrapped him in cotton wool and began to warm him by the fire. He opened his eyes and sneezed.

"Now," said the Big Man, "don't scare him, and we'll see what he does."

There is nothing more difficult in the world than to frighten a mongoose, because it burns with curiosity from nose to tail. “Run Find out and Smell” - is inscribed on the mongoose family crest, and Rikki-Tikki was a purebred mongoose, he peered into the cotton wool, realized that it was not fit for food, ran around the table, sat on his hind legs, put his fur in order and jumped on the boy's shoulder.

"Don't be afraid, Teddy," said the Big Man. “He wants to be friends with you.

- Hey, he's tickling my neck! Teddy screamed.

Rikki-tikki looked behind his collar, sniffed his ear and, going down to the floor, began to rub his nose.

- These are miracles! said Teddin's mother. - And it's called a wild animal! It's true, he's so tame because we've been kind to him.

“Mongooses are like that,” her husband said. - If Teddy does not pick him up from the floor by the tail and does not take it into his head to put him in a cage, he will settle with us and will run around the house ... Let's give him something to eat.

He was given a small piece of raw meat. He really liked meat. After breakfast, he immediately ran to the veranda, sat down in the sun and fluffed out his fur to dry it to the very roots. And immediately he felt better.

“There are many things in this house that I must scout out as soon as possible. My parents had never explored so much in their entire lives. I'll stay here and explore everything as it is."

All that day he did nothing but roam the house. He almost drowned in the bath, he stuck his nose in the ink, and immediately after that he burned his nose on the cigar that the Big Man was smoking, because he climbed on his knees to the Big Man to watch how they write with pen on paper.

In the evening he ran into Teddin's bedroom to see how the kerosene lamps were lit. And when Teddy went to bed, Rikki-tikki crouched down beside him, but turned out to be a restless neighbor, because at every rustle he jumped up and alerted and ran to find out what was the matter. Father and mother went before going to bed to check on their sleeping son and saw that Rikki-tikki was not sleeping, but was sitting on his pillow.

"I don't like it," said Teddin's mother. What if he bites the child?

"Don't be afraid," said the father. - This little animal will protect him better than any dog. If, for example, a snake crawls in ...

But Teddin's mother did not want to think about such horrors. By morning breakfast, Ricky rode onto the veranda astride Teddin's shoulder. He was given a banana and a piece of egg. He was on everyone's knees, because a good mongoose never loses hope of becoming a pet mongoose. Each of them from childhood dreams that he will live in a human house and run from room to room.

After breakfast, Rikki-tikki ran out into the garden to see if there was anything remarkable there. The garden was large, only half cleared. Huge roses grew in it - each bush was like an arbor - and bamboo groves, and orange trees, and lemon trees, and dense thickets of tall grass. Rikki-tikki even licked his lips.

- A good place to hunt! - he said. mongoose rikki-tikki-tavi

And as soon as he thought about hunting, his tail swelled up like a round brush. He quickly ran around the whole neighborhood, sniffed here, sniffed there, and suddenly someone's sad voices reached him from the thorn bush. There, in the thorn bush, lived Darzi, the tailor bird, and his wife. They had a beautiful nest: they sewed it from two huge leaves with thin fibrous twigs and stuffed it with soft down and cotton. The nest swayed in all directions, and they sat on the edge and cried loudly.

- What's happened? Rikki-tikki asked.

- A big misfortune! Darzi replied. “One of our chicks fell out of the nest yesterday and Nag swallowed it.

“Hm,” said Rikki-tikki, “it’s very sad… But I’ve been here recently… I’m not from here… Who is Nag?”

Darzi and his wife darted into the nest and did not answer, because from the thick grass, from under the bush, a low hiss was heard - a terrible, cold sound that made Rikki-tikki jump back a full two feet. Then from the grass, higher and higher, an inch by inch, the head of Nag, a huge black cobra (poisonous spectacled snake; behind, slightly below the head, it has a pattern resembling glasses. - Ed.), began to rise - and there was this Nag of five feet in length from head to tail.

When a third of his body rose above the ground, he stopped and began to sway like a dandelion in the wind, and looked at Rikki-tikki with his evil snake eyes, which always remain the same, no matter what Nag thinks about.

“Are you asking who Nag is?” Look at me and shiver! Because Nag is me...

And he inflated his hood (when the cobra is angry, it puffs up its neck so that it looks like a hood. - Ed.), And Rikki-tikki saw a spectacle mark on the hood, exactly like a steel loop from a steel hook.

Ricky was scared - for a minute. For more than one minute, mongooses are generally not afraid of anyone, and although Rikki-Tikki had never seen a live cobra, since his mother fed him dead ones, he well understood that mongooses exist in the world to fight snakes, defeat them and eat. This was known to the Nagu, and therefore there was fear in the depths of his cold heart.

- So what! - said Rikki-tikki, and his tail began to swell again. “Do you think that if you have a pattern on your back, then you have the right to swallow chicks that fall out of the nest?”

Nag was thinking about something else at that time and vigilantly peered to see if the grass was stirring behind Ricky's back. He knew that if mongooses appeared in the garden, then both he and the whole snake family would soon come to an end. But now he needed to lull the attention of the enemy. So he bent his head a little, and tilting it to one side, he said:

- Let's talk. You eat bird eggs, don't you? Why don't I eat birds?

- Behind! Behind! Look around! Darzi sang at that time.

But Rikki-tikki understood well that there was no time to stare. He jumped as high as possible and below him saw the hissing head of Nagaina, the evil wife of Naga. She crept up behind while Nag was talking to him and wanted to finish him off. She hissed because Ricky had eluded her. Ricky jumped up and fell right on her back, and if he were older, he would know that now is the time to bite her back with his teeth: one bite - and you're done! But he was afraid that she would whip him with her terrible tail. However, he bit her, but not as hard as he should have, and immediately bounced off the coils of the tail, leaving the snake furious and injured.

“Ugly, ugly Darzy!” - said Nag and stretched himself up as far as he could to reach the nest hanging on a thorn bush.

But Darzi deliberately built his nest so high that the snakes could not reach him, and the nest only swayed on the branch.

Rikki-tikki felt that his eyes were getting redder and hotter, and when the mongoose's eyes turn red, it means that he is very angry. He sat on his tail and on his hind legs, like a little kangaroo, and, looking in all directions, chattered with rage. But there was no one to fight with: Nag and Nagaina darted into the grass and disappeared.

When a snake happens to miss, it does not say a single word or show what it is going to do. Rikki-tikki didn't even try to chase the enemies, as he wasn't sure if he could handle both at once. He trotted towards the house, sat down on the sandy path, and thought deeply. Yes, and there was something.

When you happen to read old books about various animals, you will read that a mongoose stung by a snake immediately runs away and eats some kind of herb that seems to cure him of the bite. This is not true. The victory of the mongoose over the cobra is in the speed of his eyes and paws. A cobra has a bite, a mongoose has a jump.

And since no eye can follow the movement of the snake's head when it wants to sting, this jump of the mongoose is more wonderful than any magical grass.

Rikki-tikki was well aware that he was still young and inexperienced. That was why he was so glad to think that he had contrived to dodge the attack from behind. He felt great respect for himself, and when Teddy ran up to him along the garden path, he was not averse to letting the boy pet him. But just at the moment when Teddy bent over him, something flickered, writhing in the dust, and a thin voice said: “Watch out! I am death!" It was Karaite, a dusty gray snake that loves to wallow in the sand. Her sting is as poisonous as that of a cobra, but because she is small, no one notices her, and thus she brings people even more harm.

Rikki-tikki's eyes turned red again, and he, dancing, ran up to Karait with that special, uneven gait he had inherited from his forefathers. The gait is funny, but very comfortable, because it gives you the opportunity to make a jump at any angle. And when you're dealing with snakes, that's the most important thing. The duel with Karaite was even more dangerous for Ricky than the battle with Nag, because Karaite is such a small, nimble and agile snake that if Ricky does not dig into her from behind with his teeth just below the head, Karaite will certainly sting him either in the eye or in lip.

However, Ricky didn't know that. His eyes were completely reddened, he no longer thought about anything - he walked and swayed back and forth, looking for where it would be better for him to sink his teeth. Karaite ran into him. Ricky jumped sideways and wanted to bite her, but the damned dusty gray head appeared at the very back of his head, and in order to throw her off his back, he had to roll over in the air. She did not lag behind and rushed at his heels.

Teddy turned to the house and shouted:

“Come and see: our mongoose is killing a snake!”

And Rikki-tikki heard Teddin's mother scream. The boy's father ran out with a stick, but just at that time Karait made an unsuccessful dash - farther than necessary - and Rikki-tikki jumped on her and dug his teeth a little below her head, and then rolled away. Karaite immediately stopped moving, and Rikki-tikki was already preparing to eat her, starting with the tail (such is the dinner custom among mongooses), when he remembered that mongooses get heavier from hearty food and that if he wants to maintain his agility and strength, he must remain thin . He walked away and began to tumble in the dust under the castor bean bush, while Teddin's father attacked the dead woman with a stick.

“What is it for?” thought Ricky. “Because I already finished her off.”

And then Teddy's mother ran up to Rikki-tikki, picked him up right out of the dust and began to hug him tightly, shouting that he had saved her son from death, and Teddy made big eyes, and there was fear in his eyes. Ricky liked the commotion, but why it happened, of course, he could not understand. Why do they caress him so much? After all, for him to fight with snakes is the same as for Teddy somersaults in the dust - a pleasure.

When they sat down to dinner, Rikki-tikki, walking along the tablecloth among glasses and glasses, could stuff his belly three times with the most delicious delicacies, but he remembered Naga and Nagaina, and although he was very pleased that Teddin's mother was squeezing and stroking him, and that Teddy puts him on his shoulder, but his eyes were constantly reddening, and he let out his war cry: ricky-tikki-tikki-tikki-chk!

Teddy took him to his bed. The boy certainly wanted Ricky to sleep under his chin, on his chest. Ricky was a well-bred mongoose and could not bite or scratch him, but as soon as Teddy fell asleep, he got out of bed and went to travel around the house.

In the darkness, he stumbled upon the musky rat Chuchundra, who was sneaking closer to the wall.

Chuchundra has a broken heart. She's whining and whining all night and wants to muster up the courage to run out into the middle of the room. But she never has the courage.

Don't kill me, Rikki-tikki! she screamed and almost cried.

- Who kills a snake, will he bother with some musky rat! Rikki-tikki replied contemptuously.

- He who kills a snake from a snake will perish! Chuchundra said even sadder. “And who knows if Nag will kill me by mistake? He thinks I am you...

Well, he never thinks about it! Rikki-tikki said. “Besides, he’s in the garden, and you never go there.

- My cousin, the rat Chua, told me ... - Chuchundra began and fell silent.

- What did she say?

– Shh… Nag is omnipresent – ​​he is everywhere. You should have talked to my sister in the garden yourself.

But I didn't see her. Speak now! Hurry up, Chuchundra, otherwise I'll bite you.

Chuchundra sat down on her haunches and began to cry. She wept for a long time, tears flowing down her mustache.

- I'm so unhappy! she sobbed. “I never had the heart to run out into the middle of the room. Shh! But can't you hear, Rikki-tikki? It's better for me not to say anything.

Rikki-tikki listened. There was silence in the house, but it seemed to him that he could barely hear a quiet, barely audible shh, as if a wasp had passed over the glass. It was the rustle of snake scales on the brick floor.

“Either Nag, or Nagini! he decided. “Some of them are crawling down the gutter into the bathroom…”

- That's right, Chuchundra. Too bad I didn't talk to your Chua.

He crept into Teddin's washroom, but there was no one there. From there he made his way to Teddy's mother's washroom. There, in the smooth plastered wall, near the floor, a brick for the gutter was taken out, and as Ricky made his way along the stone edge of the recess into which the bath was inserted, he heard Nag and Nagini whispering behind the wall, in the moonlight.

“If there are no people in the house,” Nagaina told her husband, “he will also leave from there, and the garden will be ours again.” Go, don't worry and remember that you must first sting the Big Man who killed Karaite. Then come back to me and we'll finish off Rikki-tikki together.

“But would it be of any use to us if we killed them?”

- Still would! Huge. When the house was empty, were there mongooses here? While no one lives in the house, you and I are the kings of the whole garden: you are the king, I am the queen. Do not forget: when our children hatch from eggs on the melon bed (and this may happen tomorrow), they will need peace and comfort.

"I didn't think of that," Nag said. - Ok, I'm going. But it doesn't seem to make any sense to challenge Rikki-tikki to a fight. I will kill the Big Man and his wife, and also, if I succeed, his son, and crawl away on the sly. Then the house will be empty, and Rikki-tikki himself will leave here.

Rikki-tikki was trembling all over with indignation and rage.

Naga's head stuck through the hole, followed by five feet of his cold torso. Rikki-tikki, although he was furious, was still horrified when he saw how huge this cobra was. Nag curled up into a ring, raised his head and began to peer into the darkness of the bathroom. Rikki-tikki could see his eyes twinkle.

“If I kill him now,” thought Rikki-tikki, “Nagini will immediately know about it. Fighting in an open place is very unprofitable for me: Nag can defeat me. What should I do?"

Nag swayed right and left, and then Rikki-tikki heard him drinking water from a large jug that served to fill the bath.

- Wonderful! - said Nag, quenching his thirst. “The Big Man had a stick when he ran out to kill Karaite. Perhaps this stick is with him even now. But when he comes here this morning to wash himself, he will, of course, be without a stick... Nagina, do you hear me?... I'll wait for him here, in the chill, until dawn...

No one answered Nagu, and Rikki-Tikki realized that Nagaina had left. Nag wrapped himself around a large jug near the floor and fell asleep. And Rikki-tikki stood silent as death. An hour later, he began to move toward the jug, muscle by muscle. Ricky peered into Naga's broad back and thought about where to sink his teeth.

“If I don’t bite his neck in the first moment, he will still have the strength to fight me, and if he fights, oh Ricky!”

He looked at how thick Nag's neck was - no, he could not cope with such a neck. And to bite somewhere closer to the tail - only provoke the enemy.

“The head remains! he decided. - Head above the hood. And if you cling to it, then don’t let it go for anything. ”

He made the jump. The head of the snake lay slightly on the fly away; having bitten through it with his teeth, Rikki-tikki could rest his back against the ledge of an earthen jar and prevent his head from rising from the ground. In this way, he won only a second, but he made excellent use of this second. He made the jump. The head of the snake lay slightly on the fly away; having bitten through it with his teeth, Rikki-tikki could rest his back against the ledge of an earthen jar and prevent his head from rising from the ground. circles, but his eyes were red, and he did not leave the snake when she thrashed him on the floor, scattering tin ladles, soap dishes, brushes in different directions, and beat him against the edges of the metal bath.

He clenched his jaw tighter and tighter, because although he thought that his death had come, he decided to meet her without opening his teeth. This was required by the honor of his family.

He was dizzy, nauseous, and felt as if he had been smashed to pieces. Suddenly, behind him, it was as if thunder struck, and a hot whirlwind rushed at him and knocked him down, and red fire seared his fur. This Big Man, awakened by the noise, came running with a hunting rifle, fired from both barrels at once and hit Nagu in the place where his hood ends. Rikki-tikki lay with his teeth clenched, and his eyes were closed, as he considered himself dead.

But the snake head no longer moved. The Big Man lifted Ricky off the ground and said:

– Look, our mongoose again. That night, Alice, he saved us from death - both you and me.

Then Teddin's mother came in with a very white face and saw what was left of Naga. And Rikki-tikki somehow dragged himself to Teddin's bedroom and all night did nothing but shake himself, as if wanting to check whether it was true that his body was broken into forty pieces, or it only seemed to him so in battle.

When morning came, he seemed to be frozen all over, but he was very pleased with his exploits.

“Now I have to finish off Nagaina, and this is more difficult than dealing with a dozen Nagas ... And then there are these eggs that she was talking about. I don't even know when they'll hatch into baby serpents... Damn it! I'll go and talk to Darzi."

Without waiting for breakfast, Rikki-tikki rushed with all his might to the thorn bush. Darzi sat in the nest and sang a joyful victory song with all his might. The whole garden already knew about Nag's death because the janitor threw his body into the dump.

- Oh, you stupid bunch of feathers! Rikki-tikki said angrily. Is now the time for songs?

“Nag is dead, dead, dead!” Darzi spluttered. - The brave Rikki-tikki dug his teeth into him! And the Big Man brought a stick that makes bam, and broke the Naga in two, two, two! Never again will Nagu devour my children!

"It's all true," said Rikki-tikki. - But where is Nagaina? And he looked around carefully.

And Darzi continued to pour:

- Nagini came to the drainpipe,

And Naga Nagaina called to herself,

But the watchman took Nag on a stick

And threw Naga in the landfill.

Glory, glory, great

Red-eyed hero Rikki-tikki! ..

And Darzi repeated his victory song again.

- If I could get to your nest, I would throw out all the chicks from there! shouted Rikki-tikki. “Or don’t you know that everything has its time?” It’s good for you to sing upstairs, but I don’t have time for songs down here: I need to go to war again! Stop singing for a minute.

- Well, I'm ready to shut up for you - for the hero, for the beautiful Ricky! Whatever the Vicious Naga's Conqueror wants?

- For the third time I ask you: where is Nagaina?

- Above the garbage heap, she is at the stable, she is crying about Naga ... Great white-toothed Ricky! ..

Leave my white teeth alone! Do you know where she hid the eggs?

- At the very edge, on a melon ridge, under a fence, where the sun is all day until sunset ... Many weeks have passed since she buried these eggs ...

“And you didn’t even think to tell me about it!” So under the fence, at the very edge?

“Rikki-tikki won’t go and swallow those eggs!”

- No, do not swallow, but ... Darzee, if you have even a drop of mind left, fly right now to the stable and pretend that your wing is broken, and let Nagini chase you to this bush, understand? I have to get to the melon patch, and if I go there now, she'll notice.

Darzi had a bird's mind, his tiny head never contained more than one thought at once. And since he knew that the children of Nagaina, like his chicks, are hatched from eggs, he thought that it was not entirely noble to exterminate them. But his wife was smarter. She knew that every egg of a cobra is the same cobra, and therefore she immediately flew out of the nest, and left Darzi at home: let her warm the babies and bawl her songs about the death of Naga. Darzi was in many ways like any other man.

Arriving at the garbage heap, she began to fidget a few steps from Nagini and at the same time shouted loudly:

- Oh, my wing is broken! The boy who lives in the house threw a stone at me and broke my wing!

And she flapped her wings even more desperately. Nagini raised her head and hissed:

“Did you let Rikki-tikki know that I wanted to sting him?” You chose a bad place to limp!

And she glided over the dusty ground to Darzi's wife.

- The boy interrupted him with a stone! Darzi's wife continued to shout.

“Okay, maybe you'll be pleased to know that when you're dead, I'll deal with this boy in my own way. Today, since dawn, my husband has been lying on this garbage heap, but even before sunset, the boy living in the house will also lie very still ... But where are you going? Are you thinking of running away? You won't leave me anyway. Stupid, look at me!

But Darzi's wife knew very well that she should not do this, because as soon as any bird looked into the eyes of a snake, tetanus attacked the bird with fright and she could not move. Darzi's wife rushed away, squeaking plaintively and flapping her wings helplessly. She never fluttered above the ground, and Nagini rushed after her faster and faster.

Rikki-tikki heard that they were running from the stable along the garden path, and he rushed to the melon patch, to the edge that was right next to the fence. There, in the swollen earth that covers the melons, he found twenty-five snake eggs, very skillfully hidden, each as large as a bantam egg (a chicken of a small breed. - Ed.), only instead of a shell they are covered with a whitish peel.

One more day and it would be too late! - said Rikki-tikki, as he saw that inside the peel lay, curled up, tiny cobras.

He knew that from the minute they hatched from the egg, each could kill a man and a mongoose. Darzee and Rikki-Tikki-TaviHe began to quickly, quickly bite the tops of the eggs, grabbing the heads of the kites, and at the same time did not forget to dig up the ridge here and there, so as not to miss any egg unnoticed.

There were only three eggs left, and Rikki-tikki was already giggling with joy when Darzi's wife shouted to him:

- Rikki-tikki, I lured Nagini to the house, and Nagini crawled onto the veranda! Oh, hurry, hurry! She's plotting murder!

Rikki-tikki bit into two more eggs, and the third took in his teeth and rushed to the veranda.

Teddy and his mother and father were sitting on the veranda at breakfast. But Rikki-tikki noticed that they didn't eat anything. They sat as still as stone, and their faces were white. And on the mat near Teddy's chair, Nagini writhed in rings. She crawled so close that she could sting Teddy's bare leg at any time. Swinging in different directions, she sang a victory song.

“Son of the Big Man who killed the Naga,” she hissed, “wait a little, sit still and don't move. I'm not ready yet. And all three of you sit quietly. If you move, I will sting him. If you don't move, I'll sting too. O foolish people who killed the Naga.

Teddy fixed his eyes on his father, and his father could only whisper:

“Sit down and don't move, Teddy. Sit down and don't move! Then Rikki-tikki ran up and shouted:

- Turn to me, Nagini, turn and let's fight!

- All in good time! she answered without looking at Rikki-tikki. - I'll get even with you later. In the meantime, look at your dear friends. How quiet they are and what white faces they have. They were frightened, they dare not move. And if you take one step, I'll sting.

“Look at your kites,” said Rikki-tikki, “there, by the fence, on the melon ridge.” Go and see what has become of them.

The snake looked sideways and saw an egg on the veranda.

- ABOUT! Give it to me! she screamed.

Rikki-tikki put an egg between his front paws, and his eyes turned red as blood.

“And what is the ransom for the snake egg?” For a little cobra? For the cobra princess? For the very, very last of the kind? The rest are already being devoured by ants on the melon bed.

Nagini turned to Rikki-tikki. The egg made her forget everything, and Rikki-tikki saw Teddin's father reach out with a big hand, grab Teddy by the shoulder and drag him across the teacup-lined table to a place where the snake couldn't reach him.

- Deceived! Deceived! Deceived! Rikk-chk-chk! Rikki-tikki teased her. - The boy remained intact - and I, I, I grabbed your Naga by the scruff tonight ... there, in the bathroom ... yes!

Then he began to jump up and down with all four paws at once, folding them into one bundle and pressing his head to the floor.

“Nag swung me in all directions, but he couldn’t shake me off!” He was already lifeless when the Big Man split him in two with a stick. I killed him, Rikki-tikki-chk-chk! Come out, Nagini! Come out and fight me. You won't be a widow for long!

Nagini saw that she could no longer kill Teddy, and Rikki-Tikki had an egg between her paws.

“Give me the egg, Rikki-tikki!” Give me my last egg and I'll go and never come back,” she said, lowering her hood.

- Yes, you will leave and never return, Nagini, because you will soon lie next to your Nag on a garbage heap. Rather fight with me! Big Man has already gone for the gun. Fight with me, Nagini!

Rikki-tikki fussed around Nagini at such a distance that she could not touch him, and his small eyes were like hot coals.

Nagini curled up into a ball and with all her strength flew at him. And he jumped up and back. Again, and again, and again her attacks were repeated, and each time her head slammed against the mat, and she coiled again like a clock spring. Rikki-tikki danced in a circle, wanting to go around her from behind, but Nagini turned every time to meet him face to face, and that's why her tail rustled on the mat, like dry leaves driven by the wind.

He forgot about the egg. It still lay on the veranda, and Nagini crept closer and closer to him. Finally, when Ricky stopped to catch his breath, she picked up the egg and slithered down the steps of the porch, darting down the path like an arrow. Rikki-tikki - behind her. When a cobra flees from death, it makes such twists as a whip, which is used to whip a horse's neck.

Rikki-tikki knew that he had to catch up with her, otherwise all the troubles would start again.

She rushed to the thorn bush to flicker into the thick grass, and Rikki-tikki, running, heard that Darzee was still singing his stupid song of victory. But Darzi's wife was smarter than him. She flew out of the nest and flapped her wings over Nagini's head. If Darzi had flown to her aid, they might have forced the cobra to swerve. Now Nagini only slightly lowered her hood and continued to crawl straight ahead. But this slight hitch brought Rikki-tikki closer to her. When she darted into the hole where she and Nag lived, Ricky's white teeth grabbed her tail, and Ricky squeezed in after her, and, really, not every mongoose, even the smartest and oldest, will decide to follow the cobra into the hole.

It was dark in the hole, and Rikki-tikki could not guess where it would expand so much that Nagini would turn around and sting him. Therefore, he fiercely dug into her tail and, acting with his paws as brakes, with all his might rested on the sloping, wet, warm earth.

Soon the grass stopped swaying at the entrance to the hole, and Darzi said:

- Missing Rikki-tikki! We must sing his funeral song. Fearless Rikki-tikki died. Nagini will kill him in his dungeon, there is no doubt about that.

And he sang a very sad song, which he composed at the same moment, but as soon as he reached the saddest place, the grass above the hole stirred again, and from there, covered with mud, climbed out, licking his mustache, Rikki-tikki. Darzi cried out softly and stopped his song.

Rikki-tikki shook off the dust and sneezed.

“It's all over,” he said. “The widow will never come out of there again.

And the red ants that live between the stalks of grass immediately began to descend into the hole one after another to find out if he was telling the truth.

Rikki-tikki curled up in a ball and immediately, in the grass, without leaving his place, fell asleep - and slept, and slept, and slept until evening, because his work was not easy that day.

And when he awoke from his sleep, he said:

“Now I will go home. You, Darzi, inform the blacksmith, and he will inform the whole garden that Nagini has already died.

The blacksmith is a bird. The sounds it makes are just like hammer blows on a copper basin. This is because she serves as herald in every Indian garden and brings news to anyone who wishes to listen to her.

As he walked along the garden path, Rikki-tikki heard her first trill, like the sound of a tiny dinner gong. It meant: "Shut up and listen!" And then loudly and firmly:

“Ding dong tok!” Nag is dead! Dong! Nagini is dead! Ding dong tok!

And immediately all the birds in the garden sang and all the frogs croaked, because Nag and Nagaina ate both birds and frogs.

When Ricky approached the house, Teddy and Teddin's mother (she was still very pale) and Teddin's father rushed to meet him and almost cried. This time he ate well, and when it was time for bed he sat on Teddy's shoulder and went to bed with the boy. There his mother saw Teddin, having come to visit her son late in the evening.

“This is our savior,” she said to her husband. “Just think: he saved Teddy and you and me.

Rikki-tikki immediately woke up and even jumped, because mongoose sleep is very sensitive.

- Oh, it's you! - he said. “What else do you need to worry about: not a single cobra is left alive, and if they were, I’m here.

Rikki-tikki had the right to be proud of himself. But still he did not put on too much air and, like a true mongoose, guarded this garden with a tooth, and a claw, and a leap, and a swoop, so that not a single cobra dared to poke his head here through the fence.