Page 94 - English Expedition Class 2

He heard Nag drinking from the water jar that was used to fill the bath and talking
to himself, ‘The big man has a stick,’ said Nag, ‘but when he comes to bathe in the
morning he will not have one. I shall wait here till he comes. Nagaina, do you hear
me? I shall wait here in the cool till daytime.’

There was no answer from outside, so Rikki-tikki understood that Nagaina had
gone away. Nag quietly waited at the bottom of the water jar and Rikki-tikki stayed
still.
After an hour Rikki-tikki began to move slowly towards

the jar. Nag was asleep and Rikki-tikki looked at him
wondering which would be the best place to bite him.
‘I must bite the head,’ he said at last, ‘and once
I do, I must not let go.’

Then Rikki-tikki jumped and caught Nag’s
head in between his teeth. Immediately he
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was battered to and fro and up and down
and around in great circles. His eyes were
red but he held on to Nag even as his
body hit the floor and banged against
the bathtub. As he held on to the
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snake’s head, he closed his jaws tighter and tighter. He was dizzy , aching and felt
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shaken to pieces when he heard something like a thunderclap just behind him.
The noise had woken Teddy’s father. He had come running with his gun and had
shot Nag just behind the hood. Rikki-tikki held on tightly with his eyes shut. He
was sure that he was dead. Teddy’s father picked him up and said to his wife, ‘It’s the

mongoose, Alice. The little chap has saved our lives.’

Rudyard Kipling (adapted)

Rudyard Kipling (1865–1936) was a famous British journalist
and author. He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1907. His most
famous works are The Jungle Book and Kim.

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battered: hit repeatedly dizzy: having a spinning sensation; mentally confused
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to and fro: backwards and forwards thunderclap: a sudden, loud sound
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