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丛林故事|The Jungle Book

瑞吉-倜吉-塔威|“Rikki-Tikki-Tavi”

属类： 双语小说 【分类】儿童读物 -[作者: 拉迪亚德-吉卜林] 阅读：[24042]
是二十世纪初英国著名作家拉迪亚德·吉卜林的早期代表作，亦为其最有影响和最受欢迎的作品，一百年来被翻译成各种文字，在世界上广为流传。全书由七部中篇小说结集而成，前三部描述了“狼孩”莫格利在丛林和人类社会中丰富的生活经历，后四部独立的故事塑造了锲而不舍的白海豹科蒂克，忠诚勇敢的猫鼬瑞基—迪基—台维，渴望自由的大象卡拉纳格，以及性格迥异的军营动物等众多令人难忘的形象，故事情节惊险曲折、引人入胜。
《 字+字- 行+行- 页+页- 字+字- 行+行- 页+页- 》
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“红眼”一进洞，

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便冲着“皱皮”喊一通。

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听听小红眼咋叮嘱：

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“纳格，来跟死亡跳个舞！”

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眼对眼，头对头

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（踏好舞步，纳格）。

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跳到一个死掉才罢休

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（随你的意愿，纳格）。

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转对转，扭对扭

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（该溜就溜，该闪就闪，纳格）。

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哈！戴兜帽的死亡失了手

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（遭殃吧你，纳格）！

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这个故事说的是瑞吉-倜吉-塔威单枪匹马打了一场大仗，战场就是塞高里兵站大平房的几间浴室。长尾巴缝叶莺达兹给他通风报信，麝香鼠楚纯德拉虽然老是贴着墙根蹑手蹑脚踅摸来踅摸去，从未到过地中央，却也为他出谋划策，不过真正浴血奋战的却是瑞吉-倜吉自己。

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他是一只獴，皮毛和尾巴长得却像一只小猫，脑袋和生活习惯又很像一只黄鼠狼。他的眼睛和不安分的鼻尖儿粉红粉红的，他能随心所欲地用腿搔身体的任何一个部位，前腿后腿都行，他能抖开自己的尾巴，让它瞧上去活像一把瓶刷子。他在高高的草丛中匆匆忙忙东奔西跑，同时发出“瑞吉-倜吉-倜吉-倜吉-嚓克！”这样的呐喊。

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一天，仲夏的一场洪水冲进了他和爸爸妈妈一起居住的地洞，把他冲了出来。他又踢又蹬，啧啧咯咯，被洪水裹挟到路旁的一条沟里。他看见那儿漂浮着一绺儿青草，便死命地抓住它，然后就失去了知觉。他醒来时，已经躺在一条花园小路的中央，火辣辣的太阳照在他身上，他浑身脏兮兮、湿漉漉的。一个小男孩正在说话：“这里有一只死獴。我们给他弄个葬礼吧。”

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“等等，”他妈妈说，“我们把他抓到屋子里去，给他把身子弄干。他不一定就真死了呢。”

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他们把他带进屋里，一个大个子男人用拇指和食指把他拎起来，说他没有死，只是被水呛昏了。他们用棉絮把他裹起来，再把他在小火上烤一烤暖和暖和，他睁开了眼睛，打了个喷嚏。

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“成啦，”那个大个子说（他是个英国人，刚刚搬进平房），“别吓着他，我们看他怎么办。”

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世界上最难的事就数要吓着一只獴了，因为他从鼻头到尾巴都充满了好奇。獴族的家训是“走走瞧瞧，探个究竟”，况且瑞吉-倜吉是一只真正的獴。他瞅了瞅棉絮，认定那可不是什么好吃的东西，就绕着桌子转了转，然后坐了下来，理顺自己的皮毛，挠了挠痒痒，接着就跳到了小男孩的肩头上。

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“特迪，别怕，”他爸爸说，“这表明他要和你交朋友了。”

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“哎呀！他搔得我下巴痒酥酥的。”特迪说。

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瑞吉-倜吉在男孩的领子和脖子那儿瞧了瞧，又嗅了嗅他的耳朵，然后爬下来坐在地板上，揉了揉鼻子。

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“天哪，”特迪的妈妈说，“这可是个野生动物呀！我想我们待他好，他才这么乖。”

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“所有的獴都这样。”她丈夫说。“只要特迪不揪着他的尾巴把他拎起来，不把他关进笼子里，他会一天到晚在屋子里跑进跑出的。我们给他点儿吃的吧。”

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他们给了他一小块生肉，瑞吉-倜吉可喜欢了，美美地吃完以后，便跑到外面的走廊上，坐着晒太阳。他抖开身上的毛，把它们完全晾干，于是他感觉好多了。

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“这幢房子还有更多的东西有待发现，”他自言自语道，“这可比我们一家子一辈子能见识到的东西还多呢。我当然要住下来，好好观察一番。”

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那一整天他都在屋子里晃悠。他差点儿淹死在浴缸里。他把鼻子伸进写字台上的墨水瓶里还嫌不够，为了弄清写字是怎么回事，他居然还爬到大个子的大腿上，被大个子的雪茄烟头烧着了鼻子。天黑以后，他跑到特迪的小房间里观察煤油灯是怎么点亮的。就连特迪上床，瑞吉-倜吉也跟着爬上床，不过他可是一个特别不安分的伙伴，整个晚上一有响动，他都要起来弄明白这些声音是什么东西发出来的。特迪妈妈、爸爸进来了，睡觉前的最后一件事就是要看看他们的孩子。瑞吉-倜吉正躺在枕头上，醒着。“我可不喜欢这样，”特迪的妈妈说：“他说不定会咬咱们的孩子的。”“他才不会做这种事呢，”爸爸说，“特迪跟这个小家伙在一起比被一只猎犬看着还安全呢。要是现在有条蛇爬进这个小房间——”

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不过特迪的妈妈可不愿意想这种可怕的事情。

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一大清早，瑞吉-倜吉就骑到特迪的肩膀上，来到走廊吃早餐，他们给他吃香蕉和煮鸡蛋，他在三个人的大腿上轮流坐了一遍。其实每一只受过良好教养的獴都渴望有一天成为家獴，有许多房间可以进进出出，逛逛转转。瑞吉-倜吉的妈妈（她过去就住在塞高里的将军的家里）仔仔细细地教过他遇到白人时该怎么办。

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接下来，瑞吉-倜吉来到花园里瞧瞧有什么可看的。这是个大花园，只栽植了一半，大簇大簇的黄玫瑰看上去有凉亭那么大，还有柠檬树、橙子树，成片的竹林和稠密高大的草丛。瑞吉-倜吉舔了舔嘴唇，“这真是个呱呱叫的捕猎场。”他说，想到这里，他的尾巴“唰”地一下竖得像瓶刷一样，他开始急匆匆地在花园里跑上跑下，这儿嗅嗅，那儿嗅嗅。这时，他听到荆棘丛中传来伤心的哭声，那是长尾巴缝叶莺达兹和他的妻子在哭。他们把两大片树叶扯到一起，还用纤维把叶子边缝起来，里面填满了棉花和绒毛，建成了一个漂亮的窝。现在，这个窝却在摇摇晃晃，他们坐在窝边上哭呢。

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“怎么啦？”瑞吉-倜吉问道。

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“我们真是太惨了，”达兹说，“我们的一个小宝宝昨天掉到窝外面，让纳格吃掉了。”

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“嗯！”瑞吉-倜吉说，“这确实叫人伤心——不过我初来乍到，谁是纳格呀？”

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达兹和妻子没有作声，只是把脑袋缩回到窝里，因为这时从矮树丛下密密的草丛里传来了轻轻的咝咝声。这声音冷森森的，瘆人，瑞吉-倜吉往后一蹦子跳了足足有两英尺。随后，草丛里慢慢地抬起一个脑袋，纳格抻出了脖子上胀鼓鼓的兜帽，那是一条黑色的大眼镜蛇，从舌头到尾巴居然有五英尺长。他把身子的三分之一从地面抬起来后，就前摇后晃让自己保持平衡，做法绝像风中的蒲公英。他用邪恶的蛇眼盯着瑞吉-倜吉。无论蛇心里在盘算什么，他们的眼神是从来不会改变的。

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“谁是纳格？”他说，“我就是纳格。当第一条眼镜蛇张开兜帽为睡着的大神梵天遮挡日晒时，梵天就把他的印记印在了我们所有的家族成员身上。看吧，吓坏了吧！”

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他把兜帽鼓起来，鼓得比任何时候都大，瑞吉-倜吉看到了他颈后眼镜状的印记，它看上去就像紧紧系上的钩眼扣的眼孔。一时间他害怕了，不过一只獴可不会老这样害怕下去，虽然瑞吉-倜吉以前从没有见过活眼镜蛇，他妈妈却喂他吃过死眼镜蛇，他懂得獴长大后毕生的事业就是斗蛇吃蛇。纳格也知道这一点，在他冷酷的心底里，其实是很害怕的。

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“好，”瑞吉-倜吉的尾巴又重新“唰”地一下竖了起来，“不管你有印记还是没有印记，你觉得吃掉从鸟窝里掉出来的雏鸟合适吗？”

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纳格心里暗暗算计着，眼睛则盯着瑞吉-倜吉身后草丛里的最轻微的动静。他知道花园里有了獴，就意味着他和他的家人早晚都得丢掉性命，不过他要瑞吉-倜吉放松警觉，因此他稍稍低下脑袋，把它转向了一边。

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“咱们有话好好说，”他说，“你可以吃蛋，我干吗就不能吃鸟呢？”

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“你后面，小心你后面！”达兹大声啼叫道。

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瑞吉-倜吉没有浪费时间看后面，他很清楚应该做什么。他使出全身气力腾空跃起，就在他身子下面，纳格恶毒的妻子纳格娜的脑袋正嗖地一下蹿过去。他说话的时候，她就偷偷摸摸地爬在他身后，企图了结他的性命，他能听到她偷袭失败后发出的恶狠狠的咝咝声。他落下时差点儿碰着她的背。要是他是一只有经验的老獴，他就懂得这是一口咬断蛇背的最佳时机，不过他却害怕眼镜蛇回击时的那一下可怕的抽打。他倒是真咬了一口，可就是那么轻轻一下，他就跳走避开飞扫过来的蛇尾巴，扔下纳格娜在那里气急败坏。

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“可恶，可恶的达兹！”纳格嚷道，他拼命地往高处抽打，妄图碰到荆棘中的鸟窝。可是达兹把窝建在蛇够不着的地方，它只是前后晃荡了几下。

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瑞吉-倜吉感觉到自己的眼睛变得又热又红（獴的眼睛变红时，表示他是真的气坏了），他像一只小袋鼠那样，坐到自己的尾巴和后腿上，向四周扫了一眼，气得吱吱大叫。可是，纳格和纳格娜已经消失在草丛里了。一条蛇袭击失败后，会一声不吭，对下步要采取的行动绝不会透露任何蛛丝马迹。不过瑞吉-倜吉才不想跟踪他们呢，一次对付两条蛇，他可没有把握。所以他急匆匆地跑到靠近房子的碎石小路上，他需要坐在那里好好想一想。对他来说，这可是件非同小可的事情。要是你读过一些写自然史的老书，你会发现书里面说，獴在和蛇大战时，碰巧被蛇咬了，他会跑开去吃一些能解毒的草药。这种说法根本不对。胜利的关键取决于眼快脚快——蛇的袭击跟獴的跳跃的竞赛——谁的眼睛都跟不上蛇脑袋进攻时的动作。这就让事情看起来比神奇的草药奇妙得多。瑞吉-倜吉明白自己还是一只年轻的獴，想到自己能成功躲过后面的袭击就更加得意了。他也信心十足了。特迪跑到小路上来时，瑞吉-倜吉早就准备好享受他的爱抚了。但就在特迪弯下腰的那一刻，有一个东西在尘土里扭动了一下，一个细微的声音说话了：“小心，我是死神！”那是克埃特，一条满身灰土的棕色小蛇，他就喜欢躺在虚土地上，咬起人来和眼镜蛇一样毒。不过他这么小，谁也没有在意他，因而他对人的伤害反而更大。

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瑞吉-倜吉的眼睛又变红了，他用一种奇特的摇摆晃动的姿势跳到克埃特面前，这可是他家传下来的动作，虽然看上去滑稽可笑，却是一种完美平衡的步态，你可以随心所欲地从任何角度飞出，对付蛇这可是一种优势呢。瑞吉-倜吉不知道他在做一件比大战纳格更危险的事情。克埃特这么小，转身又这么快，要不是瑞吉咬到靠近他后脑勺的部位，瑞吉会被他转身击中眼睛或嘴唇的。不过瑞吉根本不知道这一点，他眼睛红透了，他前后晃动，寻找合适的地方咬住敌人。克埃特出击了。瑞吉跳到一旁，还想继续扑上去，那只恶毒的满是灰尘的灰脑袋迅速一甩，差点儿就击中他的肩头，瑞吉只好跳过蛇的身子，但蛇脑袋又紧跟着到了他的脚后跟。

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特迪朝着屋子大喊：“啊，快来看呀！我们的獴正杀蛇呢。”瑞吉-倜吉听到特迪的妈妈那儿传来一声尖叫。他爸爸拿着棍子跑了出来，不过他赶到跟前时，克埃特的一次冲刺用力过猛，瑞吉-倜吉纵身一跃，跳到了蛇背上，脑袋勾到前腿中间，尽量抓到蛇背的上方，死死咬住，然后他滚到了一边。就是那一口让克埃特完全瘫痪下来，瑞吉-倜吉本想按照他家族的进餐习惯，从尾到头把他整个吃掉，忽然又想到吃得太饱，会让獴行动迟缓，想让自己所有的精气神和敏捷度都处于最后的战备状态，他必须得让自己保持苗条。他走到蓖麻灌木丛下，洗了个尘土浴，特迪的爸爸正在那儿打那只死了的克埃特。“这有什么用？”瑞吉-倜吉心想，“我已经把问题彻底解决了。”特迪的妈妈把他从尘土里抓起来，搂着他，呜呜咽咽地说他救了特迪的命；特迪的爸爸说他是天兵天将；特迪眼睛睁得大大的，一脸恐惧地看着这一切。瑞吉-倜吉被他们的大惊小怪逗乐了，他当然不懂得这些。特迪的妈妈因为特迪在尘土地上玩，对儿子加以爱抚，这也在情理之中，瑞吉却打心眼里感到高兴。

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那天晚上吃晚饭时，他在桌上的酒杯中间来回穿梭，他本来可以让肚子塞进三倍好吃的东西，不过他还记得纳格和纳格娜。尽管他被特迪的妈妈一直拍着，摸着，还可以坐在特迪的肩膀上，这些都舒服极了，但是他的眼睛时不时变得红彤彤的，他还发出了长长的呐喊：“瑞吉-倜吉-倜吉-倜吉-嚓克！”

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特迪把瑞吉-倜吉带上床，一定要让他睡在自己的下巴底下。瑞吉-倜吉受过良好的教养，他既不会咬人也不会抓人，可等到特迪一睡熟，他就出去绕着屋子巡夜去了。在黑暗中他遇到了麝香鼠楚纯德拉，他正贴着墙根转悠。楚纯德拉是只心碎了的小动物，他整晚都哭哭啼啼，吱吱呀呀地叫，想下决心跑到房间中央去，但他从来都没到过那儿。

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“不要杀我，”楚纯德拉说，眼泪都要流下来了，“瑞吉-倜吉，不要杀我。”

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“你认为杀蛇的猎手会杀一只麝香鼠吗？”瑞吉-倜吉有点儿瞧不起他。

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“那些杀蛇的会被蛇杀的，”楚纯德拉更加伤心地说，“我怎么能确定黑夜里纳格不会把我错当成了你？”

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“这没有一丁点儿危险，”瑞吉-倜吉说，“纳格在花园里，可我知道你是不会到那儿去的。”

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“我的表哥，老鼠楚阿，对我说——”楚纯德拉说到这儿，又打住了。

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“对你说什么？”

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“嘘！瑞吉-倜吉。纳格无处不在呢。你应该去和花园里的楚阿谈谈。”

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“我不去——你得告诉我。快，楚纯德拉，要不我可要咬你啦！”

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楚纯德拉坐下来，哭了起来，眼泪吧嗒吧嗒从胡须上滚下来。“我是个可怜虫，”他呜呜咽咽地说，“我一辈子都没有胆量跑到房间中央去。嘘！我什么都不应该对你说。瑞吉-倜吉，你听见了吗？”

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瑞吉-倜吉听着。屋子里静悄悄的，但他想他能听到世界上最细微的刮擦声——那声音轻微得就像一只黄蜂在窗玻璃上爬——那是蛇鳞在砌砖上发出的干涩的刮擦声。

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“那不是纳格就是纳格娜，”他自言自语地说，“他正爬向浴室的水槽。楚纯德拉，你是对的，我应该跟楚阿谈谈。”

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他悄悄地溜到特迪的浴室，那儿却什么都没有，接着他又溜进特迪妈妈的浴室。在光滑的灰泥墙底部，有一块砖被抽出来，留作排放洗澡水的水槽。瑞吉-倜吉悄悄地溜到浴缸的边上，听到纳格和纳格娜在外面的月光下悄声细语。

59
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“要是这幢房子没有人了，”纳格娜对她丈夫说，“他也就得离开了，那时花园又归咱俩了。悄悄进去，记住首先要咬死那个杀死克埃特的大个子，然后出来告诉我，我们一块儿去找瑞吉-倜吉。”

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“不过你能肯定杀死人以后我们会得到什么吗？”纳格问。

61
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“应有尽有啊。平房里没有了人，花园里哪会有獴？只要平房空了，我们就是花园里的国王和王后。别忘了，我们在瓜地里的蛋孵化出来后（可能明天就孵出来了），我们的孩子就需要地方，也需要安安静静的环境。”

62
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“我可没想到这一点，”纳格说，“我这就去，不过咱们以后就用不着找瑞吉-倜吉了。我会杀了大个子和他的老婆，可能的话，也杀了那个孩子，然后就悄悄溜掉。平房空了，瑞吉-倜吉也就走了。”

63
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听到这番话，瑞吉-倜吉恨得直咬牙，气得直发抖。就在那时，纳格的头伸出水槽，后面就是他那五英尺长的冰冷冷的身子。尽管瑞吉-倜吉气得牙痒痒，看到这么大个头的眼镜蛇，心里还是很害怕。纳格盘起身子，抬起头，盯着黑洞洞的浴室，瑞吉-倜吉看得见他眼珠子冒着寒光。

64
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“要是我这会儿在这儿把他杀了，纳格娜就会知道。但要是我在空地板上跟他拼命，他又占优势，我该怎么办呢？”瑞吉-倜吉-塔威说道。

65
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纳格摇来晃去，瑞吉-倜吉听见他在那个用来给澡盆加水的大水罐里喝水。“真是不错啊，”蛇说，“克埃特死的时候，大个子拿着根棍子，他很可能还会随身带着那根棍子。不过早上他来洗澡时是不可能带棍子的，我就在这儿等他。纳格娜——你听到我说话了吗？我要在这儿凉快凉快，等到天亮。”

66
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外面没有应答声，瑞吉-倜吉也就知道纳格娜已经走开了。纳格蜷下身子，绕着大水罐肚子的底部盘了一圈又一圈。瑞吉-倜吉守在那儿，像死了一样，一动也不动。一个钟头以后，他才屏住呼吸，一点儿一点儿地向水罐移过去。纳格已经熟睡了，瑞吉-倜吉瞅瞅他那肥肥的大后背，琢磨着下口的最佳位置，好把他紧紧咬住。“要是我头一跳咬不断他的背，”瑞吉心想，“他还能反抗。要是他反抗——我的妈呀，瑞吉！”他看了看兜帽下面脖子的厚度，对他来说，这可真粗啊。不过如果他在靠近尾巴的那儿咬一口，只会让纳格更加凶猛。

67
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“只有在脑袋上下口，”他最后决定，“兜帽上面的脑袋。而且，一旦咬住了，我就决不能松口。”

68
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说时迟那时快，他猛地一跃。蛇脑袋就在水罐肚子底下，离水罐非常近的地方。他牙齿紧紧咬住，用背顶住红色陶器的大肚子，使劲儿压住蛇脑袋。他赢得了一秒钟，并且充分予以利用。后来，他就像一只被狗叼着摇来晃去的耗子，被蛇连续地甩击——在地上，前前后后，上上下下，甩了一个大圈又一个大圈。蛇的身子就像车鞭子在地板上甩打，打翻了长柄锡勺、肥皂盒和搓澡刷子，又重重地撞在浴缸的铁皮边上。瑞吉的眼睛红彤彤的，他咬紧牙关，就是不松口。他的牙关越咬越紧，他相信自己就要被撞死了，可是为了家族的荣耀，他情愿自己的尸体被人发现时，牙关依然紧锁。他头晕目眩，痛到极点，觉得自己已经被晃得粉身碎骨了。就在这当口，他的身后像打了一个霹雳，一股热浪冲得他不省人事，红红的火焰燎焦了他的皮毛。原来大个子被喧闹声吵醒，拿起双筒猎枪，朝着纳格兜帽的背后就是一枪。

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瑞吉-倜吉还是没有松口，眼睛紧紧闭着，他现在确定自己已经死了。蛇脑袋一动不动了，大个子把他抓起来，大声叫道：“艾丽丝，又是这只獴；这次，这小家伙救了我们全家的性命。”特迪的妈妈跑了进来，看到了纳格的残骸，脸色吓得惨白。瑞吉-倜吉拖着沉重的身子回到了特迪的卧室，用了后半夜剩下的一半时间来轻轻地晃动自己的身子，看看是不是真如他想的那样，自己被摔成四十瓣儿了。

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天亮时，他浑身仍然硬僵僵的，不过他对自己的所作所为感到由衷的高兴。“现在我只剩下纳格娜要对付了，可她比五个纳格还要凶恶。我不知道她说的蛋蛇会什么时候孵出来。我的天啊！我得去看看达兹才行。”他说。

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等不及吃早饭，瑞吉-倜吉就跑到荆棘丛那儿去了，达兹扯着嗓门在那儿高歌胜利呢。纳格死掉的消息已经传遍花园，原来清洁工早把他的尸体扔到垃圾堆里去了。

72
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“喂，你这浑身长羽毛的傻瓜蛋！”瑞吉-倜吉怒气冲冲地说道，“现在是唱歌的时候吗？”

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“纳格死啦——死啦——死啦！”达兹唱道，“英勇的瑞吉-倜吉咬住他的脑袋，决不松口。大个子拿起‘砰砰’棒，纳格分成两段了！他再也不会吃我的宝宝了！”

74
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“千真万确，但纳格娜到底在哪儿呢？”瑞吉-倜吉嘴在说话，眼睛却在仔细地查看着四周。

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“纳格娜来到浴室的水槽旁，喊纳格，”达兹还在喋喋不休，“纳格出来了，却在棍子尖儿上——清洁工把他挑在棍子尖儿上，扔进了垃圾堆。大家为伟大的红眼睛瑞吉-倜吉一起唱歌！”达兹放声高歌。

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“要是我能爬到你的窝里，我保管会把你的孩子给扔出来！”瑞吉-倜吉说，“你永远不清楚要在恰当的时候做恰当的事情。你待在窝里可以高枕无忧，我在下面还有一场硬仗要打。达兹，你就别唱了吧。”

77
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“看在伟大的、英俊的瑞吉-倜吉的面子上，我就停下来。”达兹说道，“噢，杀死十恶不赦的纳格的勇士，什么事呀？”

78
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“纳格娜在哪儿？我第三次问你了。”

79
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“在马厩旁边的垃圾堆上哭丧呢。英明的瑞吉-倜吉，牙齿洁白又漂亮。”

80
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“少管我的白牙！你有没有听说过她把蛇蛋藏在哪儿吗？”

81
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“离墙最近那头的瓜地里，那儿几乎整天都可以晒着太阳。好几个星期前，她就把蛋藏在那儿啦。”

82
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“你就从没想过应当告诉我一声？是最靠墙的那头，对吧？”

83
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“瑞吉-倜吉，你该不是要把她的蛋吃了吧？”

84
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“确切地说，不是吃，不是。达兹，要是你有一丁点儿头脑的话，你就飞到马厩那儿，装作翅膀断了，让纳格娜追你，一直追到荆棘丛这边来。我得到瓜地去了，要是我现在就去，她会发现我的。”

85
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达兹是个小糊涂虫，脑子里一次从来没有装过两个念头，就像他知道纳格娜的孩子跟自己的孩子一样是从蛋里孵出来的，他一开始就觉得杀死他们不公平。不过他的妻子是一只头脑清楚的鸟儿，她知道眼镜蛇的蛋就是日后的小眼镜蛇，所以她从鸟窝里飞出来，留下达兹暖和宝宝，继续唱他的纳格死亡之歌。在某些方面，达兹确实跟男人很相像。

86
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她走到待在垃圾堆旁的纳格娜跟前一个劲儿地拍打着翅膀，哭喊道：“哎哟哟，我的翅膀断了！屋子里的男孩用石头砸我，打断了我的翅膀。”接着，她便更加拼命地扑腾起了翅膀。

87
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纳格娜抬起脑袋，咝咝地说：“是你警告了瑞吉-倜吉，害得我没把他杀死。说实话，你真是倒霉透顶，挑了这么一个地方折断了翅膀。”她朝着达兹的妻子，从尘土里一直滑过来。

88
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“男孩用石头打断了我的翅膀！”达兹的妻子尖声叫喊着。

89
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“算了，让你临死时也知道我会找那个小孩算账，这对你也是一点儿安慰。我丈夫今天早上躺在了垃圾堆里，屋子里的小孩在天黑前也会静悄悄地躺下。跑有什么用？我有把握抓到你，小傻蛋，看着我！”

90
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达兹的妻子太清楚她是绝对不能那样做的，鸟儿一旦盯着蛇的眼睛，就会吓得丢了魂儿，动弹不得了。达兹的妻子一直拍打着翅膀，伤心地扯着嗓子叫着，没有离开地面一步，纳格娜追得更紧了。

91
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瑞吉-倜吉听到她们离开了马厩，走到小路上，便赶紧奔到靠墙那头的瓜地。他发现在那些甜瓜周围暖洋洋的草荐里，二十五枚蛇蛋巧妙地隐藏着。这些蛋跟矮脚鸡下的蛋一样大，只是没有蛋壳，光裹着一层白皮。

92
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“我来得正好。”他说，因为他看见表皮下的小眼镜蛇已经蜷成一团了。他清楚他们只要一孵出来，每一只就能把一个人或一只獴咬死。他尽快咬破蛇蛋的一端，煞费苦心地把里面的小眼镜蛇踩个稀烂，还时不时翻翻草荐，看看有没有漏掉哪一只。最后还剩三个蛇蛋了，瑞吉-倜吉窃笑起来。就在那当口，他听到达兹妻子尖声叫喊：

93
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“瑞吉-倜吉，我把纳格娜引到那幢房子里了，她已经进了走廊，还——噢，快来呀——她要杀人啦！”

94
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瑞吉-倜吉捣烂两个蛋，嘴里叼起第三个，连翻带滚出了瓜地，脚一着地就一溜烟地朝走廊冲去。特迪和他的妈妈、爸爸一早儿就在那儿吃早餐，可是瑞吉看见他们什么都还没吃。他们像石头一样僵坐着，脸吓得惨白。纳格娜盘坐在特迪椅子旁边的垫子上，她可以在这个距离轻而易举地攻击特迪的光腿。她前后摇晃着身子，扯开嗓子唱着胜利的歌。

95
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“杀了纳格的大个子的崽子，”她咝咝地说，“给我乖乖地待着。我还没准备好呢，等一会儿。你们三个，老老实实待着别动。你们动一下，我就出击，你们不动我也会出击。哼，愚蠢的人，居然把我的纳格给杀死了！”

96
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特迪的眼睛死死地盯着爸爸，爸爸却束手无策，只能低声说，“好好坐着，千万别动。特迪，静静地待着。”

97
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就在这节骨眼上，瑞吉-倜吉冲了出来，大声叫道：“纳格娜，转过身来，转过身来，大战一场！”

98
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“赶巧了，”她说着话，眼珠子却一动不动，“我就和你算账。瞧瞧你的朋友，瑞吉-倜吉。他们一动都不敢动，脸色惨白，他们是吓怕了。要是你再上前一步，我就出击了。”

99
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“看看你的蛋吧！”瑞吉-倜吉说，“在靠墙的瓜地里。纳格娜，去瞧瞧吧！”

100
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大蛇身子刚转过一半，就看到了在走廊上放着的蛇蛋。“啊——啊！快把它给我。”他说。

101
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瑞吉-倜吉两只爪子抱住蛋，眼睛血红血红的。“一个蛇蛋值多少钱？一条小眼镜蛇又值多少钱？一条小眼镜蛇王呢？这是最后一个——一窝中的最后一个蛋的价钱是多少？蚂蚁还在瓜地里啃着其他的蛋呢。”

102
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纳格娜猛地一下扭转过身子，为了这个蛋，她什么都不顾了。瑞吉-倜吉看见特迪的爸爸迅速伸出一只大手，抓住特迪的肩膀，把他拽过放着茶杯的小桌子，终于安全无事，纳格娜够不着了。

103
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“上当了！上当了！上当了！瑞克——嚓克——嚓克！”瑞吉-倜吉轻笑着说，“小孩安全了，是我——我——我昨晚在浴室咬住纳格的兜帽。”然后他四只爪子一起跳起了蹦子，脑袋靠近地面。“他把我甩来甩去，就是没办法把我甩掉。大个子把他打成两截之前，他就死了。这是我干的。瑞吉-倜吉-嚓克-嚓克！纳格娜，来呀，来和我干一架。你当寡妇的时日可不多了。”

104
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纳格娜明白她错过了杀死特迪的机会，同时蛇蛋还夹在瑞吉-倜吉的两只爪子中间。“把蛋给我，瑞吉-倜吉，把我最后的一个蛋给我。然后我会离开，再也不回来了。”她说完，低下了她的兜帽。

105
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“对，你会离开，而且永远也不会回来，因为你要和纳格一块儿到垃圾堆里去了。打吧，寡妇！大个子去拿枪了！打吧！”

106
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瑞吉-倜吉围着纳格娜跳来跳去，总在她攻击不着的地方，他小小的眼睛就像烧红的煤球。纳格娜把身子蜷缩到一块儿，对着他猛地一下冲了过去。瑞吉-倜吉跳起来往后一躲。她一次又一次地攻击，每次都把头撞到走廊的草垫上，然后她又像闹钟的发条，把身子又蜷缩到一块儿。瑞吉-倜吉跳了一圈，试图绕到她的身后，纳格娜也跟着转了一圈，因而她的头还是一直对着他的头。她的尾巴在草垫上发出沙沙声，就像风扫落叶的声音。

107
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瑞吉-倜吉忘记蛇蛋了，它仍然放在走廊上。纳格娜离它越来越近了，终于，趁着瑞吉-倜吉喘气的一瞬间，她一口把蛋含到了嘴里，转向走廊的台阶，像离弦的箭一样沿着小路飞奔而去。瑞吉-倜吉在后面紧追不舍。眼镜蛇逃命时，就像鞭梢在马脖子上轻抽了一下。瑞吉-倜吉清楚自己无论如何也要抓到她，要不所有的麻烦就会重新开始。她向荆棘丛旁的高草直奔而去。就在追赶她时，瑞吉-倜吉听见达兹还在哼着那首愚蠢的胜利之歌。不过达兹的妻子比他聪明多了。纳格娜逃过来时，她从窝里飞了出来，接着就在纳格娜头顶上拍打着翅膀。要是达兹一起来帮忙，他俩可能会妨碍她，不过现在纳格娜仅仅稍微低下了她的兜帽，继续往前冲。可就是这一瞬间的耽搁，让瑞吉-倜吉追上了她，她一头冲进了她和纳格曾经居住过的老鼠洞中。他小小的白牙咬住了她的尾巴，他和她一起钻进了洞里——几乎没有一只獴，就算他有多聪明，多老到，会跟着眼镜蛇钻进蛇洞。洞里黑漆漆的，瑞吉-倜吉不晓得洞随时都有可能变宽，给纳格娜足够大的回旋余地转身反击他。他死命咬着牙关不放，把两条腿伸开当作车闸，在黑乎乎的潮湿闷热的土坡上刹住了身子。接下来洞口的草丛突然不摇晃了，达兹叫道：“瑞吉-倜吉完了！咱们要给他唱一支挽歌。英勇的瑞吉-倜吉死啦！纳格娜肯定会在地下杀了他！”

108
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他即兴编了一首异常伤心的歌，唱了起来，就在他唱到最催人泪下的部分时，草丛又颤动了，瑞吉-倜吉满身泥土，舔着胡须，拖着身子，一步一步，踉踉跄跄地从洞里退出来。达兹吃惊得叫出了声，歌声停止了。瑞吉-倜吉抖抖皮毛上的土，打了个喷嚏。“一切都结束了，”他说，“那个寡妇再也不会出来了。”住在草梗中间的红蚂蚁听见他的话，兴师动众排成长队，蜂拥而下，要看看他说的是不是实话。

109
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瑞吉-倜吉在草地上蜷起身子，一会儿就睡着了——他睡呀睡，一觉睡到大后晌，他可是大干苦干了一整天呢。

110
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“现在，”他醒来后，说道，“我要回到屋子里去了。达兹，去告诉‘铜匠’，他会把纳格娜死的消息传遍整个花园的。”

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“铜匠”是一只鸟儿，发出的声音绝像小锤子敲打铜锅的声音。他之所以总发出声音，是因为他是印度花园里的公告宣讲员，负责把所有的消息告诉每一个想听的人。瑞吉-倜吉走在路上时就听见了他的声音像小小的开饭锣那样响了起来，“注意啦！”接着是有节奏的“叮——咚——托可！纳格死啦！——咚！纳格娜死啦！叮——咚——托可！”这个消息让花园里所有的鸟儿高兴得唱了起来，青蛙们也呱呱地叫了起来——纳格和纳格娜不仅吃小鸟，也吃青蛙。

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瑞吉-倜吉回到屋里，特迪、特迪妈妈（她的脸色仍然是惨白的，她刚刚昏过去了）和特迪的爸爸跑出来，对着他都要大声哭起来了。那晚，他把给他的东西吃了个精光，一直吃到撑肠拄肚才算罢休，然后他趴在特迪的肩膀上上床睡觉了。特迪妈妈很晚才过来看看，看见他睡熟了。

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“他救了我们的命，救了特迪的命。”她对丈夫说，“想想看，他是我们全家的救命恩人呢！”

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瑞吉-倜吉被惊醒，跳了起来，因为所有的獴睡眠都很轻。

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“噢，是你们。”他说，“你们还有什么可操心的？眼镜蛇都死光了，要是还有活着的，还有我在这儿呢。”

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瑞吉-倜吉有理由为自己骄傲，不过他才没有得意忘形呢，他尽着一只獴的本分守护着花园。他使出跳跃、猛咬和狠扑等看家本领，让眼镜蛇再也不敢从墙里探出脑袋来。

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At the hole where he went in

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Red-Eye called to Wrinkle-Skin.

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Hear what little Red-Eye saith:

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“Nag, come up and dance with death!”

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Eye to eye and head to head,

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(Keep the measure, Nag.)

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This shall end when one is dead;

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(At thy pleasure, Nag.)

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Turn for turn and twist for twist—

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(Run and hide thee, Nag.)

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Hah! The hooded Death has missed!

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(Woe betide thee, Nag!)

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This is the story of the great war that Rikki-tikki-tavi fought single-handed, through the bathrooms of the big bungalow in Segowlee cantonment. Darzee, the tailorbird, helped him, and Chuchundra, the musk-rat, who never comes out into the middle of the floor, but always creeps round by the wall,gave him advice; but Rikki-tikki did the real fighting

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He was a mongoose, rather like a little cat in his fur and his tail, but quite like a weasel in his head and his habits. His eyes and the end of his restless nose were pink; he could scratch himself anywhere he pleased, with any leg, front or back, that he chose to use; he could fluff up his tail till it looked like a bottle-brush, and his war-cry, as he scuttled through the long grass, was: “Rikk-tikk-tikki-tikki-tchk!”

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One day, a high summer flood washed him out of the burrow where he lived with his father and mother, and carried him, kicking and clucking, down a road-side ditch. He found a little wisp of grass floating there, and clung to it till he lost his senses. When he revived, he was lying in the hot sun on the middle of a garden path, very draggled indeed, and a small boy was saying: “Here’s a dead mongoose. Let’s have a funeral.”

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“No,” said his mother; “let’s take him in and dry him. Perhaps he isn’t really dead.”

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They took him into the house, and a big man picked him up between his finger and thumb, and said he was not dead but half choked; so they wrapped him in cotton-wool, and warmed him, and he opened his eyes and sneezed.

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“Now,” said the big man (he was an Englishman who had just moved into the bungalow); “don’t frighten him, and we’ll see what he’ll do.”

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It is the hardest thing in the world to frighten a mongoose, because he is eaten up from nose to tail with curiosity. The motto of all the mongoose family is, “Run and find out;” and Rikki-tikki was a true mongoose. He looked at the cottonwool, decided that it was not good to eat, ran all round the table, sat up and put his fur in order, scratched himself, and jumped on the small boy’s shoulder.

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“Don’t be frightened, Teddy,” said his father. “That’s his way of making friends.”

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“Ouch! He’s tickling under my chin,” said Teddy.

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Rikki-tikki looked down between the boy’s collar and neck, snuffed at his ear, and climbed down to the floor, where he sat rubbing his nose.

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“Good gracious,” said Teddy’s mother, “and that’s a wild creature! I suppose he’s so tame because we’ve been kind to him.”

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“All mongooses are like that,” said her husband. “If Teddy doesn’t pick him up by the tail, or try to put him in a cage, he’ll run in and out of the house all day long. Let’s give him something to eat.”

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They gave him a little piece of raw meat. Rikki-tikki liked it immensely, and when it was finished he went out into the veranda and sat in the sunshine and fluffed up his fur to make it dry to the roots. Then he felt better.

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“There are more things to find out about in this house,” he said to himself, “than all my family could find out in all their lives. I shall certainly stay and find out.”

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He spent all that day roaming over the house. He nearly drowned himself in the bath-tubs, put his nose into the ink on a writing-table, and burned it on the end of the big man’s cigar, for he climbed up in the big man’s lap to see how writing was done. At nightfall he ran into Teddy’s nursery to watch how kerosene-lamps were lighted, and when Teddy went to bed Rikki-tikki climbed up too; but he was a restless companion, because he had to get up and attend to every noise all through the night, and find out what made it. Teddy’s mother and father came in, the last thing, to look at their boy, and Rikki-tikki was awake on the pillow. “I don’t like that,” said Teddy’s mother; “he may bite the child.” “He’ll do no such thing,” said the father. “Teddy’s safer with that little beast than if he had a bloodhound to watch him. If a snake came into the nursery now——”

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But Teddy’s mother wouldn’t think of anything so awful.

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Early in the morning Rikki-tikki came to early breakfast in the veranda riding on Teddy’s shoulder, and they gave him banana and some boiled egg; and he sat on all their laps one after the other, because every well-brought-up mongoose always hopes to be a house-mongoose someday and have rooms to run about in, and Rikki-tikki’s mother (she used to live in the General’s house at Segowlee) had carefully told Rikki what to do if ever he came across white men.

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Then Rikki-tikki went out into the garden to see what was to be seen. It was a large garden, only half cultivated, with bushes as big as summer-houses of Marshal Niel roses, lime and orange trees, clumps of bamboos, and thickets of high grass. Rikki-tikki licked his lips. “This is a splendid hunting-ground,” he said, and his tail grew bottle-brushy at the thought of it, and he scuttled up and down the garden, snuffing here and there till he heard very sorrowful voices in a thornbush.

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It was Darzee, the tailor-bird, and his wife. They had made a beautiful nest by pulling two big leaves together and stitching them up the edges with fibres, and had filled the hollow with cotton and downy fluff. The nest sway to and fro, as they sat on the rim and cried.

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“What is the matter?” asked Rikki-tikki.

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“We are very miserable,” said Darzee. “One of our babies fell out of the nest yesterday, and Nag ate him.”

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“H’m!” said Rikki-tikki, “that is very sad—but I am a stranger here. Who is Nag?”

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Darzee and his wife only cowered down in the nest without answering, for from the thick grass at the foot of the bush there came a low hiss—a horrid cold sound that made Rikki-tikki jump back two clear feet. Then inch by inch out of the grass rose up the head and spread hood of Nag, the big black cobra, and he was five feet long from tongue to tail. When he had lifted one-third of himself clear of the ground, he stayed balancing to and fro exactly as a dandelion-tuft balances in the wind, and he looked at Rikki-tikki with the wicked snake’s eyes that never change their expression, whatever the snake may be thinking of.

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“Who is Nag?” said he. “I am Nag. The great god Brahm put his mark upon all our people when the first cobra spread his hood to keep the sun off Brahm as he slept. Look, and be afraid!”

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He spread out his hood more than ever, and Rikki-tikki saw the spectacle-mark on the back of it that looks exactly like the eye part of a hook-and-eye fastening. He was afraid for the minute; but it is impossible for a mongoose to stay frightened for any length of time, and though Rikki-tikki had never met a live cobra before, his mother had fed him on dead ones, and he knew that all a grown mongoose’s business in life was to fight and eat snakes. Nag knew that too, and at the bottom of his cold heart he was afraid.

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“Well,” said Rikki-tikki, and his tail began to fluff up again, “marks or no marks, do you think it is right for you to eat fledglings out of a nest?”

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Nag was thinking to himself, and watching the least little movement in the grass behind Rikki-tikki. He knew that mongooses in the garden meant death sooner or later for him and his family, but he wanted to get Rikki-tikki off his guard. So he dropped his head a little, and put it on one side.

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“Let us talk,” he said. “You eat eggs. Why should not I eat birds?”

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“Behind you! Look behind you!” sang Darzee.

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Rikki-tikki knew better than to waste time in staring. He jumped up in the air as high as he could go, and just under him whizzed by the head of Nagaina, Nag’s wicked wife. She had crept up behind him as he was talking, to make an end of him; and he heard her savage hiss as the stroke missed. He came down almost across her back, and if he had been an old mongoose he would have known that then was the time to break her back with one bite; but he was afraid of the terrible lashing return-stroke of the cobra. He bit, indeed, but did not bite long enough, and he jumped clear of the whisking tail, leaving Nagaina torn and angry.

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“Wicked, wicked Darzee!” said Nag, lashing up as high as he could reach toward the nest in the thornbush; but Darzee had built it out of reach of snakes, and it only swayed to and fro.

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Rikki-tikki felt his eyes growing red and hot (when a mongoose’s eyes grow red, he is angry), and he sat back on his tail and hind legs like a little kangaroo, and looked all round him, and chattered with rage. But Nag and Nagaina had disappeared into the grass. When a snake misses its stroke, it never says anything or gives any sign of what it means to do next. Rikki-tikki did not care to follow them, for he did not feel sure that he could manage two snakes at once. So he trotted off to the gravel path near the house, and sat down to think. It was a serious matter for him.

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If you read the old books of natural history, you will find they say that when the mongoose fights the snake and happens to get bitten, he runs off and eats some herb that cures him. That is not true. The victory is only a matter of quickness of eye and quickness of foot—snake’s blow against mongoose’s jump—and as no eye can follow the motion of a snake’s head when it strikes, that makes things much more wonderful than any magic herb. Rikki-tikki knew he was a young mongoose, and it made him all the more pleased to think that he had managed to escape a blow from behind. It gave him confidence in himself, and when Teddy came running down the path, Rikki-tikki was ready to be petted.

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But just as Teddy was stooping, something flinched a little in the dust,and a tiny voice said: “Be careful. I am death!” It was Karait, the dusty brown snakeling that lies for choice on the dusty earth; and his bite is as dangerous as the cobra’s. But he is so small that nobody thinks of him, and so he does the more harm to people.

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Rikki-tikki’s eyes grew red again, and he danced up to Karait with the peculiar rocking, swaying motion that he had inherited from his family. It looks very funny, but it is so perfectly balanced a gait that you can fly off from it at any angle you please; and in dealing with snakes this is an advantage. If Rikki-tikki had only known, he was doing a much more dangerous thing than fighting Nag, for Karait is so small, and can turn so quickly, that unless Rikki bit him close to the back of the head, he would get the return-stroke in his eye or lip. But Rikki did not know: his eyes were all red, and he rocked back and forth, looking for a good place to hold. Karait struck out. Rikki jumped sideways and tried to run in, but the wicked little dusty grey head lashed within a fraction of his shoulder, and he had to jump over the body, and the head followed his heels close.

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Teddy shouted to the house: “Oh, look here! Our mongoose is killing a snake;” and Rikki-tikki heard a scream from Teddy’s mother. His father ran out with a stick, but by the time he came up, Karait had lunged out once too far, and Rikki-tikki had sprung, jumped on the snake’s back, dropped his head far between his fore-legs, bitten as high up the back as he could get hold, and rolled away. That bite paralyzed Karait, and Rikki-tikki was just going to eat him up from the tail, after the custom of his family at dinner, when he remembered that a full meal makes a slow mongoose, and if he wanted all his strength and quickness ready, he must keep himself thin.

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He went away for a dust-bath under the castor-oil bushes, while Teddy’s father beat the dead Karait. “What is the use of that?” thought Rikki-tikki. “I have settled it all;” and then Teddy’s mother picked him up from the dust and hugged him, crying that he had saved Teddy from death, and Teddy’s father said that he was a providence, and Teddy looked on with big scared eyes. Rikki-tikki was rather amused at all the fuss, which, of course, he did not understand. Teddy’s mother might just as well have petted Teddy for playing in the dust. Rikki was thoroughly enjoying himself.

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That night, at dinner, walking to and fro among the wine-glasses on the table, he could have stuffed himself three times over with nice things; but he remembered Nag and Nagaina, and though it was very pleasant to be patted and petted by Teddy’s mother, and to sit on Teddy’s shoulder, his eyes would get red from time to time, and he would go off into his long war-cry of “Rikk-tikk-tikki-tikki-tchk!”

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Teddy carried him off to bed, and insisted on Rikki-tikki sleeping under his chin. Rikki-tikki was too well-bred to bite or scratch, but as soon as Teddy was asleep he went off for his nightly walk round the house, and in the dark he ran up against Chuchundra, the musk-rat, creeping around by the wall. Chuchundra is a broken-hearted little beast. He whimpers and cheeps all the night, trying to make up his mind to run into the middle of the room, but he never gets there.

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“Don’t kill me,” said Chuchundra, almost weeping. “Rikki-tikki, don’t kill me!”

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“Do you think a snake-killer kills musk-rats?” said Rikki-tikki scornfully.

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“Those who kill snakes get killed by snakes,” said Chuchundra, more sorrowfully than ever. “And how am I to be sure that Nag won’t mistake me for you some dark night?”

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“There’s not the least danger,” said Rikki-tikki; “but Nag is in the garden, and I know you don’t go there.”

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“My cousin Chua, the rat, told me——” said Chuchundra, and then he stopped.

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“Told you what?”

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“H’sh! Nag is everywhere, Rikki-tikki. You should have talked to Chua in the garden.”

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“I didn’t—so you must tell me. Quick, Chuchundra, or I’ll bite you!”

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Chuchundra sat down and cried till the tears rolled off his whiskers. “I am a very poor man,” he sobbed. “I never had spirit enough to run out into the middle of the room. H’sh! I mustn’t tell you anything. Can’t you hear, Rikki-tikki?”

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Rikki-tikki listened. The house was as still as still, but he thought he could just catch the faintest scratch-scratch in the world—a noise as faint as that of a wasp walking on a window-pane—the dry scratch of a snake’s scales on brickwork.

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“That’s Nag or Nagaina,” he said to himself; “and he is crawling into the bathroom sluice. You’re right, Chuchundra; I should have talked to Chua.”

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He stole off to Teddy’s bathroom, but there was nothing there, and then to Teddy’s mother’s bathroom. At the bottom of the smooth plaster wall there was a brick pulled out to make a sluice for the bath-water, and as Rikki-tikki stole in by the masonry curb where the bath is put, he heard Nag and Nagaina whispering together outside in the moonlight.

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“When the house is emptied of people,” said Nagaina to her husband, “he will have to go away, and then the garden will be our own again. Go in quietly, and remember that the big man who killed Karait is the first one to bite. Then come out and tell me, and we will hunt for Rikki-tikki together.”

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“But are you sure that there is anything to be gained by killing the people?” said Nag.

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“Everything. When there were no people in the bungalow, did we have any mongoose in the garden? So long as the bungalow is empty, we are king and queen of the garden; and remember that as soon as our eggs in the melon-bed hatch (as they may tomorrow), our children will need room and quiet.”

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“I had not thought of that,” said Nag. “I will go, but there is no need that we should hunt for Rikki-tikki afterward. I will kill the big man and his wife, and the child if I can, and come away quietly. Then the bungalow will be empty, and Rikki-tikki will go.”

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Rikki-tikki tingled all over with rage and hatred at this, and then Nag’s head came through the sluice, and his five feet of cold body followed it. Angry as he was, Rikki-tikki was very frightened as he saw the size of the big cobra. Nag coiled himself up, raised his head, and looked into the bathroom in the dark, and Rikki could see his eyes glitter.

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“Now, if I kill him here, Nagaina will know; and if I fight him on the open floor, the odds are in his favor. What am I to do?” said Rikki-tikki-tavi.

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Nag waved to and fro, and then Rikki-tikki heard him drinking from the biggest waterjor that was used to fill the bath. “That is good,” said the snake.“Now, when Karait was killed, the big man had a stick. He may have that stick still, but when he comes in to bathe in the morning he will not have a stick. I shall wait here till he comes. Nagaina—do you hear me?—I shall wait here in the cool till daytime.”

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There was no answer from outside, so Rikki-tikki knew Nagaina had gone away. Nag coiled himself down, coil by coil, round the bulge at the bottom of the waterjor, and Rikki-tikki stayed still as death. After an hour he began to move, muscle by muscle, toward the jar. Nag was asleep, and Rikki-tikki looked at his big back, wondering which would be the best place for a good hold. “If I don’t break his back at the first jump,” said Rikki, “he can still fight; and if he fights—Oh, Rikki!” He looked at the thickness of the neck below the hood, but that was too much for him; and a bite near the tail would only make Nag savage.

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“It must be the head,” he said at last; “the head above the hood; and when I am once there, I must not let go.”

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Then he jumped. The head was lying a little clear of the waterjar, under the curve of it; and, as his teeth met, Rikki braced his back against the bulge of the red earthenware to hold down the head. This gave him just one second’s purchase, and he made the most of it. Then he was battered to and fro as a rat is shaken by a dog—to and fro on the floor, up and down, and around in great circles; but his eyes were red, and he held on as the body cart-whipped over the floor, upsetting the tin dipper and the soap-dish and the flesh-brush, an banged against the tin side of the bath. As he held he closed his jaws tighter and tighter, for he made sure he would be banged to death, and, for the honour of his family, he preferred to be found with his teeth locked. He was dizzy, aching, and felt shaken to pieces when something went off like a thunderclap just behind him; a hot wind knocked him senseless, and red fire singed his fur.The big man had been wakened by the noise, and had fired both barrels of ashotgun into Nag just behind the hood.

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Rikki-tikki held on with his eyes shut, for now he was quite sure he was dead; but the head did not move, and the big man picked him up and said: “It’s the mongoose again, Alice; the little chap has saved our lives now.” Then Teddy’s mother came in with a very white face, and saw what was left of Nag, and Rikki-tikki dragged himself to Teddy’s bedroom and spent half the rest of the night shaking himself tenderly to find out whether he really was broken into forty pieces, as he fancied.

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When morning came he was very stiff, but well pleased with his doings. “Now I have Nagaina to settle with, and she will be worse than five Nags, and there’s no knowing when the eggs she spoke of will hatch. Goodness! I must go and see Darzee,” he said.

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Without waiting for breakfast, Rikki-tikki ran to the thornbush where Darzee was singing a song of triumph at the top of his voice. The news of Nag’s death was all over the garden, for the sweeper had thrown the body on the rubbish-heap.

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“Oh, you stupid tuft of feathers!” said Rikki-tikki angrily. “Is this the time to sing?”

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“Nag is dead—is dead—is dead!” sang Darzee. “The valiant Rikki-tikki caught him by the head and held fast. The big man brought the bang-stick, and Nag fell in two pieces! He will never eat my babies again.”

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“All that’s true enough; but where’s Nagaina?” said Rikki-tikki, looking carefully round him.

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“Nagaina came to the bathroom sluice and called for Nag,” Darzee went on; “and Nag came out on the end of a stick—the sweeper picked him up on the end of a stick and threw him upon the rubbish-heap. Let us sing about the great, the red-eyed Rikki-tikki!” and Darzee filled his throat and sang.

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“If I could get up to your nest, I’d roll your babies out!” said Rikki-tikki. “You don’t know when to do the right thing at the right time. You’re safe enough in your nest there, but it’s war for me down here. Stop singing a minute, Darzee.”

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“For the great, the beautiful Rikki-tikki’s sake I will stop,” said Darzee. “What is it, O Killer of the terrible Nag?”

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“Where is Nagaina, for the third time?”

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“On the rubbish-heap by the stables, mourning for Nag. Great is Rikki-tikki with the white teeth.”

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“Bother my white teeth! Have you ever heard where she keeps her eggs?”

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“In the melon-bed, on the end nearest the wall, where the sun strikes nearly all day. She hid them there weeks ago.”

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“And you never thought it worth while to tell me? The end nearest the wall, you said?”

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“Rikki-tikki, you are not going to eat her eggs?”

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“Not eat exactly; no. Darzee, if you have a grain of sense you will fly off to the stables and pretend that your wing is broken, and let Nagaina chase you away to this bush. I must get to the melon-bed, and if I went there now she’d see me.”

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Darzee was a feather-brained little fellow who could never hold more than one idea at a time in his head; and just because he knew that Nagaina’s children were born in eggs like his own, he didn’t think at first that it was fair to kill them. But his wife was a sensible bird, and she knew that cobra’s eggs meant young cobras later on; so she flew off from the nest, and left Darzee to keep the babies warm, and continue his song about the death of Nag. Darzee was very like a man in some ways.

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She fluttered in front of Nagaina by the rubbish-heap, and cried out; “Oh,my wing is broken! The boy in the house threw a stone at me and broke it.” Then she fluttered more desperately than ever.

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Nagaina lifted up her head and hissed: “You warned Rikki-tikki when I would have killed him. Indeed and truly, you’ve chosen a bad place to be lame in.” And she moved toward Darzee’s wife, slipping along over the dust.

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“The boy broke it with a stone!” shrieked Darzee’s wife.

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“Well, It may be some consolation to you when you’re dead to know that I shall settle accounts with the boy. My husband lies on the rubbish-heap this morning, but before night the boy in the house will lie very still. What is the use of running away? I am sure to catch you. Little fool, look at me!”

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Darzee’s wife knew better than to do that, for a bird who looks at a snake’s eyes gets so frightened that she cannot move. Darzee’s wife fluttered on, piping sorrowfully, and never leaving the ground, and Nagaina quickened her pace.

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Rikki-tikki heard them going up the path from the stables, and he raced for the end of the melon-patch near the wall. There, in the warm litter about the melons, very cunningly hidden, he found twenty-five eggs, about the size of a bantam’s eggs, but with whitish skin instead of shell.

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“I was not a day too soon,” he said; for he could see the baby cobras curled up inside the skin, and he knew that the minute they were hatched they could each kill a man or a mongoose. He bit off the tops of the eggs as fast as he could, taking care to crush the young cobras, and turned over the litter from time to time to see whether he had missed any. At last there were only three eggs left, and Rikki-tikki began to chuckle to himself, when he heard Darzee’s wife screaming:

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“Rikki-tikki, I led Nagaina toward the house, and she has gone into the veranda, and—oh, come quickly—she means killing!”

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Rikki-tikki smashed two eggs, and tumbled backward down the melon-bed with the third egg in his mouth, and scuttled to the veranda as hard as he could put foot to the ground. Teddy and his mother and father were there at early breakfast; but Rikki-tikki saw that they were not eating anything. They sat stone-still, and their faces were white. Nagaina was coiled up on the matting by Teddy’s chair, within easy striking-distance of Teddy’s bare leg, and she was swaying to and fro singing a song of triumph.

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“Son of the big man that killed Nag,” she hissed, “stay still. I am not ready yet. Wait a little. Keep very still, all you three! If you move I strike, and if you do not move I strike. Oh, foolish people, who killed my Nag!”

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Teddy’s eyes were fixed on his father, and all his father could do was to whisper: “Sit still, Teddy. You mustn’t move. Teddy, keep still.”

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Then Rikki-tikki came up and cried: “Turn round, Nagaina; turn and fight!”

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“All in good time,” said she, without moving her eyes. “I will settle my account with you presently. Look at your friends, Rikki-tikki. They are still and white; they are afraid. They dare not move, and if you come a step nearer I strike.”

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“Look at your eggs,” said Rikki-tikki, “in the melon-bed near the wall. Go and look, Nagaina!”

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The big snake turned half around, and saw the egg on the veranda. “Ah-h! Give it to me,” she said.

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Rikki-tikki put his paws one on each side of the egg, and his eyes were blood-red. “What price for a snake’s egg? For a young cobra? For a young king-cobra? For the last—the very last of the brood? The ants are eating all the others down by the melon-bed.”

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Nagaina spun clear round, forgetting everything for the sake of the one egg; and Rikki-tikki saw Teddy’s father shoot out a big hand, catch Teddy by the shoulder, and drag him across the little table with the tea-cups, safe and out of reach of Nagaina.

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“Tricked! Tricked! Tricked! Rikk-tck-tck!” chuckled Rikki-tikki. “The boy is safe, and it was I—I—I that caught Nag by the hood last night in the bathroom.” Then he began to jump up and down, all four feet together, his head close to the floor. “He threw me to and fro, but he could not shake me off. He was dead before the big man blew him in two. I did it! Rikki-tikki-tck-tck! Come then, Nagaina. Come and fight with me. You shall not be a widow long.”

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Nagaina saw that she had lost her chance of killing Teddy, and the egg lay between Rikki-tikki’s paws. “Give me the egg, Rikki-tikki. Give me the last of my eggs, and I will go away and never come back,” she said, lowering her hood.

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“Yes, you will go away, and you will never come back; for you will go to the rubbish-heap with Nag. Fight, widow! The big man has gone for his gun! Fight!”

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Rikki-tikki was bounding all round Nagaina, keeping just out of reach of her stroke, his little eyes like hot coals. Nagaina gathered herself together, and flung out at him. Rikki-tikki jumped up and backward. Again and again and again she struck, and each time her head came with a whack on the matting of the veranda, and she gathered herself together like a watch-spring. Then Rikki-tikki danced in a circle to get behind her, and Nagaina spun round to keep her head to his head, so that the rustle of her tail on the matting sounded like dry leaves blown along by the wind.

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He had forgotten the egg. It still lay on the veranda, and Nagaina came nearer and nearer to it, till at last, while Rikki-tikki was drawing breath, she caught it in her mouth, turned to the veranda steps, and flew like an arrow down the path, with Rikki-tikki behind her. When the cobra runs for her life, she goes like a whiplash flicked across a horse’s neck.

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Rikki-tikki knew that he must catch her, or all the trouble would begin again. She headed straight for the long grass by the thornbush, and as he was running Rikki-tikki heard Darzee still singing his foolish little song of triumph. But Darzee’s wife was wiser. She flew off her nest as Nagaina came along, and flapped her wings about Nagaina’s head. If Darzee had helped they might have turned her; but Nagaina only lowered her hood and went on. Still, the instant’s delay brought Rikki-tikki up to her, and as she plunged into the rat-hole where she and Nag used to live, his little white teeth were clenched on her tail, and he went down with her—and very few mongooses, however wise and old they may be, care to follow a cobra into its hole. It was dark in the hole; and Rikki-tikki never knew when it might open out and give Nagaina room to turn and strike at him. He held on savagely, and stuck out his feet to act as brakes on the dark slope of the hot, moist earth.

113

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Then the grass by the mouth of the hole stopped waving, and Darzee said: “It is all over with Rikki-tikki! We must sing his death-song. Valiant Rikki-tikki is dead! For Nagaina will surely kill him underground.”

114

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So he sang a very mournful song that he made up on the spur of the minute, and just as he got to the most touching part the grass quivered again, and Rikki-tikki, covered with dirt, dragged himself out of the hole leg by leg, licking his whiskers. Darzee stopped with a little shout. Rikki-tikki shook some of the dust out of his fur and sneezed. “It is all over,” he said. “The widow will never come out again.” And the red ants that live between the grass-stems heard him, and began to troop down one after another to see if he had spoken the truth.

115

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Rikki-tikki curled himself up in the grass and slept where he was—slept and slept till it was late in the afternoon, for he had done a hard day’s work.

116

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“Now,” he said, when he awoke, “I will go back to the house. Tell the Coppersmith, Darzee, and he will tell the garden that Nagaina is dead.”

117

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The Coppersmith is a bird who makes a noise exactly like the beating of a little hammer on a copper pot; and the reason he is always making it is because he is the town-crier to every Indian garden, and tells all the news to everybody who cares to listen. As Rikki-tikki went up the path, he heard his “attention” notes like a tiny dinner-gong; and then the steady “Ding-dong-tock! Nag is dead—dong! Nagaina is dead! Ding-dong-tock!” That set all the birds in the garden singing, and the frogs croaking; for Nag and Nagaina used to eat frogs as well as little birds.

118

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When Rikki got to the house, Teddy and Teddy’s mother (she still looked very white, for she had been fainting) and Teddy’s father came out and almost cried over him; and that night he ate all that was given him till he could eat no more, and went to bed on Teddy’s shoulder, where Teddy’s mother saw him when she came to look late at night.

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“He saved our lives and Teddy’s life,” she said to her husband. “Just think, he saved all our lives.”

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Rikki-tikki woke up with a jump, for all the mongooses are light sleepers.

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“Oh, it’s you,” said he. “What are you bothering for? All the cobras are dead; and if they weren’t, I’m here.”

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Rikki-tikki had a right to be proud of himself; but he did not grow too proud, and he kept that garden as a mongoose should keep it, with tooth and jump and spring and bite, till never a cobra dared show its head inside the walls.

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序号 英文/音标 中文解释 更多操作

saith

[seθ]

v.说(says的古体)

thee

[ðiː]

pron.【古】你;汝;你自己

hood

[hʊd]

n.头巾;兜帽;遮罩;引擎盖

creep

[kriːp]

vi.蹑手蹑脚地走;爬

restless

[’restləs]

adj.不安宁的;焦虑的;得不到休息的

revive

[rɪ’vaɪv]

vt.使重生;恢复精神;唤醒

pick

[pɪkt]

采摘，挑选；

bungalow

[’bʌŋɡələʊ]

n.(有凉台的)平房;小屋

mongoose

[’mɒŋɡuːs]

n.【动】猫鼬

Teddy

[’tedɪ]

n.泰迪(熊);妇女连衫裤

tickle

[’tɪkl]

vt.使发痒;逗乐;使快乐

snuff

[snʌf]

n.鼻烟;烛花

tame

[teɪm]

adj.驯服的;柔顺的;乏味的

fluff

[flʌf]

n.软毛;绒毛;无价值物;失误

felted

[’feltɪd]

v. 把 ... 制成毡(使 ... 粘结)

roam

[rəʊm]

v.漫游;闲逛;徜徉

clump

[klʌmp]

n.丛;块;沉重的声音

bamboo

[ˌbæm’buː]

n.竹子

thicket

[’θɪkɪt]

n.繁茂处;丛林;草丛

lick

[lɪk]

v.舔;轻拍;击败;掠过

scuttle

[’skʌtl]

n.煤斗;天窗

stitch

[stɪtʃ]

n.一针

sway

[sweɪ]

v.摇动;摇摆;支配;影响;说服，使相信

miserable

[’mɪzrəbl]

adj.痛苦的;悲惨的;贫乏的;狼狈的

cower

[’kaʊə(r)]

v.畏缩;退缩;抖缩

liftable

[lɪftəbl]

a.1. 可以举起的

grind

[ɡraɪnd]

v.磨;压迫;碾碎;磨得吱吱响;逐渐停顿

fasten

[’fɑːsn]

vt.拴紧;使固定;系;强加于

fledgling

[’fledʒlɪŋ]

n.刚会飞的幼鸟,尚缺乏经验的人

sooner

[’suːnə]

adv. soon的比较级

whiz

[wɪz]

n.飕飕声;飕飕掠过; 专家;奇才;能手

lash

[læʃ]

n.鞭子;鞭打;睫毛;讽刺

whisk

[wɪsk]

n.拂;扫帚;毛掸子;搅拌器

chatter

[’tʃætə(r)]

vt. 喋喋(不休)；饶舌;

trot

[trɒt]

vi. (马)疾驰;

gravel

[’ɡrævl]

n.碎石

flinch

[flɪntʃ]

v.畏缩;退缩;畏首畏尾

dusty

[’dʌsti]

adj.满是灰尘的

gait

[ɡeɪt]

n.步态;步法

sideway

[’saɪdweɪ]

【1】 n. 小巷;小路,小径;人行道 【2】 adj.旁的;横向的

lunge

[lʌndʒ]

n.刺;刺进;跃进

providence

[’prɒvɪdəns]

n.天意;天命

fuss

[fʌs]

n.(神经质的)兴奋，激动；紧张；急躁;

thorough

[’θʌrə]

adj.彻底的;完全的;详尽的;细致深入的

Pat

[pæt]

n.轻拍;轻打;小块

whimper

[’wɪmpə(r)]

n.呜咽;啜泣;怨声

weep

[wiːp]

v.流泪;哭泣;悲叹;渗出

scornfully

[’skɔːnfəli]

adv.轻蔑地

sorrowful

[’sɒrəʊfl]

adj.悲伤的;使人伤心的

told

[təʊld]

v.告诉;吩咐;讲述

Told

[təʊld]

v.告诉;吩咐;讲述

whisker

[’wɪskə(r)]

n.腮须胡须;似须物;几乎要做

sob

[sɒb]

v.抽泣;呜咽

brickwork

[’brɪkwɜːk]

n.砌砖工作;砌砖

sluice

[sluːs]

n.水闸;堰;泄洪;斜水槽

plaster

[’plɑːstə(r)]

n.石膏;灰泥;膏药

masonry

[’meɪsənri]

n.砖石建筑;石工行业

hatch

[hætʃ]

n.孵化;舱口，舱口盖

tingly

[’tɪŋɡl]

n.刺痛;激动

hatred

[’heɪtrɪd]

n.仇恨;憎恨;敌意;怨恨

daytime

[’deɪtaɪm]

n.白天;日间

coil

[kɔɪl]

n.卷;圈;线圈

bulge

[bʌldʒ]

n.膨胀;暴增

thickness

[’θɪknəs]

n.厚度;浓度;层

brace

[breɪs]

v.防备;支撑;绷紧;振作

batter

[’bætə(r)]

v.猛击;打坏;往后递倾

dipper

[’dɪpə(r)]

n.长柄勺;河乌鸟

bang

[bæŋ]

n.巨响;重击;刘海

honour

[ˈɒnə]

n.光荣;

singe

[sɪndʒ]

v.(轻微)烧焦;烫焦;损伤

waken

[’weɪkən]

v.唤醒;醒来;觉醒;激发

chap

[tʃæp]

vt. 使(皮肤)裂口，裂开；变粗糙;

fancy

[’fænsi]

n. 【C】设想；幻想；空想;

nag

[næɡ]

vt.不断唠叨;指责;困扰，使…烦恼

Goodness

[’ɡʊdnəs]

n.善良;美德;精华

sweeper

[’swiːpə(r)]

n.清洁工

angrily

[’æŋɡrəli]

adv.气愤地

valiant

[’væliənt]

adj.勇敢的;英勇的

mourning

[’mɔːnɪŋ]

n.悲痛;孝服;服丧期

cobra

[’kəʊbrə]

n.眼镜蛇

hiss

[hɪs]

n.嘘声;嘶嘶声

lame

[leɪm]

adj.无说服力的;跛足的

shriek

[ʃriːk]

v.尖叫;叫喊

consolation

[ˌkɒnsə’leɪʃn]

n.安慰;慰藉

quicken

[’kwɪkən]

v.使加快;使活跃;刺激;变快;(孕妇) 进入胎动期;变活跃

litter

[’lɪtə(r)]

n. 【U】杂乱物；废纸;

cunning

[’kʌnɪŋ]

adj.狡猾的;有眼光的;精巧的;可爱的

curl

[kɜːl]

n.卷曲;卷发;年轮;漩涡;【足】曲线球

veranda

[və’rændə]

n.阳台;游廊

smash

[smæʃ]

vt. 打碎，粉碎;

tumble

[’tʌmbl]

v.暴跌;倒塌;跌倒;翻滚;弄乱;明白;突然发现

backward

[’bækwəd]

adj.向后的

matting

[’mætɪŋ]

n.可做席子的材料;席子;无光泽的表面,

presently

[’prezntli]

adv.不久;一会儿;现在;目前

paw

[pɔː]

n.脚爪;爪子;手

brood

[bruːd]

n.一窝;一伙;一家孩子;一组事物

chuckle

[’tʃʌkl]

v.轻声笑;咯咯笑;暗自笑

fling

[flɪŋ]

vt. 投，抛，扔，掷;

whiplash

[’wɪplæʃ]

n.鞭打;鞭抽式损伤

flap

[flæp]

n.拍打

clench

[klentʃ]

v.紧握;紧咬;牢牢地抓住;确定

savage

[’sævɪdʒ]

a. 野蛮的，未开化的;

underground

[ˌʌndə’ɡraʊnd]

adj.地下的;秘密的

spur

[spɜː(r)]

n.支脉;刺激;马刺;鞭策

quiver

[’kwɪvə(r)]

v.颤抖;振动

sneeze

[sniːz]

n.喷嚏

Coppersmith

[’kɒpəsmɪθ]

n.铜匠;铜器制造人

hammer

[’hæmə(r)]

n.锤子;榔头

dong

[dɒŋ]

n.盾(越南货币单位);(俚)阴茎

croak

[krəʊk]

v.嗄嗄叫;发牢骚;死

fainting

[’feɪntɪŋ]

n.昏晕;不省人事,

sleeper

[’sliːpə(r)]

n.睡眠者;枕木;卧铺;爆冷门;耳环

mongoose

[’mɒŋɡuːs]

n.【动】猫鼬

cobra

[’kəʊbrə]

n.眼镜蛇

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