Rikki-Tikki-Tavi by Mrs. Alice Townsend-Smith

Green – Exposition Bold Black – Conflict Blue – Foreshadowing Purple – Rising Action Red – Climax Orange – Falling Action

It was a long trip by steamer to come to India. It seemed that at no one time did we ever feel well while on the salty waters that lead us to our new home in the Segowlee cantonment. My son, Teddy, needed constant reassurance that we would all have fun once we got to India. As a wife of an army engineer for Her Majesty Scottish Black Guard it is my duty to follow my husband wherever the winds of fortune and empire take us. I look forward to the time when he will be senior enough to be deployed only in England, for that is where my heart remains. When we finally arrived at the cantonment my work really began. Our bungalow needed to be cleaned from top to bottom. It had been at least six months since someone had lived in the house and the spider webs and various critters all needed to be swept away. John could not help me as he had to report to duty immediately. Teddy would try to be mommy’s little helper, but would often wander about the yard when it became too much like work. It was on the fifth day of our arrival that the house finally was settled to where I felt clean and safe. After breakfast, Teddy and I went for a short walk by the river. It was nice to see the lush greenery after the heavy rains. The air smelled of tropical flowers by the waters. It was Teddy who found our future guardian angel. A small young mongoose had been washed away from his burrow and was near death. Teddy thought it was dead, but I could see that the little fellow was breathing. I knew from listening to John’s stories about his first hitch in India when he was a young soldier, that it must be a mongoose. And those little fellows help keep the mice and rats away. John rubbed the little mongoose and soon it sneezed and opened its little brown eyes. Soon it made a rather strange sound that Teddy took as being “Rikki-Tikki-Tavi”. And that is what we called our new furry friend. It did not take long for the little fellow to explore the entire house. He was very friendly and immediately became great friends with Teddy. I was concerned, but John assured me that a mongoose is as gentle as a rabbit and more protective than a guard dog. John said the mongoose would even protect Teddy from snakes. The thought of snakes made my skin crawl. However, I could not imagine a snake could find it worth living in the middle of a military cantonment. There were 7500 regulars at Segowlee and they all would shoot anything dangerous on the spot. It is amazing how endearing our little Rikki-Tikki is. He is always with us when we are at table. He goes from person to person and never refuses a tid-bit of food. His fur is so soft and he loves to be petted. It was the third day after Rikki-Tikki had joined our family when I learned how true John’s words were about our small guard dog. Teddy went looking for Rikki-Tikki and found him on the garden path. Teddy says he bent down to pet Rikki-Tikki when all of a sudden Rikki-Tikki jumped high up into the air and landed on a small yellow snake that was very close to my beloved Teddy. Teddy found this all very glorious as brave little boys will and shouted into the house that Rikki-Tikki was fighting a snake. I screamed for John to save Teddy and John shot out of the door with a walking stick and beat the deadly snake to a mushy mess. Afterwards, John could see where Rikki-Tikki had bit the snake just below the head. “A bite like that will instantly kill a snake” John told me, but my heart was still racing at the thought of what could have happened. Rikki-Tikki was my hero and at dinner that night I gave him some tender bits of our chicken dinner. It is strange how little he eats what we give him, but he does so like to wander from lap to lap and be stroked and cuddled. I wish I could give this little four legged angel so much more than a bit of food - for my Teddy is safe thanks to Rikki-Tikki-Tavi. I was still in bed when John arose and was about to go take his morning ablution.* All of a sudden we heard Rikki-Tikki’s loud chattering. And then there followed so much noise from the bath. John took out his rifle from the closet and ran toward the rumble, for he knew that it must be something much larger than a mouse or rat. My heart was pounding and I thought it was about to explode in my bosom when I then heard a large explosion. I felt dizzy and had to sit on my dressing stool before I could stand. It was only after John shouted to me, “It's the mongoose again, Alice. The little chap has saved our lives now." Through the sulfurous smoke I could see the large serpent lying on the bathroom floor. It must have been six feet long and far thicker than my arm. It was a dark beast and one that I knew could have killed us all. The sulfur made me feel sick and I had to go out onto the veranda to take in some fresh air. It was hard not to scream that we must all go back to England, but I knew that was only the womanly nerves of a mother and John would have none of that. After about twenty minutes, I came to my senses and set out our breakfast on the veranda table. I really could not put much on my plate, but John and Teddy were hungry after so much manly adventures. John was exceedingly proud of how he had dispatched the black cobra without destroying our bathroom. As it was, several boards would have to be replaced and varnished to fix where the shot had riddled about the snake. We had just said our morning grace when John heard the quick swoosh of dry scales come from behind Teddy. I followed his eyes only to see another black cobra stare with unblinking eyes at my beloved son. John whispered to us to be very still. We had been told if you do not move quickly then snakes will not see you and will eventually leave you alone. It was not easy to sit like statues when every nerve in my body screamed to grab Teddy and run. And run I would all the way back to England. I could see the fear in my husband’s eyes and I began to feel as if the room was slowly starting to spin. Suddenly, we heard the high pitched cry of Rikki-Tikki as he ran onto the veranda. He had something white hanging from his mouth. It looked like an egg. Soon he dropped it by his feet and swayed back and forth never stopping his staring into the snake’s golden eyes. Suddenly, the snake flew past Rikki and grabbed the egg. It left even faster than it came and Rikki pounced on it as it slithered by. We were all too stunned to get up and follow. My head continued to spin and John had to come over and hold me up for I then fainted. I do not think I was out very long for soon I could hear Teddy yelling that Rikki-Tikki-Tavi was back – safe and sound. That was the last day we ever saw a snake in our yard or house. Rikki-Tikki had saved us three times from evil. God and Rikki-Tikki were watching over us. Teddy could safely play about the garden with Rikki ever present and ever in need of attention. After a while, I realized what John had said was so very true. Rikki- Tikki-Tavi was much better than a guard dog, for he turned our yard from a dangerous jungle to a Garden of Eden.

*ablution; to bath in water

From the mother’s viewpoint by Mr. Sorensen. August 29, 2008.