payment page
“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.”
This quote, which occurs at the beginning of the story, is the first glimpse the reader is given of Rikki-tikki’s personality. Here, Kiping characterizes his protagonist as an adventurous and brave mongoose, one who is not easily intimidated. Further, by making sure to mention that Rikki-tikki is a “true mongoose,” he attributes these traits to the species in general. Rikki-tikki will continue to do other mongooses proud by bravely facing his foes, where a more cowardly creature might have been intimidated into giving up.
“‘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.’”
Rikki-tikki says the above to himself the morning after his fight with Nag. Here, the mongoose decides to enter the garden early in the morning instead of sleeping or eating a nice breakfast. This line of thinking highlights Rikki-tikki’s pragmatic and logical personality—he immediately heads off to fight Nagaina, despite waking up sore and exhausted, because he knows that it is the smart thing to do.
