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XIII . The Night in the Bathroom When Teddy was asleep , Rikki - tikki went for a walk round the dark house . He met Chuchundra the muskrat , a small , unhappy animal who always crept along by the wall . “ Don’t kill me , Rikki - tikki ! ” cried Chuchundra . “ Do you think a snake - killer kills muskrats ? ” said Rikki - tikki . “ Those who kill snakes get killed by snakes , ” said Chuchundra sadly . “ Nag is everywhere . Shh ! Can’t you hear ? ” Rikki - tikki listened . The house was very still , but he could just hear a dry scratch - scratch on the bricks . It was the skin of a snake . He ran to the bathroom of Teddy’s mother and father . At the bottom of the wall there was a hole , where the bath water ran out into the garden . Outside in the moonlight , Nag and Nagaina were whispering . “ When the people are gone , the mongoose will go too , ” Nagaina said . “ Then the garden will be ours again . Go in quietly and bite the big man first . Remember , our eggs in the melon bed may open tomorrow , and our children will need room and quiet . ” “ I will kill the big man and his wife , and the child if I can , ” said Nag . “ Then Rikki - tikki will go . ” Rikki - tikki shook with anger . Then Nag’s head came through the hole , and after it came five feet of cold body . Rikki - tikki was very frightened when he saw how big the cobra was . “ In the morning the big man will come in to wash , ” said Nag . “ I will wait for him here . ” He wrapped his body round the big water jar and lay still . Rikki - tikki waited for an hour . Then very slowly he moved towards the jar . Nag was asleep . “ If I don’t break his back at the first jump , he can still fight , ” thought Rikki - tikki . “ It must be the head . And once I have it , I must not let go . ” Then he jumped . His teeth closed on Nag’s head , and Nag began to throw him about like a rat in the mouth of a dog , up and down , round and round the floor . But Rikki’s eyes were red , and he held on . He was sure that he was going to die , and for the honour of his family he wanted to be found with his teeth still closed . Suddenly there was a sound like thunder behind him . A hot wind knocked him senseless , and fire burned his fur . The noise had woken the big man , and he had fired his gun at Nag . Rikki - tikki held on with his eyes shut . He was sure that he was dead . But the snake did not move , and the big man picked him up . “ It’s the mongoose again , Alice , ” he said to his wife . “ The little fellow has saved our lives . ” Rikki - tikki dragged himself to Teddy’s bed . He spent half the night shaking himself gently to find out if he was broken into forty pieces .
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