SHORT STORIES, LONG SHADOWS · B2/C1 · 50 min

Rikki-Tikki-Tavi

Rudyard Kipling's tale of a small, fearless mongoose who guards the family that took him in.

Need an easier version? Read this story at A2/B1 level →

Today: you'll tell the story of a brave little mongoose who protects a family from two deadly cobras — and you'll master the adverbs that make an action come alive, the words that say how something is done and in what order it unfolds.
Warm up — a few words worth carrying with you. Talk these through before we begin. Know the word already? Say what it means and use it in a sentence of your own. New to you? Even better — it's a useful word to add today. Reveal to check.
loyal
What does it mean? Describe someone you would call loyal.
loyal (adj) — faithful and devoted; someone who stands by the people they care about.
a threat
What does it mean? Name something you would call a threat.
a threat (n) — a person or thing that could cause harm or danger.
to defend
What does it mean? Use it in a sentence about protecting someone.
to defend (v) — to protect someone or something from attack or harm.
fearless
What does it mean? Name a fearless person, real or fictional.
fearless (adj) — showing no fear; very brave in the face of danger.

Now — the words for today's story

Each new word is hidden in a sentence. Read it aloud and say what you think the bold word means from the rest of the sentence — then reveal it and see how close you were.

1. The mongoose was a small, quick animal with a bushy tail and sharp little teeth, and in India it was famous for hunting snakes.
a mongoose (n) — a small furry animal, a little like a weasel, well known for its skill at fighting and killing snakes.
2. A cobra raised the front of its body off the ground, spread the skin around its neck into a hood, and swayed slowly from side to side.
a cobra (n) — a large, highly venomous snake that spreads a hood behind its head when it feels threatened.
3. One drop of venom from the snake's fangs was enough to stop a grown man's heart within the hour.
venom (n) — the poison that some snakes and insects inject when they bite or sting.
4. Deep in the garden the enemy was hidden in a dark burrow, a tunnel dug down into the soft earth beneath the melon bed.
a burrow (n) — a hole or tunnel dug in the ground by an animal, used as a home or hiding place.
5. The old bird warned the others to beware — to stay alert and keep well away from the tall grass where danger waited.
to beware (v) — to be careful of a danger; to watch out for something harmful.
6. When the enemy came near the nest, the small mother bird did not run; she was determined to protect her young whatever the cost.
to protect (v) — to keep someone or something safe from harm or danger.
7. Rikki did not attack at once; he stayed low and cautious, watching every movement before he took a single step.
cautious (adj) — careful; taking care to avoid danger or mistakes.
8. The great snake was cunning: it made a plan, waited for the right moment, and tried to trick everyone in the house.
cunning (adj) — clever in a sly, tricky way; good at getting what you want by deceiving others.
9. To face a snake ten times your size takes real courage — the strength to act even when you are afraid.
courage (n) — the ability to do something difficult or frightening; bravery.
10. When the danger was over at last, a deep sense of relief spread through the house, and the family finally slept in peace.
relief (n) — the calm, glad feeling you have when worry or pain finally goes away.

Now use them — out loud

Talk it through before we read:
  • Using mongoose, cobra, venom and courage, predict: what kind of story do you think this will be?
  • Which of these words go with the hero, and which go with the danger? Sort them out loud and say why.

The story, in three parts

Read each part. After it, there's a quick comprehension check (try the questions from memory first), then one thing to discuss.

Part 1 — The mongoose who came in from the flood

A summer flood washed a young mongoose out of his burrow and swept him, half-drowned, into the garden of an English family living in India. A small boy named Teddy found him lying in the sun and carried him indoors, and though his mother feared the wild little creature, the family warmed him, fed him, and let him stay. His name, said the way his own people said it, was Rikki-tikki-tavi.

Rikki was all curiosity. He explored the house from end to end, sat boldly on Teddy's shoulder, and quickly decided that this was a household worth belonging to. "This is a splendid hunting-ground," he thought, and his eyes grew red with excitement. For a mongoose, to live in a house is to have a family to guard — and the motto of all his kind was simple: run and find out.

But the garden held a secret. Out among the tall grass and the rose-bushes lived two great black cobras, Nag and his wife Nagaina, and they did not welcome the newcomer. On his very first morning outside, Rikki heard a low, cold hiss behind him and turned to face an enormous snake, its hood spread wide. The family's happiness, and their safety, would soon depend entirely on this small, wet, fearless animal.

Quick check — answer from memory, then reveal:

1. How did Rikki-tikki-tavi come to live with the family?

2. What did Rikki discover living in the garden?

1. A summer flood washed him out of his burrow into the family's garden; the boy Teddy found him and the family took him in, warmed him and fed him.

2. Two large cobras, Nag and Nagaina, who lived in the garden and did not welcome him.

Discuss:
  • Rikki decides almost at once that this family is "worth belonging to." What makes a creature — or a person — feel loyalty to a home so quickly?

Part 2 — The garden becomes a battlefield

Rikki quickly learned the rules of the garden. From a pair of frightened tailorbirds he heard how Nag and Nagaina ruled by fear, and how no small creature was safe near them. The cobras, for their part, saw at once that a mongoose in the house meant the end of them, and they began to plot. One day Nag tried to strike Teddy in the garden; Rikki, small and quick, drove the great snake back and kept the boy safe.

Then came the darkest night. Rikki overheard Nag and Nagaina whispering a plan: they would hide inside the house itself, wait in the bathroom until the family came in at dawn, and drive the humans away for good so that the garden would belong to their children. Rikki understood that if he did nothing, the family he loved would be in terrible danger.

So, in the dark, he did the bravest thing of his short life. He waited in silence for Nag to fall asleep, then seized him and held on with everything he had while the huge snake fought to throw him off. It was a long, hard struggle, and Rikki was battered and exhausted — but when it was over, the first and stronger of the two cobras was gone, and the house was one danger safer.

Quick check — answer from memory, then reveal:

1. What plan did Rikki overhear Nag and Nagaina making?

2. How did Rikki deal with the first cobra, Nag?

1. The cobras planned to hide in the house, wait in the bathroom, and drive the family away so the garden would belong to their young.

2. He waited silently for Nag to sleep, then took hold of him and held on through a long, hard struggle until the danger was ended.

Discuss:
  • Rikki acts alone, in the dark, against something far bigger than himself. Why do we admire courage most when nobody is watching?

Part 3 — The last cobra, and the last egg

One enemy remained, and she was the more dangerous of the two. Nagaina was full of grief and fury, and she was cunning. Down in a melon bed she had hidden her clutch of eggs — the next generation of cobras — and she meant to take her revenge on the family at breakfast the next morning. Rikki knew he had to end the danger completely, at the source.

Working quickly, he found the burrow, destroyed all but one of the eggs, and kept the last one as a kind of bargaining chip. At the very moment Nagaina had cornered the family on the veranda, Rikki appeared with that final egg and drew all her attention onto himself, away from the people. Furious, she snatched up the egg and fled down into her burrow to safety — and Rikki, against every warning, went straight down the dark hole after her.

For a long, silent moment the whole garden waited, certain the little mongoose would never come back up. Then the earth shook, and Rikki climbed out alone, dusty and tired: the last cobra was gone. The tailorbird sang the news across the garden, and a great wave of relief swept through the house. From that day on, Rikki-tikki-tavi guarded that garden as his own, and no cobra ever dared come inside its walls again.

Quick check — answer from memory, then reveal:

1. Why was Nagaina even more dangerous than Nag?

2. How did Rikki finally end the danger to the family?

1. She was grieving, furious and cunning, and she had a clutch of eggs hidden in the melon bed — the next generation of cobras — and planned revenge on the family.

2. He destroyed the eggs but one, used the last egg to draw her attention from the family, then followed her down into her burrow and did not let her escape.

Discuss:
  • Rikki chases the last cobra into her own burrow, where he could easily have died. Was that brave, or reckless — and is there a difference?

Grammar — adverbs of manner & sequence

The whole thrill of this story lives in how things happen and in what order. Rikki does not simply fight — he waits silently, strikes suddenly, holds on fiercely, and finally wins. Two kinds of adverb do this work, and used well they turn a flat report into a scene you can see.

Adverbs of manner — how the action is done.
They usually come from adjectives + -ly: brave → bravely, quick → quickly, sudden → suddenly, cautious → cautiously, silent → silently, fierce → fiercely. They most often sit right after the verb (or after the object): "He fought bravely." "She watched him cautiously." A few are irregular: good → well, fast → fast, hard → hard.
Adverbs of sequence — in what order things happen.
These order the events of a story: first, then, next, after that, at once (= immediately), suddenly, meanwhile, finally, in the end. They usually stand at the start of a sentence, followed by a comma: "First, he waited. Then, he struck. Finally, the garden was safe." Note that suddenly can work as both — it describes manner (unexpectedly) and marks a turn in the sequence.

1. Manner or sequence? Label each adverb

Read the sentence and write whether the bold adverb tells us how (manner) or when / in what order (sequence).

1. Rikki moved silently across the dark floor. →

2. First, he waited; then he crept closer. →

3. He held on fiercely and would not let go. →

4. Finally, the garden was safe again. →

1. manner (silently = how he moved)

2. sequence (First = the order of events)

3. manner (fiercely = how he held on)

4. sequence (Finally = the last event)

2. Make the adverb

Turn the adjective in brackets into an adverb of manner and write it in the gap.

1. The cobra swayed from side to side. (slow)

2. Rikki attacked before the snake could turn. (sudden)

3. He fought against a much larger enemy. (brave)

4. She watched the mongoose and missed nothing. (careful)

1. slowly

2. suddenly

3. bravely

4. carefully

3. Tell the scene — complete the paragraph

Fill each gap with a suitable adverb of manner or sequence (there is more than one good answer). Read it aloud once you're done.

, Rikki waited in the dark for the snake to sleep. He moved across the floor so that no one could hear him. he struck, and held on through the long struggle. , the danger was over and the house was safe.

Sample answer: First, Rikki waited... He moved silently / quietly across the floor... Then / Suddenly he struck, and held on fiercely / bravely... Finally / In the end, the danger was over.

Notice the shape: sequence words (first → then → finally) carry the order, while manner adverbs (silently, fiercely) show how each action was done.

Hold on to these — you'll need them in the Speak tab, where the whole point is to make your audience see the action unfold.

Going deeper

Kipling first published Rikki-Tikki-Tavi in 1894, in The Jungle Book. On the surface it is a thrilling animal adventure — but like the best animal tales, it is really about human things: courage, loyalty, and the choice to put yourself in danger for others.

Why the story endures. A tiny creature defeats an overwhelming enemy — not because he is bigger or stronger, but because he is braver and more determined. That is one of the oldest and most satisfying shapes a story can take, and it is why children and adults have loved this tale for over a century. Rikki is the perfect hero: an outsider taken in by strangers, who repays their kindness by risking everything to guard them.

Talk it through:
  • Rikki fights to defend a family that is not his own kind. What does the story seem to say about loyalty — is it something you are born with, or something you choose?
  • The cobras, too, are only protecting their home and their young. Does knowing that change how you feel about them? Can the "villain" of a story also be right?
  • Kipling gives animals human motives — courage, cunning, revenge. What does an animal hero let a writer say that a human hero could not?
  • Rikki is happiest when he has "a family to guard." What do you think the story is really saying about where a sense of purpose comes from?

Speak

This is the heart of the lesson — do all of it out loud. The timer is there to keep you going: fill the time with detail rather than rushing through it.

Useful language: make the action come alive with today's adverbs — of manner (bravely, silently, suddenly, fiercely, cautiously) and of sequence (first, then, at once, meanwhile, finally). For opinions, reach for: "What's striking is…", "You could argue that…", "It's no accident that…", "On one level… but on another…".
Time remaining: 4:00
Task A · Tell the whole story (4 minutes)

Tell the story of Rikki-Tikki-Tavi in your own words, as if to someone who has never heard it. Move through the arc: the flood that washes the mongoose into the garden → the family who take him in → the two cobras in the garden → the night Rikki faces Nag → the final chase after Nagaina and her last egg → peace restored to the house.

Make your audience see each moment: use adverbs of manner (bravely, silently, suddenly, fiercely) and adverbs of sequence (first, then, at once, finally), and work in at least five key words (mongoose, cobra, venom, burrow, beware, protect, cautious, cunning, courage, relief).

Task B · Loyalty and courage (4 minutes)

Rikki risks his life again and again for a family that is not even his own kind. Do we owe most loyalty to those we are born with, or to those who show us kindness? Build an argument, using examples you know — from real life, history or other stories — and decide where you stand.

Task C · A tale of courage of your own (4 minutes)

Tell a story in the same spirit — a moment where someone small, young or overlooked stood up to something much bigger. Lean on the grammar: what happened first, what someone did bravely or suddenly, and how it finally turned out.

Stuck for an idea? Pick one of these and run with it:

  • An animal you know of — a pet or a working animal — that protected or rescued someone.
  • A famous story or film where a small or unlikely hero defeats a powerful enemy.
  • A time someone stood up for a person who could not stand up for themselves.
  • A moment when you, or someone you know, had to be brave even while afraid.
  • A "guardian" figure — a person whose whole role is to keep others safe — and what that job takes.
  • A tense situation that unfolded step by step, first this, then that, and finally a resolution.

To finish — the bigger questions

  1. Rikki is an outsider, washed in by chance, who becomes the family's fiercest protector. Why do stories so often make the outsider the true hero?
  2. The cobras are defending their home and their young, just as Rikki defends his. Is there a clear "right side" in this story, or is it more complicated than it first appears?
  3. Over a hundred years on, children still love this tale. What is it about a brave little animal facing a great danger that never seems to grow old?
  4. Before you go — from memory: give one sentence with an adverb of manner and one with an adverb of sequence, both describing a moment from the story, and explain why each fits.