The Jungle Book: "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" and Darzee's Chant

by Rudyard Kipling
In this collection of stories set in India, Rudyard Kipling introduces beloved characters such as Mowgli, the boy raised by wolves, and Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, the courageous mongoose.

Here are links to our lists for the book: Mowgli's Brothers & Hunting-Song of the Seonee Pack, Kaa's Hunting & Road-Song of the Bander-Log, "Tiger, Tiger!" & Mowgli's Song, The White Seal & Lukannon, "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" and Darzee's Chant, Toomai of the Elephants & Shiv and the Grasshopper, Her Majesty's Servants & Parade Song of the Camp Animals
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. betide
    become of; happen to
    Woe betide thee, Nag!
  2. bungalow
    a small house with a single story
    This is the story of the great war that Rikki-tikki-tavi fought single-handed, through the bath-rooms of the big bungalow in Segowlee cantonment.
  3. scuttle
    move about or proceed hurriedly
    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!”
  4. veranda
    a porch along the outside of a building
    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.
  5. gait
    a person's manner of walking
    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.
  6. providence
    a manifestation of God's foresightful care for his creatures
    “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.
  7. sluice
    conduit that carries a rapid flow of water
    “That’s Nag or Nagaina,” he said to himself, “and he is crawling into the bath-room sluice. You’re right, Chuchundra; I should have talked to Chua.”
  8. singe
    burn superficially or lightly
    A hot wind knocked him senseless and red fire singed his fur.
  9. valiant
    having or showing heroism or courage
    “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.”
  10. consolation
    the act of giving relief in affliction
    “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!”
  11. cunningly
    in a sly or crafty manner
    There, in the warm litter above 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.
  12. brood
    the young of an animal cared for at one time
    “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.”
  13. gong
    a large metal disk that sounds a note when struck
    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!”
  14. lilt
    a jaunty rhythm in music or speech
    Singer and tailor am I—
    Doubled the joys that I know—
    Proud of my lilt to the sky,
    Proud of the house that I sew—
    Over and under, so weave I my music—so weave I the house that I
    sew.
  15. impotent
    lacking power or ability
    Terror that hid in the roses is impotent—flung on the dung-hill
    and dead!
Created on Tue Oct 16 09:51:12 EDT 2018 (updated Tue Oct 16 13:33:49 EDT 2018)

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