Rikki Tikki Tavi
Quiz
Name: ___________________ Score: __/20
A. Summary
Instructions: Complete the summary of the story below by filling in the missing words.
(5 points)
A mongoose named Rikki-Tikki-Tavi is happily adopted by a human family. He enjoys the comforts of their home but is especially excited by their garden and its opportunities for hunting. A couple of birds, (1) ____________ and his wife, and the (2)
_______________ Chuchundra warn him about two vicious (3)_______________, named Nag and Nagaina, who terrorize the garden. Rikki soon encounters and rebuffs the snakes, who first ambush him in the garden and then infiltrate the humans' home. With the help of the human (4) _______________, he kills Nag. But he then must deal with vengeful Nagaina, who has cornered the human family. Rikki chases her down, eventually (5) _______________ her and destroying her babies in the process. A proud hero, he lives happily with the family-but never lets down his guard.
B. Comprehension Questions
Main ideas (3 points)
1. A central idea in "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" is that a. humans should never adopt stray animals. b. living in a house with humans causes Rikki to lose his natural animal instincts. c. Rikki's mongoose instincts allow him to defend himself and his human friends. d. all living creatures can learn to get along.
2. One of the lessons the human family learns is that a. mongooses don't like living in human homes. b. they should not have allowed Rikki to sleep in Teddy's nursery. c. people shouldn't fear snakes as much as they do. d. a loyal mongoose can provide great protection for a family.
3. The main idea of the excerpt below is a. Rikki is able to jump high. b. an old mongoose knows when to break a snake's back. c. cobras have a terrible lashing return-stroke. d. Rikki narrowly escapes Nagaina's sneak attack.

Rikki-Tikki knew better than to waste time staring. He jumped up in the air as high as he could go, and just under him whizzed by the head of Nagaina, Nag's wicked wife. She had crept up behind him to kill him. He heard her savage hiss as her stroke missed and he came down almost across her back. If he had been an older mongoose, he would have known that then was the time to break her back with one bite, but he was afraid of the terrible lashing return-stroke of the cobra....
Supporting Details (4 points)
4. During Rikki's first day in the house, his behavior can be described as
a. curious and excited.
b. scared and shy.
c. angry and violent.
d. proud and arrogant.
5. How is Nag finally killed?
a. Rikki breaks his back
b. He accidentally bites his own tail.
c. Teddy's father shoots him with a shotgun.
d. The rest of the animals gang up and attack him.
6. When Darzee praises Rikki for killing Nag, Rikki
a. joins in the singing and celebration.
b. gives credit to Teddy's father for killing Nag.
c. scolds Darzee for thinking he's out of danger.
d. decides to let Nagaina go because he feels bad for her.
7. To ensure that snakes won't continue to rule the garden in the future, Rikki
a. poisons Nagaina's supply of food.
b. destroys Nagaina's eggs.
c. organizes all the garden animals to fight the snakes.
d. finds another mongoose to help him keep guard.
Conclusions (3 points)
8. The passage below suggests that a. Rikki feels imprisoned in his new home. b. Rikki is jealous of the attention Teddy receives from his parents. c. Rikki is afraid of fire. d. Rikki enjoys exploring his new home.
[Rikki] spent all that day roaming around the house. He nearly drowned himself in the bathtubs. He put his nose into the ink on a writing table and burned it on the end of the big man's cigar when he climbed into his lap to watch how writing was done. At nightfall he ran into Teddy's nursery to watch how kerosene lamps were lighted. And when Teddy went to bed, Rikki-Tikki climbed up there too. But he was a restless companion because he had to check out every noise all through the night to find out what made it. Teddy's

mother and father came in, the last thing in the evening, to look at their boy, and Rikki-
Tikki was awake on the pillow.
9. Based on the passage below, we can conclude that a. Nagaina is more cunning and threatening than her husband. b. the snakes could be persuaded to share the garden with others. c. Nag is in charge of making all the plans in his family. d. Nagaina hopes her husband will be killed while trying to kill the humans.
"But are you sure that there is anything to be gained by killing the people?" said Nag.
[Nagaina replied,] "Everything. When there were no people in the house, did we have any mongoose in the garden? As long as the house is empty, we are king and queen of the garden. And remember, as soon as our eggs in the melon bed hatch (as they may tomorrow), our children will need room and quiet?' "I had not thought of that," said Nag.
10. The end of the story suggests that a. Teddy's family will probably move away due to their fear of snakes. b. Nagaina's final egg escaped harm, and that snake will return for revenge. c. Rikki will leave to find his parents. d. the garden will remain safe because Rikki carefully guards it.
C. Short answer (Choose only ONE). Write at least 5 sentences. (5 points)
1. Throughout the story, Nagaina is called "wicked." Do you agree with this characterization? Why or why not?
2. Rikki is portrayed as the hero of the story. But even heroes can have negative qualities.
What are some qualities of Rikki's that can be considered negative? In your opinion, do these qualities detract from his heroism? Explain.
3. How does Rikki's personality change over the course of the story? What events cause this change?