英语博客：Rikki-tikki-tavi part 2.

　　Rikki-tikki-tavi part 2.
"Who is Nag¹? I am Nag. My family has ruled this garden for thousands of years. Look at me and be afraid." Rikki-tikki was scared for only a minute. He knew that as a mongoose, he was supposed to fight snakes. Nag knew it too. "Look out!" yelled Darzee's wife. At just that moment, another snake struck at Rikki-tikki from behind. The snake, Nag's wife Nagaina, had tried to bite Rikki-tikki. She just missed him. Then, the two snakes quickly slithered off into the grass. Later that night, Rikki-tikki heard a peculiar² sound. Rikki-tikki could make out what seemed like the sound of snake skin rubbing on bricks. Nag or Nagaina was in the house! As quick as he could, Rikki-tikki ran off to Teddy's parent's bathroom. There he heard two voices whispering in the dark. It was Nag and Nagaina. "When the house is empty of people," Nag said to Nagaina, "we'll force Rikki-tikki to go away. Then the garden will be ours again. We are the king and queen of the garden. Remember, our eggs in the melon patch will be hatching soon." "Go in quickly," Nagaina said, "and scare off the people. Then you and I will take care of Rikki-tikki together." "Go in quickly," Nagaina said, "and scare off the people. Then you and I will take care of Rikki-tikki together." Rikki-tikki's eyes glowed the deep red of a polished ruby³. He heard Nagaina slide away into the grass outside. Rikki-tikki thought of all the nice things that Teddy's family had done for him. He inched closer to the deadly snake. He would fight the snake and send him away for good. Then, as quickly as lightning, Rikki-tikki jumped. He grabbed the snake by the back of the neck. Nag whipped his head around. Then snake swung Rikki-tikki like a limp rag doll. Then Rikki-tikki heard a large crack. Teddy's father had taken a stick and hit Nag in the head. The cobra lay still on the cold tile floor. Teddy's father picked up the snake and got rid of him. "Oh my," Teddy's mother cried from the bathroom doorway⁴. "That mongoose has saved all our lives." Rikki-tikki walked back into Teddy's room and slept. When morning came, he knew he would have to find Nagaina and fight her too. Once she found out that Nag was gone, she would be very dangerous...to everyone. Rikki-tikki went to the garden with a plan. "Darzee," he called, "you have to help to distract Nagaina while I go and find her eggs." Darzee agreed to fly over to where the snake was lying in the grass and lure⁵ her away. Nagaina was sitting by the house and crying over her lost Nag.

1 nag   

v.(对…)不停地唠叨；n.爱唠叨的人

参考例句：

• Nobody likes to work with a nag.谁也不愿与好唠叨的人一起共事。
• Don't nag me like an old woman.别像个老太婆似的唠唠叨叨烦我。

2 peculiar   

adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的

参考例句：

• He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
• He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。

3 ruby   

n.红宝石，红宝石色

参考例句：

• She is wearing a small ruby earring.她戴着一枚红宝石小耳环。
• On the handle of his sword sat the biggest ruby in the world.他的剑柄上镶有一颗世上最大的红宝石。

4 doorway   

n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径

参考例句：

• They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。
• Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。

5 lure   

n.吸引人的东西，诱惑物；vt.引诱，吸引

参考例句：

• Life in big cities is a lure for many country boys.大城市的生活吸引着许多乡下小伙子。
• He couldn't resist the lure of money.他不能抵制金钱的诱惑。