Rikki-Tikki-Tavi Quiz
Questions: 16 · 10 minutes
1. Why does Rikki-tikki keep one of Nagaina’s eggs instead of destroying every egg immediately?
He wants to raise the final cobra away from Nagaina.
He needs proof that Darzee told him the truth about the nest.
He uses it to divert Nagaina’s attention and help free Teddy from immediate danger.
He plans to trade it to Chuchundra for information.
2. Why does Rikki-tikki pursue Nagaina into her underground hole despite the danger?
He expects Teddy’s father to follow him with the gun.
Leaving Nagaina alive would allow her to return and continue threatening the household.
He wants to discover another route into the bungalow.
Darzee has told him that the hole contains more mongooses.
3. How does Rikki-tikki first arrive at the bungalow garden?
Teddy brings him home after buying him in the cantonment.
A flood washes him out of his burrow and leaves him in the garden.
Darzee leads him there to seek protection from Nag.
He follows Nagaina from the fields to her nest.
4. When Rikki-tikki finds Nag asleep by the water jar, which tactic gives him the best chance of surviving the attack?
Seizing Nag near the head and holding on despite the snake’s violent movement
Biting Nag’s tail and pulling him into the garden
Waiting for Teddy to trap Nag beneath a basket
Calling loudly until Nag leaves the bathroom
5. What kind of animal is Chuchundra, the timid nighttime visitor inside the house?
A musk-rat
A young mongoose
A tailorbird
A garden snake
6. Who fires the shot that finishes the fight with Nag in the bathroom?
The colonel
Teddy’s mother
The gardener
Teddy’s father
7. Why does Rikki-tikki destroy Nagaina’s eggs?
He wants to force Darzee to leave the garden.
He needs to prevent young cobras from hatching and becoming new threats.
He believes breaking them will frighten Nagaina away without a fight.
He mistakes them for Karait’s eggs and acts accidentally.
8. Where does Rikki-tikki learn that Nagaina has hidden her eggs?
Under the bathroom water jar
Inside Darzee’s nesting tree
In the melon bed near the wall
Beneath the veranda steps
9. What does Rikki-tikki’s encounter with Karait demonstrate?
A small, easily overlooked snake can still be deadly and demand a quick response.
Karait is an ally who warns Rikki-tikki about the cobras.
Teddy can safely handle a snake if an adult is nearby.
Only large snakes are dangerous to a mongoose.
10. How does Darzee’s wife help Rikki-tikki reach Nagaina’s eggs?
She carries the eggs out of the melon bed one at a time.
She attacks Nagaina directly and pins her to the ground.
She alerts Teddy’s father so he can guard the nest with his gun.
She pretends to have a broken wing and draws Nagaina away.
11. Which two cobras pose the main threat in the story?
Nag and Nagaina
Karait and Chuchundra
Darzee and Nag
Nagaina and Karait
12. What is Nag’s plan when he settles in the bathroom for the night?
He plans to steal food after the family goes to sleep.
He intends to hide there until Nagaina moves her eggs.
He wants to ambush Darzee when the bird comes indoors for water.
He plans to attack Teddy’s father when the man enters unarmed, then remove the rest of the family.
13. During the confrontation near the breakfast table, what is Nagaina trying to accomplish?
She waits for Darzee to reveal where Rikki-tikki is hiding.
She asks the family to return her eggs and promises to leave peacefully.
She tries to persuade Rikki-tikki to join her against the humans.
She holds the family still and seeks revenge for Nag by threatening Teddy.
14. By the end of the story, what role has Rikki-tikki established for himself?
He becomes a wild wanderer who avoids all contact with the family.
He remains the household’s vigilant protector against snakes.
He becomes Darzee’s nest-building partner in the garden.
He leaves the bungalow to search for other mongooses.
15. Why is Darzee grieving when Rikki-tikki first meets him?
Karait drove Darzee’s mate out of the garden.
Nagaina destroyed Darzee’s nest during the flood.
One of Darzee’s young fell from the nest and was eaten by Nag.
Teddy’s family cut down Darzee’s nesting tree.
16. Why does Teddy’s father allow Rikki-tikki to explore the house instead of keeping him confined?
He expects Rikki-tikki to return to the jungle immediately.
He wants Rikki-tikki to entertain Teddy without approaching the adults.
He believes a mongoose becomes tame through curiosity and learning about a household.
He intends to train Rikki-tikki to carry messages around the garden.