"What is a Mongoos?" queried Magh.
"Our natural enemy," answered King Cobra, "just as Fleas and other Vermin are yours. But I killed the squeaky little beast with one drive of my head—broke his back. At Ramree a Sahib bought me from the black man."
"That was the Sahib who sent you here, I fancy," suggested Sa'-zada.
"Perhaps. At any rate he seemed fond of Snakes of my kind, for he put me in a box wherein was one of my family. But he should have known more about our manner of life, for he nearly starved us through ignorance of our taste. He puts Rats and Frogs, and Birds and such Vermin as that in, with never so much as a Green-Tree-Snake. The yellow-faced Burmans used to come in front of our cage and touch us up with sticks until my nose was skinned with striking at them and hitting the bars.
"Our getting something to eat was a pure accident. One night this Sahib stepped on a Snake—a young Rock Snake, which had curled up in the path for the warmth of the hot earth. 'Oh, ho!' said the Sahib, bringing this new Snake to our cage, 'you are looking for trouble, little Samp (snake). Let us see how you get on in there,' and he threw him in our box, expecting to see a fight."
"And did he?" queried Magh.
"Hiz-z-z-za! I should say so. My mate and I fought half an hour before we settled who was to eat the visitor."
"You two Comrades fought over it?" asked Mooswa.
"Yes; that is our way. Two Snakes cannot eat one—how else should we settle the question? we were both hungry. Why, one day my mate flew at me, and I could see in his eye that he meant eating me, and in self-defence I was forced to put him out of the way of mischief, but the Sahib pulled us apart.
"But if I hated the Yellow Men who came to my cage, I liked the Mem-Sahib (white lady). I think it was her voice. Hiz-z, hiz-z, hiz-z! It was as soft as the song the man had brought forth from the hollow stick. Sometimes I would hear her voice-song near my box, and it would put me to sleep; only, of course, I had to keep one eye open lest my mate would try to eat me——"