Question

‘Give me the egg, Rikki-tikki. Give me the last of my eggs, and I will go away and never come back,’ she said, lowering her hood.

‘Yes, you will go away, and you will never come back; for you will go to the rubbish-heap with Nag. Fight, widow! The big man has gone for his gun! Fight!’

Rikki-tikki was bounding all round Nagaina, keeping just out of reach of her stroke, his little eyes like hot coals. Nagaina gathered herself together, and flung out at him. Rikki-tikki jumped up and backward. Again and again and again she struck, and each time her head came with a whack on the matting of the verandah, and she gathered herself together like a watch-spring. Then Rikki-tikki danced in a circle to get behind her, and Nagaina spun round to keep her head to his head, so that the rustle of her tail on the matting sounded like dry leaves blown by the wind.

He had forgotten the egg. It still lay on the verandah, and Nagaina came nearer and nearer to it.

—“Rikki-Tikki-Tavi,”
Rudyard Kipling

What causes the antagonist to take action in this scene?

Nagaina wants to save her last egg.
Rikki-tikki’s eyes burn like hot coals.
Nagaina hurts her head on the matting.
Rikki-tikki makes fun of Nagaina by dancing around her during the fight.

Answer 1

The correct answer is: **Nagaina wants to save her last egg.**

In this scene, Nagaina's motivation to take action is driven by her desire to protect her last egg. This leads to her confrontation with Rikki-tikki as she becomes increasingly focused on the egg, despite the ongoing fight.