THE MONGOOSE 143 



and fawn colour ; its eyes are red, small, and sparkling ; its 

 voice is soft and murmuring, and it often sits up like a 

 squirrel in feeding. 



MONGOOSE (Herpes tes mungo). 

 Coloured Plate VIII. Fig. 3. 



The Mongoose, or Mungoose, is a native of India, and 

 in spite of its natural fierceness is quite popular as a 

 domestic pet on account of its snake-destroying habits, 

 which make it very useful in that serpent-haunted country. 

 It is rather a smaller animal than the ichneumon. Even 

 in England the Indian Ichneumon, as it is termed, is some- 

 times kept as a pet, and if purchased when young is as 

 pretty, playful, and affectionate a creature as can be 

 imagined. 



Mrs. Brightwen, that well-known lover of animals, kept 

 one for years that did not so much as wear a collar to 

 remind him of captivity. ' He is never so happy as when 

 curled up in the lap of some indulgent friend ; yet, as 

 he unfortunately looks like a ferret, many people find it 

 very hard to believe that he can be perfectly harmless/ 



Though ' Mungo ' would sometimes absent himself for 

 hours, he always returned home, except upon one occasion 

 when he got caught in a steel trap, which necessitated 

 the amputation of a paw. So well did the wound heal that 

 the limp could hardly be observed, and the little creature 

 was as merry as ever, scampering about and playing with 

 his own tail as lively as any kitten. 



When bitten in its fights with poisonous snakes, the 

 Hindus and Egyptians believe that the Mongoose has 

 recourse to some plant as an antidote to the poison. In 

 reality the nimble creature is very rarely bitten at all, 

 avoiding the darts of the snake with wonderful adroitness. 

 In any case it would be difficult for the reptile to drive 

 its fangs through the harsh hair and thick skin of the 

 Mongoose, which, however, is not afraid of a dose of 

 poison, for it will eat a cobra's head, poison glands and all. 



Rats are another pet aversion of the Mongoose, which 



