The Loyal Mongoose
Also known as Vafadar Nevla
- 3 minute read
- Ages 7-11
- Panchatantra Stories
A brahmin and his wife had a baby son, and in the same season they took in a young mongoose and raised him alongside the child. The two grew up together. The mongoose slept beside the cradle. He followed the baby from room to room. He would not eat until the child had eaten.
The brahmin loved the mongoose. His wife did not. She looked at the sharp teeth and the quick dark eyes and she could never quite stop worrying.
The mother goes out
One afternoon she had to fetch water from the well.
"Watch the baby," she said to her husband, and went out.
But the brahmin had somewhere to be as well, and the child was fast asleep, and the mongoose was curled at the foot of the cradle as he always was. So the brahmin looked at them both, decided that was good enough, and left too.
The house was quiet. And into that quiet, out of a crack in the wall near the floor, came a black snake.
What happened in the empty house
The mongoose saw it before it had crossed half the room.
What happened next was fast and violent. The mongoose met the snake at the foot of the cradle and would not let it past. The snake struck at him twice. He took both and kept coming. It ended near the doorway, and by the end the snake was in pieces and the mongoose was covered in its blood.
He was still standing over it, shaking, when he heard the mother at the gate.
And he was so glad — so completely, simply glad, the way an animal is glad — that he ran to the door to meet her.
At the doorway
She came up the path with the water jar balanced on her hip.
And the mongoose came out of the house towards her with blood all round his mouth and blood on his chest and his paws.
She did not think. She did not stop. She did not go inside first.
She lifted the heavy jar with both hands and brought it down on him.
Then she ran into the house, screaming for her baby.
The child was asleep in the cradle, exactly as she had left him, breathing softly, with the pieces of the black snake lying on the floor by the door.
She came back out.
The mongoose was still there in the path.
When her husband came home she was sitting beside him in the dust, and she could not stop, and she never entirely stopped for the rest of her life.
Moral of the story
Act in anger and you cannot take it back. Find out what has happened before you decide what to do about it.
Questions and answers
- How were the mongoose and the baby raised?
They grew up together in the same house. The mongoose slept beside the cradle, followed the baby everywhere and would not eat before the child ate.
- Why did the mother not trust the mongoose?
She was frightened by his sharp teeth and quick movements and could never stop worrying that he might harm her son.
- Why was the house left empty?
The mother went to fetch water and the father left too, deciding the sleeping baby and the watchful mongoose would be fine on their own.
- Why was the mongoose covered in blood?
He had fought and killed a black snake that came into the house and tried to reach the baby's cradle.
- What mistake did the mother make?
She saw the blood, assumed the mongoose had hurt her baby and killed him instantly, without checking on the child first.
Word meanings
- mongoose
- A small brave animal known for fighting and killing snakes.
- cradle
- A small bed for a baby, often one that rocks.
- struck
- Attacked suddenly and sharply, as a snake does.
- jar
- A tall container used for carrying or storing water.
Questions about The Loyal Mongoose
What is the moral of The Loyal Mongoose?
The moral is never to act on anger or panic before you know the facts. The mother's mistake could not be undone, and the story is remembered because of how final it is.
Why is this story considered so sad?
Because the mongoose died for doing exactly the right thing, and because the mother's love for her child is what caused it. Nobody in the story is a villain.
What is The Loyal Mongoose called in Hindi?
It is usually known as Vafadar Nevla, meaning 'the faithful mongoose'.
Is this story suitable for young children?
It is usually told to children aged seven and above, because it deals with the death of a beloved animal. Younger children may need an adult to talk it through with them.