Part 2: Tailorbird Trip

It had been some weeks since the incident with the mice. Rikki-tikki, however, had another problem as of late. A big cobra had been seen nearby. One day, the snake came into the garden. Rikki-tikki was talking to his friend Darzee the tailorbird and his wife. The snake struck its tail at the two birds, knocking them over and hurting their wings. They wouldn't be able to fly off. They were also winded.

Rikki-tikki acted on instinct, fighting the snake. During the fight, however, the snake came dangerously close to the two injured birds. He acted on instinct, without thinking that much, as he had only a split second to react, and swallowed the two birds, taking them out of reach of the snake.

This kept them safe, for now. In the meantime, he was going on the offensive. After a tiring fight, he managed to kill the snake. He then ate it, feeling quite hungry.

He was about to go off for a nap, for he was quite tired, when he heard an angry voice from his stomach. "Hey, Rikki, forgetting something?!" "Oops." said Rikki-tikki-tavi. It seems that I can't cough you up, at least not without losing my meal. I'm really tired right now. I don't have much energy to make you be coughed up. I need a nap."

"What about us?" said Darzee's wife. "Hmmmm." said Rikki-tikki. "I think the best thing would be to let nature take its course and have you come out the other end." said Rikki. The two birds groaned. "I think the snake should act as a shield, making it get digested. You guys might just lose a few feathers and stuff. Anyway, it worked with those mice a few weeks back. Perhaps you could stay on the sides of the stomach and move around. You don't have to rub it. I didn't tell the mice that, though." he said. "The air in here is hardly breathable!" said Darzee. "Well, I'll breathe a lot more then." he said. "Also, I'll eat some dates. They help move things along, if you know what I mean. Now, I really need a nap." said the mongoose. He went to sleep, after eating some dates.

Inside his stomach, the snake was broken down. True to his word, the snake took the brunt of the acid, and they moved so they didn't get hit that much. However, they did get a bit burned and lost a few hours. Over time, the snake was broken down, and they lost a few more feathers. Around evening, Rikki woke up and ate more dates. These dates had an effect on him, for he went to a bush in the nearby jungle and emptied out his rectum. His waste was all runny.


Meanwhile, Darzee and his wife were finally passed into his small intestine. In here, villi pulled at them and absorbed the snake meat. A blue substance tried to break them down, but couldn’t. They went through this for the rest of their trip through the small intestine. They seemed to be moving faster than normal.

Rikki-tikki continued to empty out by the bush. This was annoying for him, but, as he told himself, he had kind of brought it on himself. Meanwhile, the birds entered his colon. They got covered in mongoose poop. It stank horribly. They couldn't wait to get out.

Finally, after another hour, they came to a dip in the tunnel. They fell into it. They fell into his rectum. It really stank in here. And there was gooey poop everywhere. They pushed on the anal wall, wanting out.

“Let us out!” they cried. Rikki-tikki went to the bush.

He hunched down and grunted. Darzee and his wife saw light come into the chamber. They fell downward and came to the bottom of the rectum. Rikki pushed out Darzee first. First his legs, then his body, then his head came out. More poop came out. Rikki pushed out Darzee’s wife. First came her legs, then her body, then her head. A bit more poop came out. They breathed in the fresh air.

"Sorry about that." said Rikki-tikki-tavi. He moved away from them and emptied out the rest of his solid waste. "At least we're not dead." said Darzee's wife. "We REALLY need a bath." "That was more of Rikki-tikki than I ever cared to see." said Darzee. After their bath, they smelled normal again.

Rikki, meanwhile, really had to pee. “Now to relieve my aching bladder.” he said. He lifted his leg and a torrent of urine came out of his white penis and shot past his leg. “Ahhhhhh!” he said in relief. This had been one bizarre day, he thought as he whizzed.