1. “It was to be a battle of champions.” (8)

(i) What qualities did the two champions have? Pick out words and phrases from the paragraph above this line in the text and write them down.

(ii) What did the cobra and the mongoose do, to show their readiness for the fight?

2. Who were the other two spectators? What did they do? (Did they watch, or did they join in the fight?) (10)

3. Read the descriptions below of what the snake did and what the mongoose did. Arrange their actions in the proper order. (11, 16)

(i)	Ceased to struggle	Grabbed the snake by the snout
(ii)	Tried to mesmerise the mongoose	Dragged the snake into the bushes
(iii)	Coiled itself around the mongoose	Darted away and bit the cobra on the back
(iv)	Struck the crow	Pretended to attack the cobra on one side
(v)	Struck again and missed	Refused to look into the snake’s eyes
(v)	Struck on the side that the mongoose pretended to attack	Sprang aside, jumped in and bit

4. (i) What happened to the crow in the end? (16)

(ii) What did the myna do finally? (17)

Why did the farmer bring a baby mongoose into the house?