The Banyan Tree

The Tree Empire: The banyan tree in the narrator's grandfather's garden was older than the house, older than the city of Dehra Dun itself. Its twisting branches arched to the ground, taking fresh roots to form an intricate leafy maze. Grandfather, at sixty-five, could no longer climb it, so the boy became its sole ruler.

Friendship with the Grey Squirrel: At first, a small grey squirrel resented the boy's intrusion. But when he saw the boy carried neither catapult nor airgun, the squirrel became tame, taking crumbs of cake and biscuits directly from his fingers, even rummaging inside his pockets. The boy built a comfortable reading platform in the tree, reading classics like Treasure Island, Robinson Crusoe, and Huckleberry Finn.

One drowsy summer afternoon, while resting among the boughs, the boy noticed a six-foot glistening black cobra gliding out of a clump of cactus. Simultaneously, a three-foot grey mongoose emerged from the bushes. The stage was set beneath the banyan tree for a fight to the death.

The Opening Stances: The cobra raised three feet of his body off the ground, spreading his broad, spectacled hood and hissing aggressively with a darting black tongue. The mongoose bristled his hair, puffing up his thick tail to make himself look twice his size.

Uninvited Spectators: A myna and a jungle crow flew down to perch on a nearby cactus, eager to watch and feast on the fallen loser.

The Combat Rounds:

• Round 1 (The Feint): The cobra swayed slowly, trying to hypnotize the mongoose. But the mongoose fixed his gaze beneath the cobra's hood and refused to be deceived. The mongoose feigned an attack, lunged forward, and sprang aside just as the cobra struck lightning-fast, snapping his fangs inches short.
• Round 2 (The Birds Intervene): The crow and the myna hurled themselves at the fighting animals. Colliding mid-air, they shrieked insults. The second time they dived, the cobra whipped his head back and struck the crow with full force. The crow fluttered, kicked convulsively on the grass, and died. The myna wisely withdrew and remained perched on the cactus.
• Round 3 (The Fatal Climax): As the duel dragged on in the scorching heat, the cobra's strikes grew sluggish. The agile mongoose seized his moment, leaped boldly onto the cobra's neck, and clamped his sharp teeth into the snake's spine. The snake thrashed and coiled wildly around the mongoose, but the mongoose hung on grimly until the snake weakened. Finally, the mongoose gripped the cobra by the snout and dragged it into the bushes, while the wise myna flew down, peered into the bushes, let out a congratulatory chirp, and flew away.

Key Vocabulary

• Defiance: Open resistance or bold disobedience.
• Dart: A sudden, rapid movement.
• Feint: A deceptive or mock attack designed to draw the opponent's defense.
• Mesmerize: To hold someone's attention completely, as if by hypnosis.
• Snout: The projecting nose and mouth of an animal.