Редьярд Киплинг Английский с Редьярдом Киплингом. Рикки-Тикки-Тави / Rudyard Kipling. Rikki-Tikki-Tavi читать онлайн страница 13

(и ему пришлось перепрыгнуть через тело /змеи/), and the head followed his heels close (а /ее/ голова следовала за ним по пятам; heel – пята, пятка; close – /нареч./ близко, около; рядом).


Rikki-tikki’s eyes grew red again, and he danced up to Karait with the peculiar rocking, swaying motion that he had inherited from his family. It looks very funny, but it is so perfectly balanced a gait that you can fly off from it at any angle you please, and in dealing with snakes this is an advantage. If Rikki-tikki had only known, he was doing a much more dangerous thing than fighting Nag, for Karait is so small, and can turn so quickly, that unless Rikki bit him close to the back of the head, he would get the return stroke in his eye or his lip. But Rikki did not know. His eyes were all red, and he rocked back and forth, looking for a good place to hold. Karait struck out. Rikki jumped sideways and tried to run in, but the wicked little dusty gray head lashed within a fraction of his shoulder, and he had to jump over the body, and the head followed his heels close.

Teddy shouted to the house (Тэдди закричал, /повернувшись/ к дому): “Oh, look here (о, смотрите)! Our mongoose is killing a snake (наш мангуст убивает змею).” And Rikki-tikki heard a scream from Teddy’s mother (и Рикки-Тикки услышал пронзительный крик матери Тэдди; scream – вопль, пронзительный крик). His father ran out with a stick (его отец выбежал с палкой), but by the time he came up (но к тому времени, когда он подошел /к месту боя/), Karait had lunged out once too far (Карайт сделал выпад слишком далеко; to lunge – делать выпад, неожиданно наброситься; once – один раз; раз, разок; единожды, однажды), and Rikki-tikki had sprung (и Рикки-Тикки бросился; to spring – прыгать, скакать; бросаться), jumped on the snake’s back (запрыгнул на спину змеи), dropped his head far between his forelegs (сильно придавил ее голову передними лапами; to drop – капать; бросать; валить, сваливать; сшибать, сбивать; far – вдали, далеко; в значительной степени; between – между), bitten as high up the back as he could get hold (укусив в спину так высоко, как /только/ мог ухватиться = как можно ближе к голове; to bite – кусать/ся/; to get hold of smb./smth. – cхватить кого-либо, что-либо; ухватиться за кого-либо, что-либо), and rolled away (и откатился прочь; to roll – катиться; вертеть/ся/; to roll away – откатывать/ся/). That bite paralyzed Karait (этот укус парализовал Карайта), and Rikki-tikki was just going to eat him up from the tail (и Рикки-Тикки уже собирался съесть его /начиная/ с хвоста), after the custom of his family at dinner (по обычаю своей семьи за обедом), when he remembered that a full meal makes a slow mongoose (как вдруг вспомнил, что полная = обильная пища делает мангуста медленным = неповоротливым), and if he wanted all his strength and quickness ready (и, если он хочет /держать/ всю свою силу и быстроту наготове; ready – готовый), he must keep himself thin (он должен оставаться худым; thin – тонкий; худой).


Teddy shouted to the house: “Oh, look here! Our mongoose is killing a snake.” And Rikki-tikki heard a scream from Teddy’s mother. His father ran out with a stick, but by the time he came up, Karait had lunged out once too far, and Rikki-tikki had sprung, jumped on the snake’s back, dropped his head far between his forelegs, bitten as high up the back as he could get hold, and rolled away. That bite paralyzed Karait, and Rikki-tikki was just going to eat him up from the tail, after the custom of his family at dinner, when he remembered that a full meal makes a slow mongoose, and if he wanted all his strength and quickness ready, he must keep himself thin.