Monday, April 11, 2011

The Cobra and the Mongoose

Before leaving the States on board The Mother Lode bound for England, I had the good fortunate of sharing a Cobra with a mongoose. I had been carrying the little rodent in my knapsack ever since I stopped by the Philadelphia Zoo where I swapped DNA stories with the big cats. The mongoose was up to no good, like most diurnal animals. The rodent is fast on his little feet, but catch them about dusk as they prepare for bedtime and they are just about worthless.

My first inclination was to present him to the Queen. However, I figured I’d have to tend to the varmint for a few weeks as I made my ocean passage on board a yet to be determined boat. Since I am looking out for number one, I didn’t want to spend any energy meeting the needs of the mongoose. And I couldn't very well present the Queen with an emaciated rodent. So there I was heading into the Bronx wondering if I would make him my midnight snack when the world went crazy over a little misplaced cobra.

With mongoose in the bag, I had no fear of the deadly snake. Mongoose can make short order of the venomous reptile. Once I located the missing cobra I told her about the mongoose stashed in my bag. By then he was pretty hungry. Her response, predictable. “Say no more.” Wasn’t it strange how she was “discovered” the very next day?

By now this is old news, but I was asked to explain how I got a mongoose into my knapsack. You see, it was quite simple. I told the mongoose I had a cobra in my bag. The photo included here is all the proof he needed.