--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Because of Kipling, I've sometimes…" description: "\"Because of Kipling, I've sometimes wondered about keeping a mongoose about the house. But given the cobra population in Silver Spring, Maryland - zero,..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/909/michael-dirda-3414_cobra_because-of-kipling-i-ve-sometimes-wonder_2669404.png" --- # Because of Kipling, I've sometimes wondered about keeping… ![“Because of Kipling, I've sometimes wondered about keeping a mongoose about the house. But given the cobra population in Silver Spring, Maryland - zero, when last I checked - we hardly need a Rikki-Tikki-Tavi.” quote by Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/909/michael-dirda-3414_cobra_because-of-kipling-i-ve-sometimes-wonder_2669404.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/909/michael-dirda-3414_cobra_because-of-kipling-i-ve-sometimes-wonder_2669404.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/909/michael-dirda-3414_cobra_because-of-kipling-i-ve-sometimes-wonder_2669404.png) > “Because of Kipling, I've sometimes wondered about keeping a mongoose about the house. But given the cobra population in Silver Spring, Maryland - zero, when last I checked - we hardly need a Rikki-Tikki-Tavi.” [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He muses about keeping a mongoose for pest control, noting local cobra absence makes it unnecessary. **In simple terms:** Mongoose unnecessary where cobras are absent. Key Takeaway Assess local risks before taking action. Themes nature humor practicality Mood playful reflective Type observational practical When to use this quote - home pest control - wildlife management - travel safety Key Concepts mongoose cobra local fauna Questions to Reflect On - Is a mongoose useful elsewhere? - What alternatives exist for pest control? A Different Perspective May ignore other pests. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cobra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cobra/) [Silver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silver/) [Spring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spring/) ## Related quotes > [The cobra is deadly but mongoose can overcome it. We all have possibillity to defeat prejudiced and resentment in our lives. Fear is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shakira/the-cobra-is-deadly-but-mongoose-can-overcome-it-we-all-have/) [Shakira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shakira/) > [Love a cobra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cobra/love-a-cobra/) Cobra > [~Just wanna say congratz to Cobra and Patience~](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/she-s-gone/just-wanna-say-congratz-to-cobra-and-patience/) She's\_gone > [“What's different about you? Why does it make you a pussy if you get help, but not the rest of the team? Oh, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-clare/what-s-different-about-you-why-does-it-make-you-a-pussy-if-you-get/) [Pamela Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-clare/) > [“the cobra effect.” As the story goes, a British overlord in colonial India thought there were far too many cobras in Delhi. So he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-cobra-effect-as-the-story-goes-a-british-overlord-in-colonial/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“And I'm here gazing back at him like a rabbit mesmerized by a beautiful cobra, and any minute he's going to strike and I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samantha-towle/and-i-m-here-gazing-back-at-him-like-a-rabbit-mesmerized-by-a/) [Samantha Towle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samantha-towle/) > [The cobra will bite you whether you call it cobra or Sir. Cobra.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/the-cobra-will-bite-you-whether-you-call-it-cobra-or-sir-cobra/) [Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/) > ['Cobra Clutch' was to let the world know we ain't going nowhere. We got the game in the cobra clutch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prodigy/cobra-clutch-was-to-let-the-world-know-we-ain-t-going-nowhere-we-got/) [Prodigy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prodigy/) > [I drive a 1965 Shelby Cobra. I love classic muscle cars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-paul/i-drive-a-1965-shelby-cobra-i-love-classic-muscle-cars/) [Aaron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-paul/) > [“Wisdom is finding out that a cobra is deadly; without first having to lose one’s life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/wisdom-is-finding-out-that-a-cobra-is-deadly-without-first-having-to/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [So anyway, Brasky would put on a white tie and tails and walk his cobra through the park on a leash. He named the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-brasky/so-anyway-brasky-would-put-on-a-white-tie-and-tails-and-walk-his/) [Bill Brasky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-brasky/) > [Like a cobra, your strike should be felt before it is seen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/like-a-cobra-your-strike-should-be-felt-before-it-is-seen/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [“In a fight one must always be a COBRA and strike in the eyes of an opponent.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudo-mathivha/in-a-fight-one-must-always-be-a-cobra-and-strike-in-the-eyes-of-an/) Rudo Mathivha > [I am from the jungle where the lion eats the cobra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lil-wayne/i-am-from-the-jungle-where-the-lion-eats-the-cobra/) [Lil Wayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lil-wayne/) > [In her throat like the cola, my system solar. I'm too young to die sober, your man a cobra.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lil-wayne/in-her-throat-like-the-cola-my-system-solar-i-m-too-young-to-die/) [Lil Wayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lil-wayne/) ## More by Michael Dirda > [Nearly all the writing of our time is likely to disappear in a hundred years. Certainly most readers - and nearly all critics -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/nearly-all-the-writing-of-our-time-is-likely-to-disappear-in-a/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [I sometimes lie awake at night and try to imagine what would be the best period in history to spend one's seventy-odd years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/i-sometimes-lie-awake-at-night-and-try-to-imagine-what-would-be-the/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [To my mind, 'Dear Brutus' stands halfway between Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' and Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's 'Into the Woods'. Like them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/to-my-mind-dear-brutus-stands-halfway-between-shakespeare-s-a/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [The goal of a just society should be to provide satisfying work with a living wage to all its citizens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/the-goal-of-a-just-society-should-be-to-provide-satisfying-work-with/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [Most lyric poetry is about love, whether yearned after, fulfilled, or wistfully regretted; what isn't tends to consist of laments and cris du coeur…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/most-lyric-poetry-is-about-love-whether-yearned-after-fulfilled-or/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [“Books, by their very nature and variety, help us grow in empathy for others, in tolerance and awareness. But they should increase our skepticism…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/books-by-their-very-nature-and-variety-help-us-grow-in-empathy-for/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [My gift, if that's not too grandiose a term, is one for describing novels, biographies, and works of history in such a way that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/my-gift-if-that-s-not-too-grandiose-a-term-is-one-for-describing/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [Once we know the plot and its surprises, we can appreciate a book's artistry without the usual confusion and sap flow of emotion, content…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/once-we-know-the-plot-and-its-surprises-we-can-appreciate-a-book-s/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [My wife tells me I should check out 'Downton Abbey', but I gather that series might be almost too intense for my temperate nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/my-wife-tells-me-i-should-check-out-downton-abbey-but-i-gather-that/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [A reviewer's lot is not always an easy one. I can remember flogging myself to finish Harold Brodkey's 'The Runaway Soul' despite the novel's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/a-reviewer-s-lot-is-not-always-an-easy-one-i-can-remember-flogging/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [I once read that in vaudeville, it was often the straight guy who got paid more than the comic because that's the tougher job.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/i-once-read-that-in-vaudeville-it-was-often-the-straight-guy-who-got/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [From the late 19th to the early 20th century, the December issue of almost any general-interest magazine regularly featured a holiday horror or two.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/from-the-late-19th-to-the-early-20th-century-the-december-issue-of/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [Neither my mom nor my dad ever bought me any comic books. Certainly not for Christmas. I suspect that doing so would have violated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/neither-my-mom-nor-my-dad-ever-bought-me-any-comic-books-certainly/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [For me, the two weeks between Christmas and Twelfth Night have come to be reserved for desultory reading. The pressure of the holiday is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/for-me-the-two-weeks-between-christmas-and-twelfth-night-have-come-to/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [I've always liked an easygoing, colloquial style. I like the kind of reviewer who is essentially a fellow reader, an enthusiast, a fan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/i-ve-always-liked-an-easygoing-colloquial-style-i-like-the-kind-of/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) [Explore all 131 Michael Dirda quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) ## More Cobra quotes > [The cobra is deadly but mongoose can overcome it. We all have possibillity to defeat prejudiced and resentment in our lives. Fear is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shakira/the-cobra-is-deadly-but-mongoose-can-overcome-it-we-all-have/) [Shakira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shakira/) > [I am from the jungle where the lion eats the cobra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lil-wayne/i-am-from-the-jungle-where-the-lion-eats-the-cobra/) [Lil Wayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lil-wayne/) > [“In a fight one must always be a COBRA and strike in the eyes of an opponent.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudo-mathivha/in-a-fight-one-must-always-be-a-cobra-and-strike-in-the-eyes-of-an/) Rudo Mathivha > [Like a cobra, your strike should be felt before it is seen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/like-a-cobra-your-strike-should-be-felt-before-it-is-seen/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [So anyway, Brasky would put on a white tie and tails and walk his cobra through the park on a leash. He named the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-brasky/so-anyway-brasky-would-put-on-a-white-tie-and-tails-and-walk-his/) [Bill Brasky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-brasky/) > [“Wisdom is finding out that a cobra is deadly; without first having to lose one’s life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/wisdom-is-finding-out-that-a-cobra-is-deadly-without-first-having-to/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [I drive a 1965 Shelby Cobra. I love classic muscle cars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-paul/i-drive-a-1965-shelby-cobra-i-love-classic-muscle-cars/) [Aaron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-paul/) > ['Cobra Clutch' was to let the world know we ain't going nowhere. We got the game in the cobra clutch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prodigy/cobra-clutch-was-to-let-the-world-know-we-ain-t-going-nowhere-we-got/) [Prodigy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prodigy/) > [The cobra will bite you whether you call it cobra or Sir. Cobra.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/the-cobra-will-bite-you-whether-you-call-it-cobra-or-sir-cobra/) [Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/) > [“And I'm here gazing back at him like a rabbit mesmerized by a beautiful cobra, and any minute he's going to strike and I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samantha-towle/and-i-m-here-gazing-back-at-him-like-a-rabbit-mesmerized-by-a/) [Samantha Towle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samantha-towle/) > [“the cobra effect.” As the story goes, a British overlord in colonial India thought there were far too many cobras in Delhi. So he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-cobra-effect-as-the-story-goes-a-british-overlord-in-colonial/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“What's different about you? Why does it make you a pussy if you get help, but not the rest of the team? Oh, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-clare/what-s-different-about-you-why-does-it-make-you-a-pussy-if-you-get/) [Pamela Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-clare/) > [~Just wanna say congratz to Cobra and Patience~](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/she-s-gone/just-wanna-say-congratz-to-cobra-and-patience/) She's\_gone > [Love a cobra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cobra/love-a-cobra/) Cobra > [In her throat like the cola, my system solar. I'm too young to die sober, your man a cobra.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lil-wayne/in-her-throat-like-the-cola-my-system-solar-i-m-too-young-to-die/) [Lil Wayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lil-wayne/) [Browse all 32 Cobra quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cobra/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Because of Kipling, I've sometimes wondered about keeping a mongoose about the house. 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