Read this excerpt from "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi." 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 fore-legs, bitten as high up the back as he could get hold, and rolled away. That bite paralysed 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.

Who is the protagonist in this excerpt?

A. Karait, because he causes the danger
B. Teddy, because he is the one in trouble
C. Rikki-tikki, because he solves the problem
D. Teddy’s father, because he tries to protect Teddy​