The Tales from the Jungle Book
retold by Bernd Gillhoff
former Cub Scout Leader (Akela)
1st Mount Waverley Cub Scouts
Back to
1st Mount Waverley Cub
Scouts.
This story is in several chapters. They are:
The Seeonie Pack
Shere Khan
Mowgli
Mowgli's Training
The Bandar-Log
Kaa
Mowgli is Banished
Mowgli becomes a Man
Tiger, Tiger
The Last Council
The Seeonee Pack
On the banks of the Seeonee River, deep in the jungle, there
lived and hunted a pack of wolves. This pack was ruled by a great
grey Lone Wolf called Akela, who held a Pack Council around a
hilltop covered with stones around which, hundreds of wolves
could hide. This hill was known as the Council Rock, and Akela
would lead the meeting by lying on his rock at the centre of the
hill, with the wolves (about 40 odd) sitting around him in a
circle much as Cubs form a circle around a leader to hear what he
has to say and to do the Grand Howl.
The honourable members of the animal kingdom had a set of
rules by which they lived. These rules were known as the Law of
the Jungle. This Law was for the good of all and not just for a
few members of the animal kingdom at the expense of the others.
In our society we also have laws that are for the good of the
whole society and not just for a few individuals. In Cub Scouts
we also have our own Law that is also for our good as members of
society.
The Law of the Jungle covered a wide range of subjects
including a ban on killing domesticated animals for food because
their meat was not good for wolves' health, a ban on killing
humans because t sportsmanlike to kill them (secretly the reason
was that if a human was killed by an animal, then other humans
would come into the jungle with guns to seek out the culprit and
then all the animals would suffer). It was also said that an
animal that eats human flesh will have his teeth fall out.
Basically, if all the animals obeyed these laws then the
community would prosper.
At the Council Rock, the wolves would affirm their loyalty to
the leader and to the Law of the Jungle. Wolves hunt as a pack. A
lone wolf is not as successful a hunter as a whole pack.
Baloo the bear taught all the cubs of the Seeonee Pack the Law
of the Jungle, and for this reason, was the only animal other
than a wolf, who was a member of the pack.
Some animals lived outside the Law of the Jungle and these
were despised by all the animals. The Bandar-log (the monkey
people) were despised because they did not follow the Law of the
Jungle (or any other law for that matter) and merely lived from
day to day doing whatever pleased them for the moment. They would
make a rule and then break it almost immediately because they
found it too inconvenient. In other words they gave in to
themselves. The other animals could not respect anyone who was so
weak that they could not see any task to its end. The Bandar-log
resented the fact that they were despised by the other animals.
Another animal that lived outside the Law of the Jungle and
was despised by the Seeonee Pack was Shere Khan the lame tiger.
Shere Khan
Shere Khan was born with a lame foot and was not able to hunt
other animals properly, so he hunted only cattle which he could
catch easily. Sometimes he also hunted humans.
He lived near the banks of the Waingunga River, where the
villagers became very angry about him and started to hunt him.
All the other animals in the area suffered whilst men with guns
set fire to the grass and disturbed their dens and frightened
away the game animals. Shere Khan fled the area and moved to the
Seeonee River.
One night Shere Khan was hunting humans near the Seeonee
River, making so much noise in the process that all other game
would have fled the area long before Shere Khan would have a
chance to make a kill. The noise of a tiger at night frightens
humans sleeping out in the open and makes them do foolish things
that make it easy for a tiger to strike. So it was on this night.
The tiger leapt out of the jungle and misjudged his jump so that
he landed with his paws in the fire and ran off in rage and pain.
The only human that had not fled the camp was a very small Indian
baby boy who was too young to know fright.
Mowgli
Father Wolf found this youngster wandering in the jungle and
took him to his den, where he was adopted by Father Wolf and
Mother Wolf, and was cared for by them together with their own
cubs, the oldest of whom was Grey Brother. Mother Wolf, whose
name was Raksha, decided to call him Mowgli (Little Frog) because
he had no hair on his body and he reminded her of a little frog.
When Shere Khan discovered that the human child had been
rescued and was being looked after by the wolves, he was furious
and demanded the return of the child, since he considered him to
be his prey. Shere Khan warned that the pack would not accept
Mowgli amongst them and then he would have to be handed over to
Shere Khan. In the confines of the den entrance, however, Mother
Wolf had a major strategic advantage over the tiger and was quite
prepared to do battle with him. Shere Khan realised that his
chances of success in this fight would be very slim and so he
withdrew. Father Wolf agreed that Mowgli would have to be
introduced to the rest of the pack at the pack council and they
would have to agree that he be allowed to join the pack.
At the next pack council meeting, Mother wolf took Mowgli to
the Council Rock and introduced him to Akela and the pack
together with all the other new cubs. Many wolves objected to
Mowgli being present and Shere Khan in the background tried to
convince the pack that the man's cub had no right in the pack and
that the wolves should hand him over.
Akela refused to discuss Shere Khan's request since he was not
a member of the pack. The wolves, however, took up the call and
also challenged Mowgli's entry into the pack. For an outsider to
be admitted to the pack, he had to have two supporters who were
not his mother and father. When Akela called for supporters,
Baloo supported the entry of Mowgli into the pack, arguing that
Mowgli was harmless to the pack and might, some day, prove to be
very valuable to the pack. Akela then called for the second
supporter.
At this Bagheera the black panther came bounding out of the
trees and quoted the Law of the Jungle which says that if there
is a doubt which is a killing matter in regard to a new cub, then
the life of that cub can be bought at a price. Bagheera said that
he was not a member of the pack and had no right to appear at the
council, but asked permission to speak on the matter. The young
wolves who were always hungry for a meal agreed. Bagheera offered
to pay one dead bull for Mowgli's acceptance in the pack. The
wolves readily agreed to this and Mowgli was formally accepted
into the pack.
Shere Khan was very angry that Mowgli had not been handed over
to him and vowed to have his kill some day.
Mowgli's Training
Baloo the bear taught Mowgli the Law of the Jungle. Baloo was
very happy to have such a good student. The young wolves will
learn only the parts of the Law of the Jungle that apply to their
pack or tribe, and run away when they can repeat the Hunting
Verse: - "Feet that make no noise; eyes that can see in the
dark; ears that can hear the winds in the lairs, and sharp white
teeth, all these things are the marks of our brothers except
Tabaqui the Jackal and the hyaena whom we hate". But Mowgli,
being a man-cub had to learn a great deal more than this.
Bagheera often came to watch Mowgli learn his lessons. Since
he could climb the trees well and could swim he had to learn the
wood laws and how to warn the water snakes that he was coming, so
as not to startle them.
He also had to learn the Strangers' Hunting Call, which must
be repeated until it is answered whenever one of the
Jungle-People hunts outside his own grounds. Translated, it goes
like this: Give me leave to hunt here because I am hungry.".
The reply is "Hunt then for food, not for pleasure".
Mowgli became very tired of repeating all this over and over
and Baloo gave him a cuff which sent him running off in a temper.
Bagheera said that Baloo was being too hard on the boy, but Baloo
replied that he was a Man-cub and must learn the whole Law. He
considered that it as better that Mowgli receive a few bruises
from him in teaching him everything than that he should come to
harm through ignorance.
Baloo taught Mowgli the Master Words of the jungle. These
would protect him from the birds and the Snake people and all
those animals that hunt on four feet except his own people. These
words were "We be of one blood, you and I". Mowgli had
to learn these words in the language of the Hunting-people, the
Birds and the Snakes.
The Bandar-Log
Mowgli had been secretly talking to the Bandar-log - the
monkey people. Baloo had been so busy teaching him the Law of the
Jungle that he had neglected to warn him about the Bandar-log and
why they were so despised. When Baloo and Bagheera found out that
Mowgli had been talking to the Bandar-log, they were both furious
that he had talked to the people without a Law.
Mowgli explained that when Baloo had hit him, the Bandar-log
had had pity on him and had promised him that he would be their
leader one day. Baloo explained to Mowgli that the Bandar-log,
since they have no Law, also have no leader. The Bandar-log are
forever giving in to themselves - they intend to do something,
but their minds are quickly distracted and they go off forgetting
what it was that they were going to do. Baloo explained that the
Jungle-People have nothing to do with the Bandar-log and avoid
them, whenever possible. They do not hunt where the Bandar-log
hunt, they do not go where the Bandar-log go, they do not drink
where the Bandar log drink and they do not die where the
Bandar-log die. Baloo banned Mowgli from ever having anything to
do with the Bandar-log again.
The Bandar-log were, indeed, everything that Baloo said they
were. They were always going to have a leader some day but never
got around to it, and they were always going to have Laws
someday, but also never got around to it. They belonged to the
tree-tops and, since the beasts of the jungle never look up there
was no reason for the Monkeys and the other animals to cross each
others' path. But if they found a sick wolf or a wounded tiger or
bear they would throw sticks and stones at him and tease and
torment him because that was the only way that they would be
noticed. They would shriek and howl and sing senseless songs
inviting the Jungle-people to come and fight them, which they
couldn't because the monkeys were in the trees. At other times
they would start senseless fights amongst themselves, leaving
dead monkeys to fall on the ground where they left them and swung
away to some new mischief somewhere else.
They were happy that they had made Baloo angry and meant to do
nothing else. One of them, however invented what seemed to him to
be a brilliant idea, and told the others that Mowgli would be a
useful person to have in their tribe because he could weave
sticks together to form screens to protect them from the wind.
They planned to kidnap Mowgli and to take him to their secret
place as a prisoner. They followed Mowgli, Baloo and Bagheera
through the forest until the three lay down to have their midday
nap.
Mowgli was, by this time, very ashamed of himself for his bad
behaviour and slept between Baloo and Bagheera and resolved to
have no more to do with the monkey people. The Bandar-log
snatched him from his sleep and bounded up the tree very quickly.
Baloo roared with rage and Bagheera raced up the tree with fangs
bared. The Bandar-log, however, managed to reach the upper
branches of the trees where Bagheera dared not go for fear of the
branches snapping under his weight. The Bandar-log cheered at the
success of their daring raid and at the fact that Bagheera was
taking notice of them. They considered themselves to be pretty
clever as two of the strongest monkeys grabbed Mowgli under the
arms and swung through the trees at a breakneck pace, leaving
Bagheera and the slow Baloo far behind. Monkeys have regular
roads through the branches at 50 to 70 feet and even 100 feet
above the ground. Over these they can leap 20 feet at a time
Mowgli was quite exhilarated at the speed and the height.
For a while he was afraid of being dropped, but then he became
angry. He knew better than to struggle, since this would
certainly mean a long fall and death. Then he began to think. He
had to find a way to get word back to Baloo and Bagheera, so they
could rescue him. He knew that his friends would not be able to
follow the monkeys at the pace that they were going. On the
ground he could see nothing, but in the sky he saw Rann the Kite
balancing and wheeling in the air. Rann saw that the monkeys were
carrying something and flew over to see if their load was good to
eat. He was surprised to see Mowgli and was even more surprised
to hear Mowgli give the bird call for "We are of one blood,
you and I". Mowgli managed to pass on the message "Mark
my trail. Tell Baloo of the Seeonee Pack and Bagheera of the
Council Rock."
Rann figured that the monkeys would not go far with Mowgli,
since they never finish what they set out to do.
Meanwhile Baloo and Bagheera were furious with grief and rage.
Bagheera tried to climb as high as he could up the trees, but the
branches were too weak and he slipped down again.
Kaa
As they were still running after the Bandar-log it became
obvious that Baloo was not going to be able to keep up the pace
and they started to worry for the safety of Mowgli. Baloo felt
that the greatest danger was that the Bandar-log should drop him.
Apart from that they figured that he would use his intelligence
and the Master Words to get himself out of trouble.
Then Baloo remembered that the only animal that the Bandar-log
feared was Kaa the Rock-python snake. Kaa could climb trees as
well as the monkeys and was frequently stealing their babies.
Baloo figured that Kaa was always hungry and that he might be
able to entice him to help rescue Mowgli.
They found Kaa stretched out on a warm rock ledge in the
afternoon sun. He had been in retirement for the last 10 days
changing his skin and he was hungry. He was twisting the whole 30
feet of his body's length and licking his lips thinking about the
feast he was going to have. The two friends were very pleased to
see him so hungry, because then he would have an interest in
helping them. Baloo warned Bagheera to be careful, since Kaa is
always a little blind and very quick to strike. Kaa was not a
poison-snake, but killed by giving his prey a death hug. Baloo
cried "Good Hunting" to Kaa who only heard him after
several such calls. Then he curled up ready for any accident, his
head lowered. When he recognised Baloo and Bagheera, they started
to try to convince him to help them.
They told him that the Bandar-log had been calling him the
rudest of names lately. This was to get him really mad. Kaa
remembered that the Bandar-log had passed by his rock a little
earlier. This worried both Baloo and Bagheera, since this was the
first time that any of the Jungle-people had admitted to showing
any interest in the comings and goings of the Bandar-log. Baloo
told Kaa that the monkeys were carrying Mowgli and that they
themselves were trying to rescue him because they both love him.
They praised Kaa to flatter him in their attempt to get him to
help them. Kaa finally became very enthusiastic about catching up
with the Bandar-log, partly because he liked the idea of eating a
great number of them.
One problem remained: they did not know where the Bandar-log
had taken him. This was soon solved when Rann called to them from
up above and passed on the information that Mowgli had asked him
to gather. The monkeys were taking Mowgli to the Cold Lairs - an
old abandoned city. Baloo was very proud to see that Mowgli had
remembered the lessons that he had worked so hard to teach him -
in particular the Master Words that had made it possible for
Mowgli to send his distress message.
All the animals knew where the Cold Lairs was but very few
went there because it was an old abandoned city all overgrown
with vines and beasts seldom go to a place that was once used by
men. To make matters worse, the monkeys lived there and no
self-respecting animal would go within eye-shot of it except in
times of drought when the tanks and reservoirs there still held
some water.
Baloo said he would go there as fast as he could, but Bagheera
and Kaa decided to go on ahead, because Baloo was so slow.
Bagheera was a fast runner but Kaa kept up with him all the way
except when they crossed a stream. Bagheera jumped across, but
Kaa had to swim. Kaa, however, soon made up the lost ground. Kaa
also had a score to settle with the Monkey People, and besides,
he was very hungry and could hardly wait to get there.
Meanwhile, at the Cold Lairs, the Monkey People were not
thinking of Mowgli's friends at all. They were feeling very
pleased with themselves for having carried out their plan to the
finish, and for once, not having abandoned it along the way.
Mowgli, who had never seen an Indian city before, thought that
the place looked rather splendid. It had been built by some king
long ago on a little hill. Although trees were growing out of the
walls, many of which had fallen down, you could still trace the
layout of the city. A great roofless palace sat at the top of the
hill, with its marble floors pushed up by the grasses and trees
and bushes that were now growing there. In the palace there was a
summer house, the walls of which were made of stone lacework, and
the roof consisted of a dome that had partly fallen in blocking
the door by which the queen, a hundred years ago, would have
entered the building.
The monkeys called the place their city and pretended to
despise the Jungle People because they live in the forest. But
they never knew what the buildings were made for or how to use
them. They merely drifted in and out of the roofless buildings,
doing all sorts of silly things and then fighting amongst
themselves over unimportant things, soon forgetting why and
scampering off to new mischief. Pretty soon they would grow tired
of the city and all head back to the tree-tops hoping that the
Jungle People would notice them. Mowgli tried to escape from the
city, but the monkeys pulled him back telling him he did not know
how happy he was. They had, by this time, forgotten why they had
kidnapped him, but were not about to let him go. Mowgli realised
how wrong he had been to ever have anything to do with the
Bandar-Log. They have no Law, they have no leader and they spend
all day doing foolish things.
That evening Bagheera and Kaa finally reached the city and
were watching the goings on of hundreds of monkeys crowding
around Mowgli, telling him how good they are and how lucky he was
to be their guest and how foolish he was to try to escape them.
Bagheera and Kaa made plans for their attack. Kaa said he would
go to the West wall and come down swiftly with the slope of the
ground in his favour. He was secure that the monkeys would not
throw themselves on his back in their hundreds - not so for
Bagheera. They wished that Baloo was with them to even out the
odds a little. There was a black cloud coming over to cover the
moon and Bagheera saw this as his chance to gain the advantage of
surprise. The two rescuers parted in order to launch their
attacks.
While Mowgli wondered what would happen when the cloud covered
the moon, he heard Bagheera's light feet on the terrace above
them. Bagheera launched his attack by striking with his chisel
sharp claws, since this was more effective against the hundreds
of monkeys than biting would have been. There was a howl of
fright and rage amongst the monkeys until Bagheera tripped over
the writhing, twisting bodies beneath him. A monkey shouted
"There is only one here! Kill him! Kill!". The monkeys
now attacked Bagheera from all sides, scratching and biting,
whilst five or six grabbed hold of Mowgli and carried him up the
wall of the summer house, dropping him down through the broken
dome of the roof. It was a long way down to the floor and a
man-trained boy would have been badly bruised, but Mowgli had
been taught by Baloo how one lands after a fall, and so Mowgli
was unhurt.
Unfortunately, because the fallen dome had blocked the
entrance to the summer house, he could not get out. Enough of the
dome remained that he could not climb out.
The summer house was inhabited by deadly poisonous Cobra
snakes - the Poison People. When Mowgli heard that he was trapped
with the Poison People, he used the Master Words to speak to
them. The Cobras replied that they would not attack him, but
asked him to stand still so that he did not accidentally tread on
them.
Meanwhile, outside, the battle was not going well for
Bagheera. With the numbers stacked so severely against him,
Bagheera was for the first time, fighting for his life. Mowgli,
who could see through the stone lacework screen reasoned that
Baloo was not far behind and yelled to Bagheera to fight his way
to the water tank and to get in the water - the monkeys would not
follow. Bagheera heard the call and battled his way inch by inch
to the water tanks. Just then Baloo arrived and joined in the
fight. Baloo hit the monkeys with his large powerful paws. A
splash told Mowgli that Bagheera had reached the safety of the
water tanks where the monkeys could not follow. Baloo was half
smothered by monkeys when Kaa struck. He had been delayed because
he found it difficult to climb the wall. The striking force of a
Python is in the head. He uses it like a lance or a battering ram
or a hammer weighing nearly half a ton, driven by a cool, calm,
collected brain. You can imagine what a powerful fighting force
Kaa made. A Python 5 feet long can knock a fully grown man over
if it strikes him fairly in the chest. You can imagine the power
of Kaa who was a full 30 feet long. His first strike was
delivered into the crown around Baloo. The monkeys scattered with
cries of "Kaa! It is Kaa! Run! Run!".
These cries brought immediate silence. Mowgli heard Bagheera
shake the water off himself. Then there was panic as the monkeys
tried to escape from Kaa. They climbed high up the walls and
clung to the tops of the idols. Mowgli shouted to his rescuers
that he was trapped in the summer house and could not get out.
Kaa looked at the stone screen and found a place where it was
slightly cracked. He coiled himself back and struck the screen at
that spot, smashing a large hole into it that Mowgli could escape
through.
Mowgli leapt through the hole and thanked Bagheera and Baloo
for their efforts and worried about their injuries. They were
bleeding all over. Then he thanked Kaa in a most friendly and
correct manner and promised him that if a suitable situation
arose in the future, he would repay the favour.
Kaa suggested that Mowgli, Baloo and Bagheera should leave,
since what was about to happen was not a pretty sight. Baloo went
to the tank to drink and Bagheera commenced to put his fur in
order. Kaa moved out into the middle of the terrace, looked at
the shivering, cowering monkeys hanging onto anything that was
high above the ground, and slammed his jaws shut with such a
ringing snap that drew all the monkeys' attention. Kaa called
"The moon is setting. Is there still enough light to
see?". From the walls came a deep moan like the wind from
the monkeys: "We see, 0 Kaa."
"Good. Now begins the Dance - the Dance of the Hunger of
Kaa. Sit still and watch."
Kaa began a dance that hypnotised the monkeys. Baloo and
Bagheera stood still and watched, and Mowgli watched and
wondered. In their hypnotised state, Kaa ordered the monkeys to
come to him. They were all powerless to do anything but obey.
Baloo and Bagheera also started to move nearer.
"Nearer" hissed Kaa, and they all came even nearer.
Mowgli laid his hand on both Baloo and Bagheera and both of
these great beasts started as though they had been awakened from
a dream. Kaa's spell had also hypnotised Baloo and Bagheera.
Mowgli led them both away he had saved them from walking down the
great Python's throat together with all the monkeys.
Bagheera pointed out all the mischief that Mowgli's playing
with the Bandar-Log had caused - His own wounds, those of Baloo
the sore nose of Kaa and the hurt pride of both the larger beasts
in having to seek the help of Kaa. For this Bagheera punished
Mowgli by hitting him with his paws. After that they went home
good friends.
Mowgli is Banished
When Mowgli was 10 years old, the hatred between him and Shere
Khan came to a head. Shere Khan had been plotting to have Mowgli
expelled from the pack for some time. He did this by feeding the
younger wolves of the pack his scraps of food. For food they were
ready to believe anything he told them.
Bagheera was continually warning Mowgli that Shere Khan was
plotting hard to kill him one day and that he should be careful.
Mowgli didn't want to listen, saying that he had the safety of
the Pack and Baloo and himself and that he wasn't afraid.
Bagheera told Mowgli that Shere Khan would not dare to kill him
in the jungle, but, since Akela was growing old and the other
Wolves who admitted him into the Pack were also growing old and
would not be able to protect him much longer. Shere Khan had
convinced the younger wolves that a man-cub has no place in the
pack and that he should be banished. Whether he liked if or not,
Mowgli would soon have to go and live with men and leave the Wolf
Pack.
Bagheera told Mowgli something that no-one else in the jungle
knew. Bagheera was born amongst men in a cage in the King's
Palace. He had never seen the jungle until one night he felt that
he was Bagheera the Panther and he broke the lock on his cage and
escaped to the jungle. Knowing men's ways made him more terrible
in the jungle than Shere Khan. Mowgli, being a man's cub must
likewise return to men, and leave the jungle. The fact was that
there was a tide of resentment amongst the animals of the jungle,
because none of hem could look Mowgli in the eyes, including
Bagheera. The others had come to hate him because he was able to
do things that they could not. This hurt their pride.
The Law of the Jungle says that when the leader of the pack
misses his kill, then he must give up the leadership of the pack,
and Akela was reaching the age where each kill was costing him
more and more energy. This meant that Akela's days were numbered.
Bagheera had an idea. He told Mowgli to go down to the village
and steal a pot with "the red flower" (glowing embers
of a fire) and bring it back for his protection, since all
animals are very afraid of fire. By this time Mowgli understood
his danger and vowed once and for all, that he would kill Shere
Khan.
Mowgli did not hunt with the pack that night, but went down to
the village to steal his red flower. On the way he heard the
sound of the pack hunting. He heard the young wolves call
"Akela! Akela! Let the Lone Wolf show his strength. Room for
the leader of the Pack! Spring, Akela!" The Lone Wolf must
have sprung and missed his hold because he heard the snap of his
teeth and a yelp as the Sambour they were hunting knocked him
over with his fore foot.
Mowgli dashed down to the village and stole the pot with the
red flower and brought it back to the den with him. He dropped
twigs into the pot and they sprang into flame. This was the red
flower that the animals talked about and feared.
That night he was summoned to the Council Rock. When he got there
Akela was lying beside his rock, indicating that he was no longer
the leader. Shere Khan and his bunch of scrap-fed wolves strutted
openly to and fro. Mowgli sat with the fire pot between his
knees. When all were there Shere Khan began to speak - a thing
that he would have never dared to do while Akela was the leader.
Mowgli sprang to his feet and declared that the tiger had no
right to speak at the Pack Council. The wolves cried him down and
insisted that he be heard, reminding Mowgli that he was a man's
cub and not a wolf. The elders of the pack called for the
"Dead Wolf" to speak. A leader that has missed his kill
is referred to as the "Dead Wolf" for as long as he
lives, which is not very long as a general rule. Akela stated
that he had been tricked into missing the kill. He informed the
pack that it was their right to kill him right now, but it was
his right that they come one by one. None of the wolves dared to
face Akela by themselves and none came forward. Finally Shere
Khan roared that the fate of Akela was not important. It was
Mowgli that he wanted. He demanded that the wolves hand him over
right-away.
Akela offered to die without a fight if they would let Mowgli
go, thus sparing at least three other wolves' lives. He reminded
them that Mowgli had broken no Law of the Jungle and had helped
them in every way. Bagheera reminded them of the bull with which
he had paid for Mowgli's life.
It was all for nothing. The wolves began to gather around
Shere Khan. Bagheera told Mowgli that they could not do anything
else for him, that it was now up to him. Mowgli stood up with the
fire pot in his hands. He told the wolves that, as they had
decided that he was a man and not one of them, he would be a man
and would call them dogs as a man would. He told them that he was
in control of the situation and not them. He showed the wolves
that he had the fire pot, which he referred to as a little of the
red flower.
He flung the fire pot on the ground and some of the embers
spilled out setting a small tuft of moss alight. The wolves
sprang back in fear. He pushed a dead branch into the embers
until the twigs lit and crackled, and whirled it around his head
amongst the cowering wolves.
Bagheera told Mowgli that he was the master and that he should
save Akela from being killed, since he had always been his
friend. Mowgli called that he was leaving the jungle and was
joining men. He promised that he was going to be more merciful
than they had been and that he would never betray the pack.
Before he went, however, he had a debt to pay. He walked over to
the frightened Shere Khan and grabbed him by the tuft of fur
under his chin and beat him with the burning stick. Mowgli then
declared that when he next came to the Council Rock, he would
come with Shere Khan's hide over his head. He told them to let
Akela go free and that they were not to sit around the Council
Rock anymore. With that he chased them away with the burning
stick, with the wolves howling miserably with the sparks burning
holes in their fur.
Mowgli began to cry and Bagheera told him this was natural,
since he was now a man and should act like a man. He went to say
goodbye to his Wolf family. The cubs cried miserably and vowed
that they would never forget him and that they would look for him
and play with him in the fields at night.
With that Mowgli turned and left the jungle for the lands of
men.
Mowgli becomes a Man
Mowgli left the jungle and passed several villages before he
stopped. He came to a gate made of thorn bushes that was intended
to keep out the animals of the jungle. Mowgli pulled it aside and
tried to make contact with the people. The village priest finally
convinced one of the Villagers that he was her boy that had been
taken by a tiger one night. The woman was very kind and looked
after Mowgli very well.
Mowgli felt uneasy because he could not understand the
language of men and decided that he would learn as fast as he
could. He had been taught, in the jungle, to imitate the sounds
of a large number of other animals and so found no great
difficulty in imitating the words that form men's language and by
dark he had learnt the names of most objects in the hut.
When it came to bedtime however, he found that, although he
could easily tear out a chunk of the thatch that formed the roof
or break open a window to get out but he couldn't bring himself
to sleep in that hut. It reminded him too much of a panther trap.
Then the man and the woman closed the door for the night, he went
out the window. He found a clean patch of grass at the edge of
the field and stretched out on it. Before he had a chance to shut
his eyes, a soft grey nose poked him under the chin. It was Grey
Brother and he had news. He told Mowgli that all were well in the
forest except the wolves that had been burnt with the red flower.
Shere Khan had gone away to hunt far away until his coat grew
again, but had sworn to kill Mowgli when he returned. Grey
Brother said he would wait for Mowgli each day at the edge of the
bamboo and give him news.
For the next 3 months Mowgli hardly ever left the village
gate. He was too busy learning the language and customs of men.
He had to get used to wearing clothes, which he did not like
doing. What made him really angry was the little children of the
village. Luckily the Law of the Jungle had taught him to keep his
temper, but when the children made fun of him it was only the
knowledge that to kill a young cub was unsporting that kept him
from picking them up and snapping them in two. He had great
difficulties in learning the customs and was forever making the
villagers angry. The head-man decided that Mowgli should start to
do some work for the village and could start herding the buffalos
and cattle.
This pleased Mowgli very much and he went to the village club
where the head-man, the barber and old Buldeo the village hunter
would meet in the evenings and tell yarns. Old Buldeo told
stories about the jungle and the animals. Mowgli, who of course
knew more about the jungle and its animals, sat there shaking
with suppressed laughter at the nonsense that was being told. But
when Buldeo explained how the tiger that had been taking the
village's children was a ghost-tiger and his body was inhabited
by the ghost of a wicked old money lender and insisted that he
was right because the old money lender limped after a blow he got
in a riot and the tiger also limped, Mowgli could contain himself
no longer. He explained that he knew the tiger and that he had
limped since he was born.
The head-man decided that Mowgli should begin his herding the
next morning. In Indian villages a few small boys take the
buffalos and the cattle out to graze in the morning and return
with them in the evening. As long as the boys stayed with the
herd, they were quite safe since a tiger will not charge a herd
of cattle, but if they strayed, they were sometimes taken by a
tiger. Mowgli rode on the neck of Rama, the herd bull and made it
plain to the other children that he was the boss.
After some distance he told the other children to graze the
cattle there while he went on with the buffalos. Buffalos like to
wallow in the mud, and do not like to graze in the same area as
the cattle. When they reached the river, Mowgli slipped off
Rama's neck and trotted over to a clump of bamboo. Grey Brother
was waiting for him there with some news. It seems that Shere
Khan had waited for him for some time, but had left for a while
to hunt elsewhere, but on his return had sworn to kill Mowgli.
Mowgli asked Grey Brother to sit on a particular rock in sight of
the village if Shere Khan was not back, but to meet him in a
ravine in the centre of the plain if Shere Khan was back.
Tiger, Tiger
Day after day Mowgli would lead the Buffalos out onto the
plain and Grey Brother would be sitting on his rock, and so
Mowgli knew that he was safe. At last came the day on which Grey
Brother was not sitting on his rock. Mowgli herded the buffalos
to the ravine in the centre of the plain and met Grey Brother who
was waiting there with every bristle on his back lifted.
Grey Brother told him that Shere Khan has hidden for a month
to throw Mowgli off guard and had crossed back over the ranges
together with Tabaqui the previous night and were hot on Mowgli's
trail. Mowgli wasn't afraid of Shere Khan but worried about
Tabaqui, who was cunning. Grey Brother laid these fears to rest
when he told Mowgli that he had met Tabaqui at dawn. Tabaqui had
told him Shere Khan's entire plan before Grey Brother had killed
Tabaqui. The plan was that Shere Khan was going to lie in wait
for Mowgli and no-one else at the entrance to the village.
Shere Khan had killed and eaten a pig that morning and was
sleeping off his meal in the big ravine of the Waingunga River.
Mowgli formed a plan for the death of Shere Khan. He asked if
Grey Brother was able to divide the buffalo herd. Grey Brother
replied that he couldn't do it by himself, but that he had
brought help with him. At that an old familiar head rose from the
grass. Akela! Mowgli was overjoyed to see his old friend again.
Mowgli told them to separate the bulls and plough buffalos from
the cows and calves. The two wolves twisted in and out between
the animals that were just waiting for a chance to charge these
two intruders and successfully separated the two groups. Mowgli
jumped on Rama's back and gave the order for Grey Brother to
drive the cows and calves into the bottom end of the ravine and
to stop when they reached a part of the ravine where the sides
were too steep for a tiger to escape. He then told Akela to help
him drive the bulls through the forest to a point where they
could enter the top end of the ravine.
When the bulls were inside the top end of the ravine, Mowgli
let all the animals rest. Then he shouted into the ravine. This
woke Shere Khan, who sleepily growled "Who calls?".
Mowgli called back "I, Mowgli. Cattle thief, it is time to
come to the Council Rock!" He then ordered Akela to force
the bulls to advance down the ravine. The herd paused for a while
at the edge of the slope, but Akela's yell made them charge down
the ravine. Part of the way down, Rama caught the scent of the
tiger and bellowed. The buffalos spread out until the outsiders
were scraping against the sides of the ravine, the sides of which
were getting steadily steeper. The buffalos now knew what was
before them: a terrifying charge against which no tiger can hope
to stand. Shere Khan heard the thunder of their hooves, picked
himself up and fled down the ravine looking at the sides for a
way of escape, but the walls were straight and steep. There was
no foothold. He lumbered on, heavy with his dinner and his drink
trying to do anything other than fight. The bulls bellowed as
they charged. The cows below heard the bellow and charged uphill
to join the bulls. At this Mowgli saw Shere Khan turn realising
that it was better to face the bulls than the cows that were
protecting their calves. Then Rama tripped and recovered over
something soft under him as the two herds came together. The
combined herd continued all the way back onto the plain. Mowgli
chose his moment and, slipping off Rama's back beat about him
with his stick.
He ordered Akela to break them up to stop them fighting
amongst themselves. Akela and Grey Brother ran to and fro
breaking up the heard. Rama tried to lead a new charge back up
the ravine, but Mowgli managed to turn him back to the wallows.
Mowgli and the two wolves went back into the ravine to Shere
Khan's trampled body. With his knife, Mowgli spent the next hour
skinning the ten foot long tiger with Akela and Grey Brother
helping to tug at the skin as it came off.
Presently a hand fell on his shoulder - it was Buldeo with his
gun. The children had told the village about the buffalo stampede
and Buldeo had gone out to scold Mowgli for not looking after the
herd better. The wolves dropped out of sight as the man
approached. Buldeo was surprised to see the dead tiger and
immediately tried to take the hide himself because the Indian
Government had placed a price of 100 Rupees on its head. The old
hunter went to singe the tiger's whiskers, since it was a belief
that this will prevent the tiger's ghost from haunting them.
Mowgli told the old man to take away the fire, and that he
himself had a use for the skin. He and Buldeo stood arguing over
the carcass until it got too much for Mowgli. He called to Akela
to get rid of the old man. In an instant the old man was
sprawling on the grass with the Grey Wolf standing over him.
Mowgli explained that there was a war between him and that tiger
- a very old war - and that he had now won.
Buldeo lay there convinced that sorcery, magic of the worst
kind was being performed here, with the wolf obeying the boy who
in turn had private wars with tigers. He was half expecting
Mowgli to turn into a tiger at any moment. After some time, old
Buldeo asked him whether he intended to order Akela to tear him
to pieces or whether he was going to let him go. Mowgli replied
that he could go, but in future, he was not to meddle with his
game. He told him to go and let peace go with him.
Old Buldeo hobbled back to the village as fast as his legs
could carry him, looking over his shoulder in case Mowgli should
turn into something terrible. When he returned to the village, he
told a tale of magic and enchantment and sorcery that made the
priest look very grave.
Mowgli continued with his work, and it was nearly dark before
he and the wolves had finished their work, and drawn the great
skin clear of the body. They then hid the skin and rounded up the
buffalos and herded them home. When he approached the village,
all the lights were on and bells in the temple were ringing. He
thought that it was to celebrate his killing the tiger, but as he
came closer he was met with a barrage of stones and shouts of
"Sorcerer! Wolf's brat! Jungle demon! Go away, and quickly,
or the priest will turn you back into a wolf" They urged
Buldeo to shoot him. Buldeo fired the gun, and a young buffalo
bellowed in pain. The villagers saw this as proof that what
Buldeo had said was true. "He can turn bullets" they
cried.
Akela suggested that the people of the village were very much
like the pack. That if bullets mean anything, he had been cast
out of the Village, like he had been cast out of the pack.
Messua, the woman who had adopted him in the village ran across
to the herd and cried that she did not believe the stories of
sorcery, and said that he had avenged the death of her own son,
but that he should flee because the villagers would kill him. He
then stampeded the herd into the village to take the villagers
off their guard so they could make good their escape.
The Last Council
Mowgli recovered the tiger skin and he and the two wolves left
the village. The moon rose over the plain and made it all milky,
and the horrified villagers saw Mowgli, with a bundle on his head
and two wolves at his heels trotting across at a steady wolf's
trot that eats up the long miles like fire. Then the villagers
banged the bells and blew the conches louder than ever and Buldeo
exaggerated the story of his adventure in the jungle further
until he ended up by saying that he saw Akela stand up on his
hind legs and talk like a man.
The moon was just going down when they came to the hill of the
Council Rock and they stopped at Mother Wolf's cave. Mowgli
informed his family that the men had cast him out, but that he
had come back with the hide of Shere Khan, just as he had
promised to do. Mother Wolf told Mowgli that he had done a good
job.
Behind him from the jungle, came a deep voice that said
"Little Brother, it is well done. We were lonely in the
jungle without you." and Bagheera came running out of the
thicket to Mowgli's bare feet. They clambered up to the Council
Rock together to the rock where Akela used to sit and pegged the
great skin down with slivers of Bamboo, and Akela lay down on it
and called the old call to the wolves - 'Look - look well, O
Wolves".
Ever since Akela had stopped being leader, the pack had gone
without a leader, hunting and fighting as they pleased. But they
answered the call from old habit. Some of them were lame from
traps that they had fallen into, and some limped from
shot-wounds, and some were mangy from eating bad food, and many
were missing. All the wolves that were left came to the Council
Rock and saw Shere Khan's hide stretched on the rock, and the
huge claws dangling at the ends of the empty dangling feet.
Mowgli called to the wolves "Look well, O Wolves. Have I
kept my word?". and the wolves replied "Yes!", and
one tattered wolf howled "Lead us again, Akela. Lead us
again Man-cub, because we are sick of this lawlessness and we
want to be the Free People again.
Bagheera purred "No! When you are well fed again then you
might commit this foolishness again. You are the Free People -
you fought for it, and it is yours. Eat it, Wolves."
Mowgli called that the Wolves had cast him out and men had
cast him out, so he was going to hunt alone in the jungle. The
four cubs of his family said they would hunt with him.
And so, Mowgli and the four cubs hunted together in the jungle
from that day on. But he was not always alone, because years
later he became a man and married. But that is a story for
grown-ups.
The Seeonee Wolf Pack gave in to personal greed and stopped
looking after the good of the pack. They found it easier to break
the Law of the Jungle that had looked after them so well for all
those years and live lives as lawless as the Bandar Log, and in
the process they lost their self-respect, and their greed made
them weaker. While they lived and hunted under the Law, they had
good food and they stayed away from men and traps. These were all
things that the wolves lost forever because of their deceit in
breaking the Law and not being loyal to their leader, Akela.
