The Jungle Book

by Diane Wright Landolf

  For Mom, Marcia, and Kristin —D.W.L.

  For Monica, Julia, and Johnny—wife, daughter, and son —J.R.

  Far away in India was a cave in the hills where a wolf family lived. Just before the sun set, Father Wolf woke up to hunt. Next to him, Mother Wolf lay with her big grey nose on her four cubs. A bushy-tailed shadow fell across the cave.

  It was the jackal Tabaqui. The wolves did not like Tabaqui. He was a mischief-maker and a gossip, and he stole scraps from the village trash. Still, Father Wolf let Tabaqui enter to look for food.

  Tabaqui hurried in and began crunching on a bone. “Shere Khan is hunting nearby,” the jackal told the wolf family.

  Shere Khan was a tiger. He was born lame, but he was still powerful.

  “He has no right,” Father Wolf said. The wolves followed the Law of the Jungle. By that law, Shere Khan should have warned the other animals before changing his hunting grounds.

  Tabaqui saw he was not welcome with the wolves. He slunk out of the cave.

  The jungle echoed with the sound of a terrible snarl. It was Shere Khan, and he was hungry. “He will scare away all the deer with that noise!” said Father Wolf.

  “He is not hunting deer,” Mother Wolf said. “Tonight, Shere Khan is hunting man.”

  “Man!” cried Father Wolf with disgust.

  Hunting man was off-limits. Men were weak, and it wasn't fair to kill them. Besides, whenever an animal killed a man, hundreds of people came soon afterward with torches and guns. Then every creature in the jungle had to pay.

  The wolf family listened to Shere Khan. They heard a howl of pain. Father Wolf peered out of the cave. Shere Khan had burned his paws on a woodcutter's fire.

  “Something is coming up the hill,” said Mother Wolf.

  The bushes rustled. Father Wolf crouched down. He sprang forward, then stopped himself mid-leap.

  Right in front of him toddled a little boy, a man's cub. The boy was just old enough to walk. He looked up at Father Wolf and laughed.

  Mother Wolf had never seen a man's cub. “Bring it here,” she said. Father Wolf lifted the boy in his jaws and brought him closer. The baby pushed its way in among the cubs to get warm.

  “How bold!” said Mother Wolf.

  Shere Khan and Tabaqui came to the mouth of the cave. “A man's cub came this way,” growled Shere Khan. “Give it to me.” The white tiger could not fit into the cave to take the boy himself.

  Father Wolf shook his head. The man's cub belonged to the wolves now. It was up to the pack to decide what happened to it.

  Shere Khan could not believe the wolves would go against his demands. “It is I, Shere Khan, who speaks!” he said.

  “And I answer!” said Mother Wolf. She had once been the fiercest wolf in the pack. Now she was her old self again, dangerous and ready to protect her family to the death. “The man's cub is mine. He will run with the pack and hunt with the pack. And someday, Shere Khan, he will hunt you !”

  Shere Khan knew he could not win a fight against Mother Wolf. “Let's see what the pack has to say about this,” he said as he left the cave.

  “It's true, we will have to show the cub to the pack,” said Father Wolf when the tiger was gone. “Are you sure you want to keep him?”

  “Of course I want to keep him,” Mother Wolf said. Then she turned to the child and spoke soft, motherly words to him. “I will call you Mowgli, the Frog.”

  Mowgli spent the next several weeks with the wolf family. He ate and slept with the wolf cubs. When the other cubs were old enough to run, Father Wolf brought them all to the Pack Council. All wolf cubs had to go to the council and be accepted by the pack. It was the Law of the Jungle.

  The council was held on a hill full of rocks and places for the wolves to hide. The leader, the big grey wolf Akela, lay stretched out on a rock. Below him were all the other wolves. The cubs of the pack were in the middle, tumbling and playing where the wolves could see them.

  Once in a while, an older wolf came closer to sniff the cubs. Parents nudged the shyer cubs forward so that they, too, would be noticed. “Look well, wolves!” said Akela.

  Father Wolf pushed Mowgli forward with the other cubs. Mowgli was laughing and playing, right at home. None of the wolves made any comment.

  Then a great roar boomed from behind the rocks. “The cub is mine!” Shere Khan called out. “Give him to me! What do the wolves have to do with a man's cub?”

  Akela ignored Shere Khan. “Look well,” he said again. “It is for us to decide what is a wolf's business.”

  But some of the wolves thought Shere Khan had a good point. “What do we have to do with a man's cub?” one of them asked.

  When the wolves disagreed about whether a cub should be accepted into the pack, the Law was clear. Two members of the council besides the cub's parents had to speak for it.

  “Who will speak for this cub?” asked Akela.

  For several moments there was no answer. Then Baloo the bear spoke up.

  Baloo was an old brown bear who taught all the wolf cubs the Law of the Jungle. He was allowed at the council because he was wise and because he did not compete with the wolves for food. He ate nuts, berries, and honey, and he did not hunt.

  “There is no harm in a man's cub,” said Baloo. “Let him run with the pack, and I will teach him.”

  “Who else will speak for him?” asked Akela.

  Out of the shadows slid a black shape. It was the panther Bagheera. He was brave and crafty, and the wolves were wary of him. Yet when he spoke, his voice was soft and sweet.

  “I have no right to speak at your council,” Bagheera purred. “But I do know the Law of the Jungle. I know that if there is a disagreement over a cub, the cub can be bought.” Bagheera offered the wolves a fat bull that he had just killed. They were welcome to eat the bull if they would take Mowgli into the pack.

  Most of the wolves thought Mowgli could not survive life as a wolf. They thought he would burn in the sun or freeze in the cold winter rains. What harm would it be to let him into the pack?

  When he heard the way the council was leaning, Shere Khan roared with anger.

  Akela was glad. “Men are wise,” he said. “Mowgli may be a help to us someday.”

  So, for the price of a bull, Father and Mother Wolf were allowed to raise Mowgli as their own.

  As time passed, Mowgli became more and more a part of life in the jungle. He could swim like a fish and run like a wolf. He plucked thorns out of the other wolves' feet. His brother and sister wolf cubs grew up and went out on their own. Then more brothers and sisters were born. Yet still Mowgli was a cub, with lots of growing up to do.

  Besides Mother and Father Wolf, Mowgli spent the most time with Baloo the old brown bear and Bagheera, the panther who had bought his life at Council Rock. He liked to climb on Bagheera and watch him hunt. Bagheera loved Mowgli and called him Little Brother. He would have spoiled the boy if Baloo had let him.

  Baloo kept his promise and taught Mowgli the Law of the Jungle. Because Mowgli was a man's cub and learned fast, Baloo did not stop with the lessons that he taught the other wolf cubs. He went on teaching. Soon Mowgli knew the languages of the birds and the snakes and many of the other creatures in the jungle.

  Often Bagheera would come to lean against a tree and watch Mowgli's lessons.

  “What is the Strangers' Hunting Call?” Baloo quizzed Mowgli one day.

  “Please let me hunt here, because I am hungry,” Mowgli recited.

  “And what is the reply?” Baloo asked.

  “Hunt, then, for food, but not for pleasure,” said Mowgli.

  “Now tell Bagheera the jungle greeting I taught you,” Baloo said.

  “The greeting for which creatures? I know all the languages,” M
owgli said with a toss of his head.

  “You know a little, but not much,” said Baloo. He rolled his eyes. “See, Bagheera? They never thank their teacher.” Baloo looked back at Mowgli. “Say the greeting for the bears, then, great scholar,” he teased.

  “We are one people, you and I,” Mowgli growled like a bear.

  “And the birds?” said Baloo.

  “We are one people, you and I,” Mowgli trilled.

  “And the snakes?” Baloo asked.

  “We are one people, you and I,” Mowgli hissed. He kicked up his heels and clapped for himself. Then he jumped on Bagheera's back and made faces at Baloo.

  “We're not finished,” Baloo said.

  Mowgli sighed loudly. “I'm tired of all this reciting,” he said.

  “The way to learn is to repeat the words over and over,” said Baloo. “Now give me the Strangers' Hunting Call again.”

  “I just did that,” Mowgli complained.

  “Do it again,” said Baloo.

  Mowgli scowled. “Why should I listen to you, silly old bear?” he asked.

  Baloo swatted Mowgli with his big paw. For a second, Mowgli froze. Then he turned and stormed off into the jungle.

  “Baloo!” Bagheera protested. “Mowgli is so small.”

  “Is anything in the jungle too small to be hurt?” Baloo asked. “It is because he is little that he must learn so much. It will protect him.”

  Mowgli had gone to sit by himself against a tree. His head was bent, and he pounded his fist in the dirt. Now and then, he paused to feel the bruised spot where Baloo had hit him.

  A furry grey head appeared in front of him, hanging upside down from the tree. Then another and another. Mowgli stared. He had never seen anything like these creatures before.

  The three strangers dropped down and surrounded Mowgli. They walked upright like Mowgli did, but they had long tails that they used almost like extra arms.

  “Who are you?” Mowgli asked.

  “We are the Bandar-log, the Monkey People,” one of them said. “Hasn't Baloo told you about us?”

  Mowgli shook his head.

  “Well, we know about you,” one of the other monkeys said.

  The third monkey nodded. “We've seen the way Baloo works you all day long. We don't think it's fair,” he said.

  “We think you deserve better,” said the first monkey.

  “Come play with us!” more monkeys called from the trees.

  “All right,” said Mowgli.

  The three monkeys picked Mowgli up and carried him to the tops of the trees. “Come meet our new friend!” they cried to the rest of the Bandar-log.

  More Monkey People came. They brought Mowgli nuts and other good things to eat. They giggled and chattered and played.

  “Do you have lessons?” asked Mowgli.

  “No!” the monkeys answered.

  “Do you have lots of rules?” Mowgli asked.

  “No!” cried the Bandar-log.

  Mowgli smiled. “You're fun!” he said.

  Soon Mowgli heard Baloo and Bagheera calling, “Mowgli! Little Brother!” Mowgli knew he had to go.

  “Please take me back,” he said.

  The Bandar-log picked Mowgli up and brought him down through the trees and almost to the ground.

  “Goodbye, friend! Come back and play with us again!” they cried.

  Mowgli slid down a tree trunk and landed next to Baloo and Bagheera. “I came for Bagheera and not for you, fat old Baloo,” he said.

  “Fine with me,” Baloo said, pretending as well as he could that he wasn't hurt.

  Mowgli jumped up onto Bagheera's back. He tugged on the panther's fur and kicked at his shoulders excitedly.

  “Watch my ribs, Little Brother,” Bagheera said. “Why all this dancing up and down?”

  “I am going to have a tribe of my own and lead them through the branches all day long,” Mowgli bragged.

  “What are you talking about, little dreamer of dreams?” Bagheera asked.

  “And I'm going to throw branches and dirt at Baloo,” Mowgli went on. “My new friends promised.”

  “Mowgli,” Baloo growled. “Have you been talking to the Bandar-log?”

  Mowgli looked at Bagheera for support, but the panther's eyes were as hard as jade stones. “Yes,” Mowgli said to Baloo, a little less boldly. “Why haven't you ever told me about them?”

  “The Bandar-log?” said Baloo with disgust. “There is a good reason why I have never spoken to you about the Bandar-log. They do not follow the Law of the Jungle. They have no laws!”

  “They wanted to make me their leader,” Mowgli said.

  “They have no leader,” said Bagheera. “They lie. They have always lied.”

  “It is shameful to speak with them,” Baloo said sternly.

  Mowgli hung his head. The Bandar-log were fun, but he knew that Baloo and Bagheera were his true friends. Together, the bear, the boy, and the panther settled down for a rest in the sun.

  High above them up in the treetops, the Bandar-log watched them. The Monkey People liked Mowgli. So when he and his friends were fast asleep, the Bandar-log swung down from the trees.

  Mowgli awoke to the feeling of being grabbed by the arms and legs. Quickly the monkeys swung him up high into the trees. The Monkey People screeched and howled with victory.

  As they carried Mowgli away, Baloo woke and realized what had happened. The great bear's roar shook the jungle. Bagheera dashed up the tree, snarling and showing his teeth. But the Bandar-log swept Mowgli higher and higher. They swung through the trees as easily as Mowgli could run through the jungle.

  At first, Mowgli liked the wild ride. Soon, though, he began to feel sick. Through the branches, he glimpsed the ground far below him. And all the while, over the miles of trees they swung through, the monkeys hooted and hollered.

  He knew he was traveling much faster than Baloo and Bagheera could possibly follow. They would soon lose his trail. Mowgli had to get word to them. He looked up and saw Rann the kite flying high above the trees. He greeted the great bird in his own language.

  “We are one people, you and I,” Mowgli called. He was glad Baloo had taught him all the languages of the jungle. “Please help me. Watch where they take me! Then get word to Baloo and Bagheera.”

  Before Rann could answer, the monkeys leapt away, and Mowgli was gone.

  Finally the monkeys stopped in a strange place. Mowgli had never seen anything like it. It was an abandoned city, ruined and overgrown. Trees and vines grew in and out of the walls. Up on a hill were the remains of a palace. Mowgli looked around with wide eyes.

  The Bandar-log called the place their city. They ran freely about it, but they had no idea what all the buildings were for. They just climbed and played and shook the orange trees for the fun of watching the oranges fall.

  The monkeys never seemed to rest. They joined hands and danced around, singing silly songs.

  By now Mowgli was very hungry. “I am a stranger in this part of the jungle. Please bring me food or let me hunt here,” he said.

  “Yes, yes,” the monkeys chattered. Twenty or thirty of them rushed off to find nuts and fruit for him, but then they squabbled over the food. In the end, none of it ever made it back to Mowgli.

  “All Baloo said about the Bandar-log is true,” Mowgli said to himself. He felt he had reached a very bad place indeed.

  Baloo and Bagheera ran through the jungle. They had not stopped since the Bandar-log took Mowgli. Baloo remembered that sometimes Kaa the rock python fed on monkeys. He might know where to find them.

  “What makes you think Kaa will help us?” Bagheera asked the bear.

  “If he is hungry, we can promise him food,” Baloo said.

  “If he just ate, he will sleep for a month,” said Bagheera. “He may be asleep now.”

  “We have to try,” said Baloo.

  They found Kaa stretched out in the sun. He was huge—thirty feet long at least—with mottled brown and yellow skin and a blunt nose.
He had just shed his old skin, and the new one shone in the afternoon light. Bagheera and Baloo could tell the snake was hungry.

  They came up to him carefully. “Good hunting,” Baloo greeted him.

  “Good hunting for us all,” Kaa replied politely. “I am hungry. Have you seen any animals to hunt?”

  “Not yet, but we are looking,” said Baloo.

  “Let me come with you,” Kaa urged. “Hunting is easy for the two of you, but I have to climb through the trees and wait for days to catch a good meal. And the branches aren't as strong as they used to be. On my last hunt, I almost fell. As I slipped through the branches, the sound woke the Bandar-log. They laughed and called me evil names.”

  “Like footless yellow earthworm,” Bagheera murmured.

  “They called me that ?” Kaa hissed.

  “I heard them say something like it once,” Bagheera said, “but I never listen to them.”

  Baloo hesitated. He didn't like having anything to do with the Monkey People, but he knew they had to rescue Mowgli.

  “It is the Bandar-log we're after now,” he finally admitted.

  “Really? They must have done something terrible to put you on their trail,” Kaa hissed.

  Bagheera and Baloo told Kaa about Mowgli. They told how they had spoken for the boy at Council Rock and how much they cared for him. They told him that the Bandarlog had snatched Mowgli up and away into the treetops.

  “This is not good,” Kaa said. “Mowgli may be their pet now, but they will turn on him. Your man cub is not safe. The Bandar-log fear me more than anyone else. I will help you get Mowgli back. Where did they take him?”

  Baloo frowned. “We don't know. We hoped you might have an idea, Kaa.”

  “Me?” Kaa said. “I do not hunt the Bandarlog. I will eat them if they cross my path, but I don't go looking for them.”

  Just then a voice called out, “Hello! Baloo, look up here!” It was Rann the kite.

  “I spoke to Mowgli,” Rann went on. “The Bandar-log have taken him to the Lost City. He asked me to find you and let you know.”