The JUNGLE BOOK - Cambridge School

1 TheJUNGLEBOOKRUDYARD kipling Who is this man who is not afraid? the cobra asked. How is it he speaks ourlanguage with a man s lips? In long ago India, a toddler wanders offand is taken in by a family of by a friendly bear, the man-cub has many adventures as he learns the waysof the JUNGLE . But things begin to changewhen Mowgli becomes a young man. Nowhe feels a strange pull toward creatures ofhis own KIPLINGS addleback 09/13/06 4:35 PM Page 1 ADAPTED BYJanice GreeneJungleBookTHERUDYARD KIPLINGJ ungle Book9/15/06, 11:03 AM1 The Count of Monte CristoGulliver s TravelsThe Hound of the BaskervillesThe JUNGLE BookThe Last of the MohicansOliver TwistThe Prince and the PauperThe Three MusketeersDevelopment and Production: Laurel Associates, Art: Black Eagle ProductionsThree WatsonIrvine, CA 92618-2767E-Mail: 1-56254-291-5 Printed in the United States of America050403020100987654321 JUNGLE Book9/15/06, 11:03 AM2No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronicor mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any informationstorage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the 2001 by Saddleback Educational Publishing.

2 All rights Mowgli s 52 Kaa s 133 How Fear 244 The 315 Tiger! Tiger! .. 386 Letting in the 467 The King s 548 Red 619 The Spring 70 CONTENTSJ ungle Book9/15/06, 11:03 AM3 THE JUNGLE BOOK41 Mowgli sBrothersIt was a very warm evening when Father Wolfwoke up from his day s rest. Mother Wolf lay besidehim. Her nose was draped across four tumbling,squealing cubs. The moon rose over the mouth ofthe cave where they all lived. Arugh! said Father Wolf. It is time to huntagain. He was about to run downhill when a littleshadow crossed the entrance of the small voice whined, Good luck go with you,O Chief of the Wolves. And may your children neverforget those who are hungry! It was the despised jackal, Tabaqui the onewho runs about making mischief and telling Wolf said stiffly, Enter then, and lookfor yourself. Tabaqui found a bone with some meat on it merrily, he said, Shere Khan has movedhis hunting grounds. He will hunt here next.

3 JUNGLE Book9/15/06, 11:03 AM4 Mowgli s Brothers 15 Shere Khan was the tiger who lived near theWainganga River, 20 miles Wolf cried, He has no right! The Law ofthe JUNGLE forbids him to move his hunting groundswithout fair warning. He will frighten off the gamefor ten miles around! Mother Wolf said quietly, His mother did notcall him Lungri (the Lame One) for nothing. Thatis why he has only killed men s cattle. The villagersof the Wainganga are angry with him. Now he hascome here to make our villagers angry. They willhunt the JUNGLE for him, and we must be ready torun when they burn the grass. Out! snapped Father Wolf. I go, said Tabaqui. But listen! You can hearShere Kahn coming now. I might have saved myselfthe message. From the valley below the cave came the angrywhine of a tiger. He had caught nothing and didnot care if the whole JUNGLE knew Wolf said, The fool! Does he think ourdeer cannot hear such noise? Hush, said Mother Wolf. It is not our deerhe hunts tonight.

4 It is Man. Man! Father Wolf snorted in disgust. And onJungle Book9/15/06, 11:03 AM5 THE JUNGLE BOOK6our ground, too! Who does he think he is? The Law of the JUNGLE forbids every beast to eatMan except when he is showing his children howto kill. The reason is that man-killing brings whitemen riding on elephants and carrying guns. Alongwith them, the white men would bring hundredsof brown men with gongs and heard the full-throated Aaarh! of thetiger s charge, followed by a Wolf frowned. The fool! He must havejumped at a woodcutter s campfire again. Heprobably burned his feet. Something is coming up the hill, Mother Wolfwarned, twitching one ear. Get ready. When the bushes rustled near the cave, FatherWolf sprang. But the big wolf stopped his leap inmidair. He landed almost where he left the ground. Man! he snapped. It s a man s cub. Look! Right in front of him stood a naked brown babywho could just walk. The child looked up intoFather Wolf s face and laughed.

5 A man s cub? said Mother Wolf. Quickly bring it into the cave. Father Wolf s jaws closed gently around thechild s back. Then he laid the naked baby downJungle Book9/15/06, 11:03 AM6 Mowgli s Brothers 17among the squirming cubs. How little and smooth he is! How bold! saidMother Wolf softly. The baby was pushing his waybetween the cubs to get closer to the mother wolf swarm hide. Ahai! cried Mother Wolf. Look! He is takinghis meal with the others. Was there ever a wolf whocould boast of a man s cub among her children? Suddenly the moonlight was blocked from the caveby Shere Khan s great head and shoulders. Behind himTabaqui squeaked, My lord, it went in here! I have come for my game, said Shere Book9/15/06, 11:03 AM7 THE JUNGLE BOOK8 Give me the man s cub at once. The wolves could see that Shere Khan wasfurious from hunger and the pain of his burnedfeet. But Father Wolf knew the mouth of the cavewas too narrow for him to enter. The wolves takeorders from the head of the pack, he said, notfrom a striped cattle-killer.

6 The man-cub is ours to kill if we choose. What talk is this of choosing? Must I beg forwhat already belongs to me? It is I, Shere Khan,who speaks! Mother Wolf sprang forward. Her eyes, like twogreen moons in the darkness, faced the blazing eyesof Shere Khan. She said, And it is I, Raksha (theDemon), who answers. The cub is mine, Lungri mine to me! He shall not be killed. He shall live torun with the pack and hunt with the pack. Someday,perhaps he shall hunt you! Now go back to thejungle, lame cattle-killer! Go! Shere Khan backed out of the cave s mouth. We will see what the pack will say about this! Thecub is mine, and to my teeth he will come in theend, you thieves! he , Mother Wolf threw herself downamong the cubs. Shere Khan speaks the truth, JUNGLE Book9/15/06, 11:03 AM8 Mowgli s Brothers 19 Father Wolf said. The cub must be shown to thepack. Will you still keep him, Mother? He came naked and alone, yet he was not afraid! she said.

7 Yes, I will keep him. Lie still, O Mowgli,for Mowgli the Frog is what I will call you. But what will our pack say? said Father Law of the JUNGLE was clear. It said thatwhen a wolf s cubs are old enough to stand, theymust be brought before the pack. This ceremonywas to show the other wolves that they Wolf waited until his cubs could run alittle. Then, on the night of the pack meeting, hetook them, along with Mowgli and Mother Wolf, tothe Council Rock. This was a hilltop covered withstones and on his rock lay Akela, the great gray LoneWolf. He led all the pack by his strength andcunning. Below him sat 40 or more wolves. Theyranged from scarred gray veterans who couldhandle a buck alone to lively black three-year-oldswho only thought they cried, Look well, O wolves! One by one,the wolves pushed their cubs to the center of thering for the others to look over. When the timecame, Father Wolf pushed Mowgli into the ring. TheJungle Book9/15/06, 11:03 AM9 THE JUNGLE BOOK10man-cub sat playing with some pebbles that shonein the roar came up from behind the rocks.

8 ThenShere Khan cried out, That cub is mine! What havewolves to do with a man s cub? Akela didn t even twitch his ears. And whathave wolves to do with the orders of others? Lookwell! he the Law of the JUNGLE says that if there isany dispute over a cub, he must be spoken for byat least two members of the pack. And these mustnot include his father or mother. Who speaks for this cub? asked was no answer. Mother Wolf got readyfor a fight if it came to Baloo rose up. Baloo was the only othercreature who was allowed at the pack meetings. Hewas the sleepy brown bear who taught the wolfcubs the Law of the JUNGLE . Baloo said, I speak forthe man s cub. There is no harm in him. Let himrun with the pack. I myself will teach him. We need yet another, said black shadow dropped down into the was Bagheera the Black Panther. Everyone knewBagheera, and nobody cared to cross his path. HeJungle Book9/15/06, 11:03 AM10 Mowgli s Brothers 111was as cunning as Tabaqui, as bold as the wildbuffalo, and as reckless as the wounded his voice was as soft as wild honey and his skinwas softer than down.

9 O Akela, purred Bagheera, I have no right tobe here. But the Law of the JUNGLE says the life of acub may be bought at a price. Am I right? Good! Good! It is the Law, cried the youngwolves, who were always hungry. To Baloo s word I will add one bull, just killed,not half a mile from here. Bagheera went on. Willyou accept the man s cub in trade for this? Then a chorus of voices sang out. What matter?What harm can a naked frog do us? He will die inthe winter rains. He will burn in the sun. Let himrun with the pack. Where is the bull, Bagheera? When the others went off to find the dead bull,only Akela, Bagheera, Baloo, and Mowgli s ownfamily of wolves were left. Shere Khan, too, hadroared off into the night. He was very angry thatMowgli had not been handed over to him. Roar well, Bagheera muttered to himself,under his whiskers. The time will come when thisnaked frog will make you roar another tune or Iknow nothing of Man. JUNGLE Book9/15/06, 11:03 AM11 THE JUNGLE BOOK12 Kaa sHuntingWhen Mowgli was a bit older, Baloo beganteaching him the Law of the JUNGLE .

10 Usually, youngwolves learn only laws for their own pack. ButMowgli, as a man-cub, had to learn a great dealmore by heart. He grew very tired of having to saythe same thing over and over a hundred times. Butas Baloo said to Bagheera one day, There isnothing in the JUNGLE too little to be killed. TheMaster Words of the JUNGLE shall protect him withevery stranger he meets. I will call Mowgli and heshall say them. Come, Little Brother! Mowgli slid down a half-fallen tree trunk. Icome for Bagheera and not for you, fat old Baloo! he said rudely. That is all one to me, said Baloo, thoughMowgli s words hurt him. Tell Bagheera then. Tellhim the Master Words I have taught you this day. Mowgli gave the Master Words We be of one2 JUNGLE Book9/15/06, 11:03 AM12 Kaa s Hunting 213blood, you and I to be used with the Hunting-People, the birds, and the snakes. Then he clappedhis hands, jumped on Bagheera s back, and madethe worst faces he could think of at Baloo.