James Baquet

You may have heard of Mowgli, the main character in several movies called “The Jungle Book.” These are based on nine short stories by the Indian-born English author Rudyard Kipling.

Mowgli was raised by wolves after losing his parents during a tiger attack on their village. His “mother,” Raksha, and her mate bring him up with their other cubs. They call him a “man-cub,” and name him Mowgli, meaning “frog,” because he is hairless — and is constantly jumping around.

He brings his own skills to the pack. He has the power to stare down any wolf, and he can remove thorns from his brothers’ paws. A black panther named Bagheera, who once lived in a cage made by humans, becomes his mentor.

Mowgli’s other teacher is the bear Baloo, who teaches him “The Law of the Jungle.” It is very complex, but can be summarized in one line: “The strength of the Pack is the Wolf, and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack.” Other key concepts include obedience, and a stern prohibition on killing humans.

Now, the tiger that attacked the village is an especially bad one. Shere Khan believes that the escaped boy rightly belongs to the tiger. He keeps after him, but the wolves insist that the boy is theirs. Finally, Mowgli discovers the one thing the tiger, like all animals, fears, “the Red Flower”: fire.

Mowgli returns to the human village, and is adopted by a couple whose own son was taken by a tiger. It is possible, though never proven, that Mowgli is their lost son. The woman, Messua, likes to believe so.

While Mowgli is herding the village’s buffalo, he learns that the tiger is still after him. He and two of his wolf friends drive the tiger into a ravine, where the buffalo trample him. Mowgli keeps his skin, but the villagers suspect him of witchcraft, and he goes once again to live with the wolves.

In later stories Mowgli and his animal allies save Messua and her husband, who are about to be attacked for harboring “the witch.” He also leads the wolves in a war against wild dogs. In the end, he goes to work for the British government’s forestry service and takes a wife — who goes with him, along with their son, when once again he goes to live in the forest.

Vocabulary:

Which word above means:

1. narrow valley formed by water

2. black magic

3. without stopping

4. hiding; giving shelter to

5. rule against something

6. point parts of plants

7. teacher and guide

8. baby wolves, bears, tigers, etc.

9. serious

10. step heavily on something