The Jungle Book

Page 1

One morning in India, a bear named Baloo found a baby human in the jungle. He took the baby to his friend, a panther named Bagheera. “What can we do with this man-cub?” asked Baloo. “We can take him to the wolves,” answered Bagheera. Bagheera was wise. He knew that the wolf king’s wife had recently had pups, so she would have milk for the baby. But Akela, the wolf king, did not want to take the man-cub. “We do not have enough food,” he said. Bagheera said, “I will bring extra food to you.”

Page 2

Akela and his wife, Raksha, took the man-cub, and they named him Mowgli. Many of the wolves did not like Mowgli because he was a man-cub. All of the jungle animals were afraid of humans because humans could not be trusted. Humans did not know the Law of the Jungle, so they did strange things that the animals did not understand. The animals did not want humans in the jungle, but the humans had powers that the animals did not understand. The animals could not stop the humans, and this made them frightened and angry.

Page 3

There were many rules in the Law of the Jungle. One rule was about killing. An animal could only kill another animal for food. If one animal killed another one for food, it was natural. But humans did not know this rule. Humans hunted animals for their entertainment. Killing animals made humans happy, and they kept the animal heads and skins as prizes! The animals did not understand this, and they were afraid. Also, if an animal killed a human for food, then many humans would come into the jungle and kill many animals.

Page 4

There was only one animal that did not follow the Law of the Jungle. He was a tiger named Shere Khan. He broke many laws of the jungle, so the animals were almost as afraid of him as they were afraid of humans. Shere Khan did not follow the Law of Moving. When he moved to new hunting areas, he did not tell the other animals. He also hunted and killed the strange animals that belonged to humans. But worst of all, he hunted and killed humans! The animals were afraid that humans were going to start hunting for Shere Khan.

Page 5

Shere Khan knew about the man-cub. In the past, Shere Khan tried to kill the man-cub’s parents, but the parents escaped. When Shere Khan came back for the man-cub, he was gone. Baloo and Bagheera had taken him to the wolves. Sheer Khan went to the cave where the wolves lived, and he told Akela and Rashka to give the man-cub to him. “He is mine!” roared Shere Khan. But the wolves told Shere Khan to go away. Rashka said, “The man-cub is ours now. You can’t have him!” Because Shere Khan did not want to fight the wolves in their small cave, he went away. But before he left, he turned around and said, “One day, the man-cub will meet my teeth!”

Page 6

Baloo was a friend of the wolves, and he was one of the teachers of the wolf cubs. As the man-cub, Mowgli, grew up, he went with the wolf cubs to learn lessons from Baloo. Baloo was a great teacher, and he taught Mowgli many things to keep him safe in the jungle. But Baloo did not notice that the wolf cubs did not like Mowgli. Bagheera, however, knew that the young wolves did not like Mowgli, and Shere Khan was searching for him. One night, Bagheera took Mowgli close to a human village, and he showed Mowgli a fire. He said, “Mowgli, when you’re in danger, run here and take a piece of this fire. It will make you strong.”

Page 7

Because wolves grow up faster than humans, Mowgli’s wolf brothers and sister soon became big and strong. They were going to be adults soon, but Mowgli was still a child. Because of this, the young wolves finished going to Baloo’s lessons before Mowgli did. Mowgli kept going to Baloo’s lessons, and he learned many things about the Law of the Jungle. Mowgli learned more and more every day. This made Baloo happy, and he wanted to teach Mowgli all of the rules of the Law of the Jungle.

Page 8

Baloo was a very strict teacher because it was important for Mowgli to learn as much as he could. So although the young wolves only had to learn the Laws for Wolves, Mowgli had to learn all of the Law of the Jungle. Because he was a human, Baloo knew that Mowgli would always be in danger from the other animals in the jungle. So that Mowgli could live with the all of the animals, Baloo taught him the languages of the birds, the hunting animals, and the snakes.

Page 9

One time, Mowgli forgot a new lesson, and Baloo hit him on the head. This hurt Mowgli and made him angry, so he ran away. Bagheera saw this, and he asked Baloo, “Why must he learn all of the Law of the Jungle when his wolf brothers and sisters only learn a few rules?” Baloo said, “Because Mowgli is a human. The animals will never trust him. If he does not know the Law of the Jungle, they will kill him. That’s why I’m strict. That’s why he can’t forget his lessons.”

Page 10

There was one lesson that Baloo forgot teach Mowgli. He did not teach Mowgli about the monkeys. All of the animals knew that the monkeys were bad. Monkeys had no real language, and they had no laws. They were stupid and forgetful. They thought they were important, but they were not. Monkeys played like fools. They fought with each other, and killed each other. And the other animals did not notice them. Baloo forgot to teach Mowgli about the monkeys because monkeys were not important.

Page 11

When Mowgli got angry at Baloo, he ran away and climbed into the trees. There, he saw the monkeys jumping around the trees. They were laughing and playing with each other. They ate too much, they took things from their friends, and they fought with each other for no reason. Mowgli thought the monkeys were fun and funny. Because Baloo had not taught him the lessons about the monkeys, Mowgli did not know about the danger. The monkeys played with Mowgli, and they all had fun. But suddenly, the monkeys tricked Mowgli, and they put him in a hole. He was trapped!

Page 12

A bird came to Baloo and Bagheera and told them that Mowgli was trapped by the monkeys. Bagheera ran to help Mowgli. Baloo ran and asked for help from a python named Kaa. Bagheera was fighting, but there were too many monkeys. Then, Baloo and Kaa arrived. Some monkeys ran away because they were afraid of Kaa. But many stupid monkeys stayed. Kaa smiled and danced, and the monkeys watched Kaa’s dance. And then, Kaa grabbed them and ate them. Baloo took Mowgli out of the trap. They escaped from the monkeys, and they took Mowgli home to the wolves.

Page 13

The young wolves did not like Mowgli. Also, they did not like Mowgli’s father, Akela, the king of the wolves. Although the young wolves were afraid of Akela, both he and his wife, Raksha, were very old. Mowgli’s family and his friends in the wolf pack were old, too. Mowgli was very strong and smart, but there were many young wolves. And because wolves grow faster than humans, the young wolves were already very big and strong. Soon, Mowgli’s family and friends would not be able to protect him from his enemies anymore.

Page 14

One day, Akela became too old to hunt. So the young wolves yelled, “The Law of the Jungle says that you cannot lead us anymore!” It was true, so the pack suddenly had no leader. Then, Shere Khan, the tiger, came. Shere Khan said to the young wolves, “Give Mowgli to me. He is not your brother, and he cannot be your leader.” When Mowgli saw the hatred in the eyes of the young wolves, he remembered the lesson from Bagheera. Mowgli ran to the human village, and Shere Khan and the young wolves chased him! When Mowgli reached the village he took a log from the fire. He swung the fire at Shere Khan and the young wolves. He yelled, “I am Human, and I am stronger than you! Run away from me! Run!” And the animals ran from Mowgli. Mowgli turned around, and he saw the men and women who lived in the village.

Page 15

The people from the village saw how Mowgli had beaten the tiger and the wolves. Mowgli was a strong man and a hero! They took Mowgli into their village to teach him how to speak and walk and live like a human. Mowgli looked back into the jungle one more time. He saw Akela and Raksha, his father and mother. He saw his teachers, Baloo and Bagheera. And he saw his brothers and sisters from the wolf pack. Mowgli cried. He was going to be a human. Mowgli understood that he would forget his jungle family because humans do not know the animals. He would forget the Law of the Jungle, and all of the jungle animals – his real family and friends – would be afraid of him.

Page 16

The Jungle Book

Page 17

One morning in India, a bear named Baloo found a baby human in the jungle. He took the baby to his friend, a panther named Bagheera. “What can we do with this man-cub?” asked Baloo. “We can take him to the wolves,” answered Bagheera. Bagheera was wise. He knew that the wolf king’s wife had recently had pups, so she would have milk for the baby. But Akela, the wolf king, did not want to take the man-cub. “We do not have enough food,” he said. Bagheera said, “I will bring extra food to you.”

Page 18

Akela and his wife, Raksha, took the man-cub, and they named him Mowgli. Many of the wolves did not like Mowgli because he was a man-cub. All of the jungle animals were afraid of humans because humans could not be trusted. Humans did not know the Law of the Jungle, so they did strange things that the animals did not understand. The animals did not want humans in the jungle, but the humans had powers that the animals did not understand. The animals could not stop the humans, and this made them frightened and angry.

Page 19

There were many rules in the Law of the Jungle. One rule was about killing. An animal could only kill another animal for food. If one animal killed another one for food, it was natural. But humans did not know this rule. Humans hunted animals for their entertainment. Killing animals made humans happy, and they kept the animal heads and skins as prizes! The animals did not understand this, and they were afraid. Also, if an animal killed a human for food, then many humans would come into the jungle and kill many animals.

Page 20

There was only one animal that did not follow the Law of the Jungle. He was a tiger named Shere Khan. He broke many laws of the jungle, so the animals were almost as afraid of him as they were afraid of humans. Shere Khan did not follow the Law of Moving. When he moved to new hunting areas, he did not tell the other animals. He also hunted and killed the strange animals that belonged to humans. But worst of all, he hunted and killed humans! The animals were afraid that humans were going to start hunting for Shere Khan.

Page 21

Shere Khan knew about the man-cub. In the past, Shere Khan tried to kill the man-cub’s parents, but the parents escaped. When Shere Khan came back for the man-cub, he was gone. Baloo and Bagheera had taken him to the wolves. Sheer Khan went to the cave where the wolves lived, and he told Akela and Rashka to give the man-cub to him. “He is mine!” roared Shere Khan. But the wolves told Shere Khan to go away. Rashka said, “The man-cub is ours now. You can’t have him!” Because Shere Khan did not want to fight the wolves in their small cave, he went away. But before he left, he turned around and said, “One day, the man-cub will meet my teeth!”