Stories from The Jungle Book / Книга Джунглей. Редьярд Киплинг
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Baloo said to Bagheera. “Without my cuffs, he would not have learnt. Now he does not have to fear anybody.”
“Of course, he has to,” replied Bagheera. “He must fear man, his own tribe.”
Mowgli was jumping on Bagheera’s back, pulling and pushing him.
“What is the matter, Little Brother?” Bagheera asked.
“One day I will have a tribe of my own,” Mowgli replied proudly. “I shall be its leader. We will go from branch to branch and have a wonderful time.”
Baloo and Bagheera were shocked.
“What are you talking about?” asked Baloo, very angry.
Mowgli was surprised. He looked at Bagheera and saw that he was angry too.
“Have you been with the Bandar-log, the Monkey People?”
“The Bandar-log are the grey apes, who have no law and eat everything,” added Bagheera.
Mowgli nodded his head.
He said, “One day, when Baloo had cuffed me, I went into the jungle and met the Bandar-log. They were very good to me and gave me nuts and many other things to eat. They carried me from tree to tree. It was wonderful. They said that I was their brother without a tail. They even said that they would make me their leader one day.”
Baloo was furious.
“They are liars,” he said. “They have never had a leader and never will. You are not to meet them again.”
“But why not?” Mowgli wanted to know. “They were kind and good to me, and have invited me to go with them again. They are like me – they stand on their feet and use their hands to pluck nuts and fruit. They really are very kind. I liked playing with them.”
“Listen to me, man-cub,” said Baloo sternly. “I have taught you the laws of the jungle and the calls of all the creatures that live here. The only thing I have not taught you is about the Bandar-log. Why? It is because they have no law and no call. They have no speech. They chatter all the time, living on the branches. We, of the jungle, do not go where they go, or drink water from the same waterhole. You, too, will do the same.”
Mowgli had never seen Baloo so angry. He was always kind. Mowgli knew that he had not done the right thing, so he nodded. Suddenly nuts and sticks hit them on their heads. Mowgli looked up and saw many chattering monkeys swinging from branch to branch.
5
The Bandar-log were exactly as Baloo had said. They had no leader and no speech. They lived on trees. The animals of the jungle lived on the ground and they did not look up at them. They never met them and kept away from them.
But the Bandar-log had watched Mowgli. They had seen him weaving mats with straw and sticks. They found that wonderful. They thought that they could learn many things from him, and this would make them wise. Then all the creatures of the jungle would take note of them and envy them. They decided to carry him away and make him their leader.
So one day, when Mowgli was sleeping, the Bandar-log swooped down from the trees and carried him off. Mowgli opened his eyes and found that he was being carried away through the trees.
He cried out aloud. Baloo and Bagheera woke up, and were horrified to see the Bandar-log carry their Little Brother away.
Mowgli was very angry with himself. He should have listened to Baloo and kept away from these silly chattering monkeys. He felt dizzy as he was swung from branch to branch and from tree to tree.
Mowgli looked up and saw Chil, the kite, flying over him. He gave the kite a call for help. Chil was surprised to hear the call and looked down. He was even more surprised to hear a man-cub say the Master Word.
Mowgli called out to him, saying, “We are of one blood, you and I. Mark my trail. Tell Baloo and Bagheera. Go quickly.”
“Who are you, brother?” Chil asked.
“I am Mowgli, the man-cub. Mark my trail,” he repeated, “and hurry to Baloo and Bagheera.”
The monkeys carried him to the place the jungle creatures called the Cold Lairs. It was an old, ruined city, with its walls crumbling down. The monkeys lived here because there was a large water tank. No jungle creature ever came here, so they had the water to themselves.
6
Baloo and Bagheera were filled with grief. They had woken in time to see Mowgli being carried away.
“You should have warned him,” said Bagheera to Baloo. “You have taught him many things, but not all. You did not tell him about the silly, chattering Bandar-log. They could drop him while carrying him over the trees. He will surely die from such a fall.”
Baloo was too full of grief to reply. Chil spotted them as he flew over. He gave them Mowgli’s message.
“He knew the Master Word!” Chil exclaimed.
“What is the use?” wailed Baloo. “He may be dead by now.”
“Do not be so full of grief, Baloo,” comforted Bagheera. “The monkeys will be careful because they want him. Also, the man-cub is wise and well-taught. But as long as he is with them, he is not safe.”
“Oh, I am such a fat, stupid fool,” wailed Baloo again. “But, Bagheera, the Bandar-log fear Kaa, the snake, because he can climb trees, and he steals young monkeys in the night.”
“What can he do? He cannot move fast, as he has no feet.”
“He is a cunning old creature. Better still, he is always hungry,” said Baloo. “Come, we’ll go and seek his help. If he helps, we will promise him many goats.”
Both of them set off to look for Kaa. They found him sunning himself. His new coat was shining in the sun. (A snake sheds its skin when a new skin has formed inside.)
7
Kaa was a very big snake. Every creature in the jungle was afraid of his strength. Once he caught an animal and got it in his coils, he crushed it to death and then swallowed it.
Kaa was hungry. He said, “Hello, Baloo and Bagheera. What are you doing here? Have you any news of food for me? I am so hungry.”
“We are hunting,” answered Baloo. He did not want Kaa to know that they had come to seek his help. Kaa would never let them forget that.
“I’ll come with you,” Kaa said eagerly. “The last time I climbed a tree, it was dry and rotten and I nearly fell to my death. The Bandar-log were there and they called me such bad names.”
“Oh, the Bandar-log are shameless,” said Bagheera. “I once heard them say that you were old and had lost all your teeth.”
He could see that Kaa was very angry. His long body wriggled in anger.
Baloo decided to speak out. “Actually, it’s the Bandar-log we are following.”
“Why?”
“They have taken away our man-cub.”
“Man-cub? I have heard of him.”
“Yes, Kaa, the man-cub. He is the wisest, the best and the boldest of my pupils,” Baloo boasted. “And we love him very much. We call him our Little Brother.”
“The Bandar-log fear me,” said Kaa. “They are such chattering creatures. I may be of help. Indeed, I am sure I can be of help. Where did you say they had taken the man-cub?”
“To the Cold Lairs. That is the message Chil gave us. I am going as fast as I can,” said Bagheera, and then asked, “Kaa, will you come with us?”
“Of course, I will,” said Kaa, ready to set off. “And though I have no feet, I can go as fast as you can.”
“Baloo, you follow us,” said Bagheera.
Baloo was big