produced by an anonymous volunteer

the second jungle book

by rudyard kipling

contents

how fear came

and that will be no pleasant sight , " said baloo .

but , one year , baloo 's words came true , and mowgli saw all the jungle working under the law .

now everybody knows that ikki is ridiculously fastidious in his choice of food , and will eat nothing but the very best and ripest .

so mowgli laughed and said , " what is that to me ? "

" not much now , " said ikki , rattling his quills in a stiff , uncomfortable way , " but later we shall see .

is there any more diving into the deep rock-pool below the bee-rocks , little brother ? "

" no .

" that is thy loss .

a small crack might let in some wisdom . "

ikki ducked quickly to prevent mowgli from pulling his nose-bristles , and mowgli told baloo what ikki had said .

and yet hunting among strangers ends in fighting ; and they might hurt the man-cub .

we must wait and see how the mohwa blooms . "

that spring the mohwa tree , that baloo was so fond of , never flowered .

he hunted , too , for deep-boring grubs under the bark of the trees , and robbed the wasps of their new broods .

but the want of water was the worst , for though the jungle people drink seldom they must drink deep .

by the law of the jungle it is death to kill at the drinking-places when once the water truce has been declared .

the reason of this is that drinking comes before eating .

the deer and the pig had tramped all day in search of something better than dried bark and withered leaves .

the buffaloes had found no wallows to be cool in , and no green crops to steal .

the snakes had left the jungle and come down to the river in the hope of finding a stray frog .

they curled round wet stones , and never offered to strike when the nose of a rooting pig dislodged them .

the river-turtles had long ago been killed by bagheera , cleverest of hunters , and the fish had buried themselves deep in the dry mud .

it was here that mowgli came nightly for the cool and the companionship .

is thy stomach full , man-cub ? "

" there is stuff in my stomach , but i get no good of it .

think you , bagheera , the rains have forgotten us and will never come again ? "

" not i !

we shall see the mohwa in blossom yet , and the little fawns all fat with new grass .

come down to the peace rock and hear the news .

on my back , little brother . "

" this is no time to carry weight .

i can still stand alone , but indeed we be no fatted bullocks , we two . "

bagheera looked along his ragged , dusty flank and whispered .

" last night i killed a bullock under the yoke .

so low was i brought that i think i should not have dared to spring if he had been loose .

wou ! "

mowgli laughed .

" yes , we be great hunters now , " said he .

" the water cannot live long , " said baloo , joining them .

" look across .

yonder are trails like the roads of man . "

on the level plain of the farther bank the stiff jungle-grass had died standing , and , dying , had mummied .

you could hear the does and fawns coughing in the snuff-like dust .

the quick-spread ears of the deer caught the last sentence , and a frightened whisper ran along the ranks .

" the truce !

remember the truce ! "

" peace there , peace ! " gurgled hathi , the wild elephant .

" the truce holds , bagheera .

this is no time to talk of hunting . "

" who should know better than i ? "

bagheera answered , rolling his yellow eyes up-stream .

" i am an eater of turtles a fisher of frogs .

ngaayah !

would i could get good from chewing branches ! "

" well spoken , little bud-horn , " bagheera purred .

gradually the talking spread up and down the drinking-places .

" the men-folk , too , they die beside their ploughs , " said a young sambhur .

" i passed three between sunset and night .

they lay still , and their bullocks with them .

we also shall lie still in a little . "

" the river has fallen since last night , " said baloo .

" o hathi , hast thou ever seen the like of this drought ? "

" it will pass , it will pass , " said hathi , squirting water along his back and sides .

" we have one here that cannot endure long , " said baloo ; and he looked toward the boy he loved .

" i ? " said mowgli indignantly , sitting up in the water .

" i have no long fur to cover my bones , but but if thy hide were taken off , baloo "

hathi shook all over at the idea , and baloo said severely :

" man-cub , that is not seemly to tell a teacher of the law .

never have i been seen without my hide . "

" worse and worse , " said the black panther , as the boy rose spluttering .

" first baloo is to be skinned , and now he is a cocoanut .

be careful that he does not do what the ripe cocoanuts do . "

" break thy head , " said bagheera quietly , pulling him under again .

" not good !

what would ye have ?

this was shere khan , the lame tiger , limping down to the water .

look at me , man-cub ! "

mowgli looked stared , rather as insolently as he knew how , and in a minute shere khan turned away uneasily .

next season i shall have to beg his leave for a drink .

augrh ! "

" that may come , too , " said bagheera , looking him steadily between the eyes .

" that may come , too faugh , shere khan ! what new shame hast thou brought here ? "

the lame tiger had dipped his chin and jowl in the water , and dark , oily streaks were floating from it down-stream .

" man ! " said shere khan coolly , " i killed an hour since . "

he went on purring and growling to himself .

the line of beasts shook and wavered to and fro , and a whisper went up that grew to a cry .

" man !

man !

he has killed man ! "

then all looked towards hathi , the wild elephant , but he seemed not to hear .

hathi never does anything till the time comes , and that is one of the reasons why he lives so long .

" at such a season as this to kill man !

" i killed for choice not for food . "

the horrified whisper began again , and hathi 's watchful little white eye cocked itself in shere khan 's direction .

" for choice , " shere khan drawled .

" now come i to drink and make me clean again .

is there any to forbid ? "

bagheera 's back began to curve like a bamboo in a high wind , but hathi lifted up his trunk and spoke quietly .

" thy kill was from choice ? " he asked ; and when hathi asks a question it is best to answer .

" even so .

it was my right and my night .

thou knowest , o hathi . "

shere khan spoke almost courteously .

" yes , i know , " hathi answered ; and , after a little silence , " hast thou drunk thy fill ? "

" for to-night , yes . "

" go , then .

the river is to drink , and not to defile .

none but the lame tiger would so have boasted of his right at this season when when we suffer together man and jungle people alike .

clean or unclean , get to thy lair , shere khan ! "

the last words rang out like silver trumpets , and hathi 's three sons rolled forward half a pace , though there was no need .

" what is this right shere khan speaks of ? "

mowgli whispered in bagheera 's ear .

" to kill man is always , shameful .

the law says so .

and yet hathi says "

" ask him .

i do not know , little brother .

right or no right , if hathi had not spoken i would have taught that lame butcher his lesson .

to come to the peace rock fresh from a kill of man and to boast of it is a jackal 's trick .

besides , he tainted the good water . "

" it is an old tale , " said hathi ; " a tale older than the jungle .

keep silence along the banks and i will tell that tale . "

lean and wrinkled and yellow-tusked though he was , he looked what the jungle knew him to be their master .

" this tale touches thee , little brother , " said bagheera to mowgli .

" i ?

i am of the pack a hunter of the free people , " mowgli answered .

" what have i to do with man ? "

" and ye do not know why ye fear man ? "

hathi went on .

" this is the reason .

" i am glad i was not born in those days , " said bagheera .

" bark is only good to sharpen claws . "

" and the lord of the jungle was tha , the first of the elephants .

that was the manner in which the jungle was made by tha ; and so the tale was told to me . "

" it has not lost fat in the telling , " bagheera whispered , and mowgli laughed behind his hand .

but presently they began to dispute over their food , though there was grazing enough for all .

they were lazy .

each wished to eat where he lay , as sometimes we can do now when the spring rains are good .

tha , the first of the elephants , was busy making new jungles and leading the rivers in their beds .

in those days the first of the tigers ate fruit and grass with the others .

he was as large as i am , and he was very beautiful , in colour all over like the blossom of the yellow creeper .

there was never stripe nor bar upon his hide in those good days when this the jungle was new .

all the jungle people came before him without fear , and his word was the law of all the jungle .

we were then , remember ye , one people .

we ran to and fro in circles , capering and crying out and shaking our heads .

then up leaped the gray ape who lives in the branches , and said , ' i will now be master of the jungle . ' "

at this tha laughed , and said , " so be it , " and went away very angry .

" children , ye know the gray ape .

he was then as he is now .

and so there was no law in the jungle only foolish talk and senseless words .

now it is time there was a law , and a law that ye must not break .

then we of the jungle said , ' what is fear ? '

and tha said , ' seek till ye find . '

so we went up and down the jungle seeking for fear , and presently the buffaloes "

" ugh ! " said mysa , the leader of the buffaloes , from their sand-bank .

" yes , mysa , it was the buffaloes .

' i will go to this thing and break his neck . '

wherever they touched him there was a mark and a stripe upon his yellow hide .

and those stripes do this children wear to this day !

mowgli chuckled quietly here , his chin in the water .

" so loud did he howl that tha heard him and said , ' what is the sorrow ? '

' and why ? ' said tha .

' because i am smeared with the mud of the marshes , ' said the first of the tigers .

then the first of the tigers said : ' what have i done that this comes to me ? '

the first of the tigers said , ' they will never fear me , for i knew them since the beginning . '

tha said , ' go and see . '

do not forget me , o tha !

let my children remember that i was once without shame or fear ! '

and tha said : ' this much i will do , because thou and i together saw the jungle made .

for one night in each year it shall be as it was before the buck was killed for thee and for thy children .

show him mercy in that night of his fear , for thou hast known what fear is . '

for a year he lived in the marshes waiting till tha should keep his promise .

the first of the tigers licked his lips and said : ' what matter ?

i have killed fear . '

and tha said : ' o blind and foolish !

thou hast untied the feet of death , and he will follow thy trail till thou diest .

thou hast taught man to kill ! '

" the first of the tigers , standing stiffly to his kill , said .

' he is as the buck was .

there is no fear .

now i will judge the jungle peoples once more . '

" and tha said : ' never again shall the jungle peoples come to thee .

they shall never cross thy trail , nor sleep near thee , nor follow after thee , nor browse by thy lair .

only fear shall follow thee , and with a blow that thou canst not see he shall bid thee wait his pleasure .

thou hast shown him no mercy , and none will he show thee . '

he will not take away my night ? '

and tha said : ' the one night is thine , as i have said , but there is a price to pay .

thou hast taught man to kill , and he is no slow learner . '

" the first of the tigers said : ' he is here under my foot , and his back is broken .

let the jungle know i have killed fear . '

where he finds him , there he kills him , remembering how the first of the tigers was made ashamed .

for the rest , fear walks up and down the jungle by day and by night . "

" ahi !

aoo ! " said the deer , thinking of what it all meant to them .

" for one night only does man fear the tiger ? " said mowgli .

" for one night only , " said hathi .

" but i but we but all the jungle knows that shere khan kills man twice and thrice in a moon . "

" even so .

then he springs from behind and turns his head aside as he strikes , for he is full of fear .

if man looked at him he would run .

but on his one night he goes openly down to the village .

one kill in that night . "

" oh ! " said mowgli to himself , rolling over in the water .

" now i see why it was shere khan bade me look at him !

but then i am not a man , being of the free people . "

" umm ! " said bagheera deep in his furry throat .

" does the tiger know his night ? "

" never till the jackal of the moon stands clear of the evening mist .

sometimes it falls in the dry summer and sometimes in the wet rains this one night of the tiger .

but for the first of the tigers , this would never have been , nor would any of us have known fear . "

the deer grunted sorrowfully and bagheera 's lips curled in a wicked smile .

" do men know this tale ? " said he .

" none know it except the tigers , and we , the elephants the children of tha .

now ye by the pools have heard it , and i have spoken . "

hathi dipped his trunk into the water as a sign that he did not wish to talk .

he did but break the buck 's neck .

he did not eat .

what led him to the hot meat ? "

" the trees and the creepers marked him , little brother , and made him the striped thing that we see .

" then thou knowest the tale .

heh ?

why have i never heard ? "

" because the jungle is full of such tales .

if i made a beginning there would never be an end to them .

let go my ear , little brother . "

the law of the jungle

there are , of course , hundreds and hundreds more , but these will do for specimens of the simpler rulings .

the kill of the pack is the meat of the pack .

ye must eat where it lies ; and no one may carry away of that meat to his lair , or he dies .

the kill of the wolf is the meat of the wolf .

he may do what he will , but , till he has given permission , the pack may not eat of that kill .

cub-right is the right of the yearling .

from all of his pack he may claim full-gorge when the killer has eaten ; and none may refuse him the same .

lair-right is the right of the mother .

from all of her year she may claim one haunch of each kill for her litter , and none may deny her the same .

cave-right is the right of the father to hunt by himself for his own .

he is freed of all calls to the pack ; he is judged by the council alone .

the miracle of purun bhagat

mourn now , we saved him for the sake of such poor love as wild ones may .

mourn ye !

our brother will not wake , and his own kind drive us away !

dirge of the langurs .

there was once a man in india who was prime minister of one of the semi-independent native states in the north-western part of the country .

at the same time a native official must keep his own master 's favour .

that is to say , he held more real power than his master the maharajah .

now he would let those things go , as a man drops the cloak he no longer needs .

purun dass nodded .

he had never in his life tasted meat , and very seldom eaten even fish .

it was all one to purun dass or purun bhagat , as he called himself now .

earth , people , and food were all one .

purun bhagat saw an eagle swoop across the gigantic hollow , but the great bird dwindled to a dot ere it was half-way over .

and " here shall i find peace , " said purun bhagat .

never have i seen such a man .

he is of the plains but pale-coloured a brahmin of the brahmins . "

was he going to stay ? asked the priest .

would he need a chela a disciple to beg for him ?

had he a blanket against the cold weather ?

was the food good ?

purun bhagat ate , and thanked the giver .

it was in his mind to stay .

that was sufficient , said the priest .

that day saw the end of purun bhagat 's wanderings .

he had come to the place appointed for him the silence and the space .

every morning the filled begging-bowl was laid silently in the crutch of the roots outside the shrine .

" speak for me before the gods , bhagat .

speak for such a one , the wife of so-and-so ! "

it was laid out like a map at his feet .

after the monkeys came the barasingh , that big deer which is like our red deer , but stronger .

but purun bhagat never moved , and , little by little , the royal stag edged up and nuzzled his shoulder .

purun bhagat called them all " my brothers , " and his low call of " bhai !

bhai ! " would draw them from the forest at noon if they were within ear shot .

yet nothing was farther from his mind than miracles .

he believed that all things were one big miracle , and when a man knows that much he knows something to go upon .

there were few changes in the village .

then came such summer rains as had not been known in the hills for many seasons .

through three good months the valley was wrapped in cloud and soaking mist steady , unrelenting downfall , breaking off into thunder-shower after thunder-shower .

the monkey caught his hand and pulled hard .

" is it food , then ? " said purun bhagat .

" wait awhile , and i will prepare some . "

" what is it ?

what is thy trouble , brother ? " said purun bhagat , for the langur's eyes were full of things that he could not tell .

" unless one of thy caste be in a trap and none set traps here i will not go into that weather .

look , brother , even the barasingh comes for shelter ! "

the deer 's antlers clashed as he strode into the shrine , clashed against the grinning statue of kali .

he lowered them in purun bhagat 's direction and stamped uneasily , hissing through his half-shut nostrils .

" hai !

hai !

hai ! " said the bhagat , snapping his fingers , " is this payment for a night 's lodging ? "

" now i see , " said purun bhagat .

" no blame to my brothers that they did not sit by the fire to-night .

the mountain is falling .

and yet why should i go ? "

his eye fell on the empty begging-bowl , and his face changed .

indeed , i must go and warn them below .

back there , brother !

let me get to the fire . "

the barasingh backed unwillingly as purun bhagat drove a pine torch deep into the flame , twirling it till it was well lit .

" ah ! ye came to warn me , " he said , rising .

" better than that we shall do ; better than that .

out , now , and lend me thy neck , brother , for i have but two feet . "

as soon as they were clear of the forest more of the bhagat 's brothers joined them .

he heard , though he could not see , the langurs pressing about him , and behind them the uhh ! uhh ! of sona .

" the hill falls !

the hill is falling !

up and out , oh , you within ! "

" it is our bhagat , " said the blacksmith 's wife .

" he stands among his beasts .

gather the little ones and give the call . "

" across the valley and up the next hill ! " shouted purun bhagat .

" leave none behind !

we follow ! "

at last the deer stopped in the shadow of a deep pinewood , five hundred feet up the hillside .

his instinct , that had warned him of the coming slide , told him he would he safe here .

stay till i go ! "

that told its own tale .

never a villager not even the priest was bold enough to speak to the bhagat who had saved their lives .

they crouched under the pines and waited till the day .

of the village , of the road to the shrine , of the shrine itself , and the forest behind , there was no trace .

for one mile in width and two thousand feet in sheer depth the mountain-side had come away bodily , planed clean from head to heel .

and the villagers , one by one , crept through the wood to pray before their bhagat .

the priest said : " behold a miracle after a miracle , for in this very attitude must all sunnyasis be buried !

therefore where he now is we will build the temple to our holy man . "

a song of kabir

oh , light was the world that he weighed in his hands !

oh , heavy the tale of his fiefs and his lands !

he has gone from the guddee and put on the shroud , and departed in guise of bairagi avowed !

to learn and discern of his brother the clod , of his brother the brute , and his brother the god .

he has gone from the council and put on the shroud ( " can ye hear ? " saith kabir ) , a bairagi avowed !

letting in the jungle

but it is not easy to change one 's life all in a minute particularly in the jungle .

" but for akela and gray brother here , " mowgli said , at the end , " i could have done nothing .

" i am glad i did not see that last , " said mother wolf stiffly .

" it is not my custom to suffer my cubs to be driven to and fro like jackals .

i would have taken a price from the man-pack ; but i would have spared the woman who gave thee the milk .

yes , i would have spared her alone . "

" peace , peace , raksha ! " said father wolf , lazily .

leave men alone . "

baloo and bagheera both echoed : " leave men alone . "

" we be five , " said gray brother , looking round at the company , and snapping his jaws on the last word .

" we also might attend to that hunting , " said bagheera , with a little switch-switch of his tail , looking at baloo .

" but why think of men now , akela ? "

said mang , " the village of the man-pack , where they cast out the man-cub , hums like a hornet 's nest . "

" i asked of mang what he had seen .

he said that the red flower blossomed at the gate of the village , and men sat about it carrying guns .

presently , little brother , a man with a gun follows our trail if , indeed , he be not already on it . "

" but why should he ?

men have cast me out .

what more do they need ? " said mowgli angrily .

" thou art a man , little brother , " akela returned .

" it is not for us , the free hunters , to tell thee what thy brethren do , or why . "

he had just time to snatch up his paw as the skinning-knife cut deep into the ground below .

" phff !

i could have killed a buck while thou wast striking . "

mowgli looked on enviously .

" man ! "

akela growled , dropping on his haunches .

" buldeo ! " said mowgli , sitting down .

" he follows our trail , and yonder is the sunlight on his gun .

look ! "

then a piece of mica , or a little pool , or even a highly-polished leaf will flash like a heliograph .

but that day was cloudless and still .

" i knew men would follow , " said akela triumphantly .

" not for nothing have i led the pack . "

" where go ye , and without word ? "

mowgli called .

" h'sh !

we roll his skull here before mid-day ! "

gray brother answered .

" back !

back and wait !

man does not eat man ! "

mowgli shrieked .

" who was a wolf but now ?

" am i to give reason for all i choose to , do ? " said mowgli furiously .

" that is man !

there speaks man ! "

bagheera muttered under his whiskers .

" even so did men talk round the king 's cages at oodeypore .

we of the jungle know that man is wisest of all .

if we trusted our ears we should know that of all things he is most foolish . "

raising his voice , he added , " the man-cub is right in this .

men hunt in packs .

to kill one , unless we know what the others will do , is bad hunting .

come , let us see what this man means toward us . "

" we will not come , " gray brother growled .

" hunt alone , little brother .

we know our own minds .

the skull would have been ready to bring by now . "

mowgli had been looking from one to the other of his friends , his chest heaving and his eyes full of tears .

he strode forward to the wolves , and , dropping on one knee , said : " do i not know my mind ?

look at me ! "

" now , " said he , " of us five , which is leader ? "

" thou art leader , little brother , " said gray brother , and he licked mowgli 's foot .

" follow , then , " said mowgli , and the four followed at his heels with their tails between their legs .

" this comes of living with the man-pack , " said bagheera , slipping down after them .

" there is more in the jungle now than jungle law , baloo . "

the old bear said nothing , but he thought many things .

presently buldeo came to where akela , as you know , had gone back and mixed it all up .

[ the other end is bounded by the high squeak of mang , the bat , which very many people cannot catch at all .

from that note all the bird and bat and insect talk takes on . ]

" this is better than any kill , " said gray brother , as buldeo stooped and peered and puffed .

" he looks like a lost pig in the jungles by the river .

what does he say ? "

buldeo was muttering savagely .

mowgli translated .

" he says that packs of wolves must have danced round me .

he says that he never saw such a trail in his life .

he says he is tired . "

" now , what does the lean thing do ? "

" eat or blow smoke out of his mouth .

" when ? " said the charcoal-burners , because they would very much like to be present at the ceremony .

buldeo said that nothing would be done till he returned , because the village wished him to kill the jungle boy first .

after that they would dispose of messua and her husband , and divide their lands and buffaloes among the village .

messua 's husband had some remarkably fine buffaloes , too .

but , said the charcoal-burners , what would happen if the english heard of it ?

the english , they had heard , were a perfectly mad people , who would not let honest farmers kill witches in peace .

why , said buldeo , the head-man of the village would report that messua and her husband had died of snake-bite .

that was all arranged , and the only thing now was to kill the wolf-child .

they did not happen to have seen anything of such a creature ?

the sun was getting rather low , and they had an idea that they would push on to buldeo 's village and see that wicked witch .

the brahmin , he said , had given him a charm against the creature that made everything perfectly safe .

" what says he ?

what says he ?

" does man trap man ? " said bagheera .

" so he says .

i cannot understand the talk .

they are all mad together .

i must look to this .

whatever they would do to messua they will not do till buldeo returns .

" i go hot-foot back to the man-pack , " mowgli said at last .

" and those ? " said gray brother , looking hungrily after the brown backs of the charcoal-burners .

can ye hold them ? "

gray brother bared his white teeth in contempt .

" we can head them round and round in circles like tethered goats if i know man . "

" that i do not need .

go with them , bagheera , and help make that song .

when night is shut down , meet me by the village gray brother knows the place . "

" it is no light hunting to work for a man-cub .

when shall i sleep ? " said bagheera , yawning , though his eyes showed that he was delighted with the amusement .

" me to sing to naked men !

but let us try . "

then gray brother gave the ya-la-hi !

ho !

get to lair !

the sun 's aflare behind the breathing grass : and cracking through the young bamboo the warning whispers pass .

later on , he promised himself , he would pay his debts to the village at large .

" men must always be making traps for men , or they are not content , " said mowgli .

" last night it was mowgli but that night seems many rains ago .

to-night it is messua and her man .

to-morrow , and for very many nights after , it will be mowgli 's turn again . "

he crept along outside the wall till he came to messua 's hut , and looked through the window into the room .

mowgli knew the manners and customs of the villagers very fairly .

her husband was only bewildered and angry , and sat picking dust and things out of his torn beard .

" i knew i knew he would come , " messua sobbed at last .

" now do i know that he is my son ! " and she hugged mowgli to her heart .

up to that time mowgli had been perfectly steady , but now he began to tremble all over , and that surprised him immensely .

" why are these thongs ?

why have they tied thee ? " he asked , after a pause .

" to be put to the death for making a son of thee what else ? " said the man sullenly .

" look !

i bleed . "

" whose work is this ? " said he .

" there is a price to pay . "

" the work of all the village .

i was too rich .

i had too many cattle .

therefore she and i are witches , because we gave thee shelter . "

" i do not understand .

let messua tell the tale . "

" i gave thee milk , nathoo ; dost thou remember ? "

messua said timidly .

" because thou wast my son , whom the tiger took , and because i loved thee very dearly .

they said that i was thy mother , the mother of a devil , and therefore worthy of death . "

" and what is a devil ? " said mowgli .

" death i have seen . "

the man looked up gloomily , but messua laughed .

" see ! " she said to her husband , " i knew i said that he was no sorcerer .

he is my son my son ! "

" son or sorcerer , what good will that do us ? " the man answered .

" we be as dead already . "

" yonder is the road to the jungle " mowgli pointed through the window .

" your hands and feet are free .

go now . "

" we do not know the jungle , my son , as as thou knowest , " messua began .

" i do not think that i could walk far . "

" and the men and women would be upon our backs and drag us here again , " said the husband .

but i do not think they will stay thee .

in a little while they will have much else to think upon .

ah ! " he lifted his head and listened to shouting and trampling outside .

" so they have let buldeo come home at last ? "

" he was sent out this morning to kill thee , " messua cried .

" didst thou meet him ? "

" yes we i met him .

he has a tale to tell and while he is telling it there is time to do much .

but first i will learn what they mean .

think where ye would go , and tell me when i come back . "

buldeo was lying on the ground , coughing and groaning , and every one was asking him questions .

then he called for water .

" bah ! " said mowgli .

" chatter chatter !

talk , talk !

men are blood-brothers of the bandar-log .

they are very wise people men .

they will leave no one to guard messua till their ears are stuffed with buldeo 's tales .

and i grow as lazy as they ! "

he shook himself and glided back to the hut .

just as he was at the window he felt a touch on his foot .

" mother , " said he , for he knew that tongue well , " what dost thou here ? "

" i heard my children singing through the woods , and i followed the one i loved best .

" they have bound and mean to kill her .

i have cut those ties , and she goes with her man through the jungle . "

" i also will follow .

i am old , but not yet toothless . "

mother wolf reared herself up on end , and looked through the window into the dark of the hut .

wait here , but do not let her see . "

when his talk is finished , they say they will assuredly come here with the red with fire and burn you both .

and then ? "

" i have spoken to my man , " said messua .

" khanhiwara is thirty miles from here , but at khanhiwara we may find the english "

" and what pack are they ? " said mowgli .

" i do not know .

if we can get thither to-night , we live .

otherwise we die . "

" live , then .

no man passes the gates to-night .

but what does he do ? "

messua 's husband was on his hands and knees digging up the earth in one corner of the hut .

" it is his little money , " said messua .

" we can take nothing else . "

" ah , yes .

the stuff that passes from hand to hand and never grows warmer .

do they need it outside this place also ? " said mowgli .

the man stared angrily .

" he is a fool , and no devil , " he muttered .

" with the money i can buy a horse .

we are too bruised to walk far , and the village will follow us in an hour . "

" i say they will not follow till i choose ; but a horse is well thought of , for messua is tired . "

her husband stood up and knotted the last of the rupees into his waist-cloth .

" ye know the trail to khanhiwara ? "

mowgli whispered .

they nodded .

" good .

remember , now , not to be afraid .

and there is no need to go quickly .

only only there may be some small singing in the jungle behind you and before . "

" think you we would have risked a night in the jungle through anything less than the fear of burning ?

it is better to be killed by beasts than by men , " said messua 's husband ; but messua looked at mowgli and smiled .

neither man nor beast shall stay you till you come within eye-shot of khanhiwara .

there will be a watch about you . "

he turned quickly to messua , saying , " he does not believe , but thou wilt believe ? "

" ay , surely , my son .

man , ghost , or wolf of the jungle , i believe . "

" he will be afraid when he hears my people singing .

thou wilt know and understand .

go now , and slowly , for there is no need of any haste .

the gates are shut . "

messua flung herself sobbing at mowgli 's feet , but he lifted her very quickly with a shiver .

they shall pay me twice over for my crops untilled and my buffaloes unfed .

i will have a great justice . "

mowgli laughed .

" i do not know what justice is , but come next rains . and see what is left . "

they went off toward the jungle , and mother wolf leaped from her place of hiding .

" follow ! " said mowgli ; " and look to it that all the jungle knows these two are safe .

give tongue a little .

i would call bagheera . "

" go on , " mowgli called cheerfully .

" i said there might be singing .

that call will follow up to khanhiwara .

it is favour of the jungle . "

" i am ashamed of thy brethren , " he said , purring .

" what ?

did they not sing sweetly to buldeo ? " said mowgli .

" too well !

too well !

didst thou not hear us ? "

" i had other game afoot .

ask buldeo if he liked the song .

but where are the four ?

i do not wish one of the man-pack to leave the gates to-night . "

" i can hold them , little brother .

is it killing at last ?

the singing and the sight of the men climbing up the trees have made me very ready .

who is man that we should care for him the naked brown digger , the hairless and toothless , the eater of earth ?

i have followed him all day at noon in the white sunlight .

i herded him as the wolves herd buck .

i am bagheera !

bagheera !

bagheera !

as i dance with my shadow , so danced i with those men .

look ! "

" i am bagheera in the jungle in the night , and my strength is in me .

who shall stay my stroke ?

man-cub , with one blow of my paw i could beat thy head flat as a dead frog in the summer ! "

" brother brother brother ! " the boy whispered , stroking steadily and lightly from the neck along the heaving back .

" be still , be still !

it is the fault of the night , and no fault of thine . "

" it was the smells of the night , " said bagheera penitently .

" this air cries aloud to me .

but how dost thou know ? "

" thou art of the jungle and not of the jungle , " he said at last .

" and i am only a black panther .

but i love thee , little brother . "

" they are very long at their talk under the tree , " mowgli said , without noticing the last sentence .

" buldeo must have told many tales .

they should come soon to drag the woman and her man out of the trap and put them into the red flower .

they will find that trap sprung .

ho ! ho ! "

" nay , listen , " said bagheera .

" the fever is out of my blood now .

let them find me there !

few would leave their houses after meeting me .

it is not the first time i have been in a cage ; and i do not think they will tie me with cords . "

" pah ! "

bagheera grunted .

now i lie down . "

mowgli heard the strings of the cot crack under the great brute 's weight .

" by the broken lock that freed me , they will think they have caught big game !

come and sit beside me , little brother ; we will give them ' good hunting ' together ! "

" no ; i have another thought in my stomach .

the man-pack shall not know what share i have in the sport .

make thine own hunt .

i do not wish to see them . "

" be it so , " said bagheera .

" ah , now they come ! "

the conference under the peepul-tree had been growing noisier and noisier , at the far end of the village .

it broke in wild yells , and a rush up the street of men and women , waving clubs and bamboos and sickles and knives .

let us see if hot coins will make them confess !

burn the hut over their heads !

we will teach them to shelter wolf-devils !

nay , beat them first !

torches !

more torches !

buldeo , heat the gun-barrels ! "

here was some little difficulty with the catch of the door .

" they will not stir till day comes , " said bagheera quietly .

" and now ? "

bagheera was quite right ; the village would not stir till daylight .

mowgli sat still , and thought , and his face grew darker and darker .

" what have i done ? " said bagheera , at last coming to his feet , fawning .

" nothing but great good .

watch them now till the day .

i sleep . "

when he waked , bagheera was at his side , and there was a newly-killed buck at his feet .

bagheera watched curiously while mowgli went to work with his skinning-knife , ate and drank , and turned over with his chin in his hands .

" the man and the woman are come safe within eye-shot of khanhiwara , " bagheera said .

" thy lair mother sent the word back by chil , the kite .

they found a horse before midnight of the night they were freed , and went very quickly .

is not that well ? "

" that is well , " said mowgli .

" and thy man-pack in the village did not stir till the sun was high this morning .

then they ate their food and ran back quickly to their houses . "

" did they , by chance , see thee ? "

" it may have been .

i was rolling in the dust before the gate at dawn , and i may have made also some small song to myself .

now , little brother , there is nothing more to do .

come hunting with me and baloo .

he has new hives that he wishes to show , and we all desire thee back again as of old .

take off that look which makes even me afraid !

the man and woman will not be put into the red flower , and all goes well in the jungle .

is it not true ?

let us forget the man-pack . "

" they shall be forgotten in a little while .

where does hathi feed to-night ? "

" where he chooses .

who can answer for the silent one ?

but why ?

what is there hathi can do which we cannot ? "

" bid him and his three sons come here to me . "

" that is all one .

i have a master-word for him now .

" the sack of the fields of bhurtpore , " bagheera repeated two or three times to make sure .

" i go .

he went away , leaving mowgli stabbing furiously with his skinning-knife into the earth .

" it was a master-word , " bagheera whispered in his ear .

" they were feeding by the river , and they obeyed as though they were bullocks .

look where they come now ! "

hathi and his three sons had arrived , in their usual way , without a sound .

his three sons rolled side by side , behind their father .

mowgli hardly lifted his head as hathi gave him " good hunting . "

" i will tell a tale that was told to me by the hunter ye hunted to-day , " said mowgli .

then came he , angry , by night to the fields of those hunters .

and i remember now that he had three sons .

these things happened many , many rains ago , and very far away among the fields of bhurtpore .

what came to those fields at the next reaping , hathi ? "

" they were reaped by me and by my three sons , " said hathi .

" and to the ploughing that follows the reaping ? " said mowgli .

" there was no ploughing , " said hathi .

" and to the men that live by the green crops on the ground ? " said mowgli .

" they went away . "

" and to the huts in which the men slept ? " said mowgli .

" we tore the roofs to pieces , and the jungle swallowed up the walls , " said hathi .

" and what more ? " said mowgli .

" a man told me , and now i see even buldeo can speak truth .

thou knowest the village of the man-pack that cast me out ?

when they are full-fed they would throw their own breed into the red flower .

this i have seen .

it is not well that they should live here any more .

i hate them ! "

" what good are white bones to me ? "

mowgli answered angrily .

" am i the cub of a wolf to play in the sun with a raw head ?

now i will take that which i can see and touch .

let in the jungle upon that village , hathi ! "

bagheera shivered , and cowered down .

now he saw why mowgli had sent for hathi .

no one but the long-lived elephant could plan and carry through such a war .

let in the jungle , hathi ! "

" are ye the only eaters of grass in the jungle ?

drive in your peoples .

let the deer and the pig and the nilghai look to it .

ye need never show a hand's-breadth of hide till the fields are naked .

let in the jungle , hathi ! "

" there will be no killing ?

my tusks were red at the sack of the fields of bhurtpore , and i would not wake that smell again . "

" nor i ..y i do not wish even their bones to lie on the clean earth .

let them go and find a fresh lair .

they cannot stay here .

i have seen and smelled the blood of the woman that gave me food the woman whom they would have killed but for me .

only the smell of the new grass on their door-steps can take away that smell .

it burns in my mouth .

let in the jungle , hathi ! "

" ah ! " said hathi .

" so did the scar of the stake burn on my hide till we watched the villages die under in the spring growth .

now i see .

thy war shall be our war .

we will let in the jungle ! "

" by the broken lock that freed me ! " said the black panther at last .

" art thou the naked thing i spoke for in the pack when all was young ?

master of the jungle , when my strength goes , speak for me speak for baloo speak for us all !

we are cubs before thee !

snapped twigs under foot !

fawns that have lost their doe ! "

then he swam round and round , ducking in and out of the bars of the moonlight like the frog , his namesake .

then they began to feed , and fed quietly for a week or so .

hathi and his sons are like kaa , the rock python .

they never hurry till they have to .

very many creatures broke back or ran away or lost interest , but very many were left to go forward .

at the end of another ten days or so the situation was this .

then the deer were coaxed no more .

the eaters of flesh were close behind them , and forced them forward and inward .

before the dawn broke the pressure on the outside of the circle gave way at one point .

the eaters of flesh had fallen back and left an open path to the south , and drove upon drove of buck fled along it .

others , who were bolder , lay up in the thickets to finish their meal next night .

but the work was practically done .

when the villagers looked in the morning they saw their crops were lost .

only bagheera could have given those strokes , and only bagheera would have thought of insolently dragging the last carcass to the open street .

when that last loss was discovered , it was the brahmin 's turn to speak .

he had prayed to his own gods without answer .

they wished to know whether his gods the old gods were angry with them and what sacrifices should be offered .

he knew that when the jungle moves only white men can hope to turn it aside .

there was no need to ask his meaning .

the wild gourd would grow where they had worshipped their god , and the sooner they saved themselves the better .

but it is hard to tear a village from its moorings .

the more they kept to their village , the bolder grew the wild things that gambolled and bellowed on the grazing-grounds by the waingunga .

the unmarried men ran away first , and carried the news far and near that the village was doomed .

so their little commerce with the outside world shrunk as the trodden paths across the open grew fewer and fainter .

at last the nightly trumpetings of hathi and his three sons ceased to trouble them ; for they had no more to be robbed of .

the crop on the ground and the seed in the ground had been taken .

the outlying fields were already losing their shape , and it was time to throw themselves on the charity of the english at khanhiwara .

they heard , as the last burdened family filed through the gate , a crash of falling beams and thatch behind the walls .

they saw a shiny , snaky black trunk lifted for an instant , scattering sodden thatch .

it disappeared , and there was another crash , followed by a squeal .

hathi had been plucking off the roofs of the huts as you pluck water-lilies , and a rebounding beam had pricked him .

" the jungle will swallow these shells , " said a quiet voice in the wreckage .

" all in good time , " panted hathi .

" oh , but my tusks were red at bhurtpore ; to the outer wall , children !

with the head !

together !

now ! "

then they fled , houseless and foodless , down the valley , as their village , shredded and tossed and trampled , melted behind them .

mowgli's song against people

i will let loose against you the fleet-footed vines i will call in the jungle to stamp out your lines !

the roofs shall fade before it , the house-beams shall fall , and the karela , the bitter karela , shall cover it all !

i have untied against you the club-footed vines , i have sent in the jungle to swamp out your lines .

the trees the trees are on you !

the house-beams shall fall , and the karela , the bitter karela , shall cover you all !

the undertakers

jungle law

" respect the aged ! "

" it was a thick voice a muddy voice that would have made you shudder a voice like something soft breaking in two .

there was a quaver in it , a croak and a whine .

" respect the aged !

o companions of the river respect the aged ! "

" o brahmins of the river respect the aged and infirm ! "

little creeks ran into the river in the wet season , but now their dry mouths hung clear above water-line .

that was the ghaut of the village of mugger-ghaut .

a lumbering adjutant-crane brought up the rear , flying as though each slow stroke would be his last .

" respect the aged !

brahmins of the river respect the aged ! "

then you saw what a ruffianly brute he really was .

his back view was immensely respectable , for he stood nearly six feet high , and looked rather like a very proper bald-headed parson .

" ugh ! " he said , shaking himself dolefully as he landed .

" may the red mange destroy the dogs of this village !

can i eat mud ? "

he scratched himself under his left ear .

" quite true .

so , to make sure , i took care of that puppy while the dogs were busy elsewhere . "

" they were very busy , " said the jackal .

" well , i must not go to the village hunting for scraps yet awhile .

and so there truly was a blind puppy in that shoe ? "

" it is here , " said the adjutant , squinting over his beak at his full pouch .

" a small thing , but acceptable now that charity is dead in the world . "

" ahai !

the world is iron in these days , " wailed the jackal .

" yes , the envy of the river , " the jackal repeated , raising his voice .

" even he , i doubt not , finds that since the bridge has been built good food is more scarce .

" when the jackal owns he is gray , how black must the jackal be ! " muttered the adjutant .

he could not see what was coming .

" that his food never fails , and in consequence "

there was a soft grating sound , as though a boat had just touched in shoal water .

the jackal spun round quickly and faced ( it is always best to face ) the creature he had been talking about .

" auspiciously met , protector of the poor ! " he fawned , backing at every word .

" a delectable voice was heard , and we came in the hopes of sweet conversation .

my tailless presumption , while waiting here , led me , indeed , to speak of thee .

it is my hope that nothing was overheard . "

" my child , i heard nothing , " said the mugger , shutting one eye .

" the water was in my ears , and also i was faint with hunger .

since the railway bridge was built my people at my village have ceased to love me ; and that is breaking my heart . "

" ah , shame ! " said the jackal .

" so noble a heart , too !

but men are all alike , to my mind . "

" nay , there are very great differences indeed , " the mugger answered gently .

" some are as lean as boat-poles .

others again are fat as young ja dogs .

never would i causelessly revile men .

they are of all fashions , but the long years have shown me that , one with another , they are very good .

men , women , and children i have no fault to find with them .

and remember , child , he who rebukes the world is rebuked by the world . "

" flattery is worse than an empty tin can in the belly .

but that which we have just heard is wisdom , " said the adjutant , bringing down one foot .

" consider , though , their ingratitude to this excellent one , " began the jackal tenderly .

" nay , nay , not ingratitude ! " the mugger said .

" they do not think for others ; that is all .

then the old mugger will be honoured again . "

" but surely i saw marigold wreaths floating off the edge of the ghaut only this noon , " said the adjutant .

marigold wreaths are a sign of reverence all india over .

" an error an error .

it was the wife of the sweetmeat-seller .

she loses her eyesight year by year , and cannot tell a log from me the mugger of the ghaut .

yet she meant well , and we must consider the spirit of the offering . "

" true , but they have not yet begun to make the rubbish-heap that shall carry me .

five times have i seen the river draw back from the village and make new land at the foot of the street .

five times have i seen the village rebuilt on the banks , and i shall see it built yet five times more .

" i have watched long very long nearly all my life , and my reward has been bites and blows , " said the jackal .

" ho ! ho ! ho ! " roared the adjutant .

there is one very unpleasant peculiarity about the adjutant .

at the last word of his song he came to attention again , ten times adjutaunter than before .

the adjutant was a most notorious coward , but the jackal was worse .

i am well contented with fate .

" once i heard that even the protector of the poor made a mistake , " said the jackal viciously .

" true ; but there my fate helped me .

yes , i was young and unthinking , and when the flood came , who so pleased as i ?

a little made me very happy then .

i remember also a pair of bracelets ( glass they were , and troubled me not a little ) that i found that evening .

yes , glass bracelets ; and , if my memory serves me well , a shoe .

i should have shaken off both shoes , but i was hungry .

i learned better later .

yes .

who but i ?

came out all my people , priests and women and children , and i looked upon them with benevolence .

the mud is not a good place to fight in .

said a boatman , ' get axes and kill him , for he is the mugger of the ford . '

' not so , ' said the brahmin .

' look , he is driving the flood before him !

he is the godling of the village . '

then they threw many flowers at me , and by happy thought one led a goat across the road . "

" how good how very good is goat ! " said the jackal .

" hairy too hairy , and when found in the water more than likely to hide a cross-shaped hook .

but that goat i accepted , and went down to the ghaut in great honour .

later , my fate sent me the boatman who had desired to cut off my tail with an axe .

his boat grounded upon an old shoal which you would not remember . "

" we are not all jackals here , " said the adjutant .

" there were two , " said the mugger ; " an upper and a lower shoal . "

" ay , i forgot .

a channel divided them , and later dried up again , " said the adjutant , who prided himself on his memory .

" on the lower shoal my well-wisher 's craft grounded .

his empty boat went on and touched again below the next reach , as the river ran then .

i followed , because i knew men would come out to drag it ashore . "

" and did they do so ? " said the jackal , a little awe-stricken .

this was hunting on a scale that impressed him .

" there and lower down they did .

" ah , noble sport !

but what cleverness and great judgment it requires ! " said the jackal .

" not cleverness , child , but only thought .

a little thought in life is like salt upon rice , as the boatmen say , and i have thought deeply always .

i say that is wisdom ; but , on the other hand , my cousin , the gavial , lives among his people .

" all are very good eating , " said the adjutant , clattering his beak .

my people are otherwise .

their life is on the land , in the houses , among the cattle .

is there a green branch and an iron ring hanging over a doorway ?

the old mugger knows that a boy has been born in that house , and must some day come down to the ghaut to play .

is a maiden to be married ?

has the river changed its channel , and made new land where there was only sand before ?

the mugger knows . "

" now , of what use is that knowledge ? " said the jackal .

" the river has shifted even in my little life . "

" there is no knowledge so useful , " said the mugger , " for new land means new quarrels .

the mugger knows .

oho ! the mugger knows .

presently comes a farmer saying he will plant cucumbers here , and melons there , in the new land that the river has given him .

he feels the good mud with his bare toes .

anon comes another , saying he will put onions , and carrots , and sugar-cane in such and such places .

they meet as boats adrift meet , and each rolls his eye at the other under the big blue turban .

the old mugger sees and hears .

each calls the other ' brother , ' and they go to mark out the boundaries of the new land .

the mugger hurries with them from point to point , shuffling very low through the mud .

now they begin to quarrel !

now they say hot words !

now they pull turbans !

when he comes back the dispute is settled , as the iron-bound bamboo of the loser witnesses .

yet they are not grateful to the mugger .

no , they cry ' murder ! ' and their families fight with sticks , twenty a-side .

my people are good people upland jats malwais of the bet .

then come they down , my broad-shouldered jats eight or nine together under the stars , bearing the dead man upon a bed .

they are old men with gray beards , and voices as deep as mine .

then says one , at last , ' the fight was a fair fight .

let us take blood-money , a little more than is offered by the slayer , and we will say no more about it . '

then do they haggle over the blood-money , for the dead was a strong man , leaving many sons .

aha ! my children , the mugger knows the mugger knows and my malwah jats are a good people ! "

" they are too close too narrow in the hand for my crop , " croaked the adjutant .

" ah , i glean them , " said the mugger .

those wore dainty seasons .

but to-day they keep their streets as clean as the outside of an egg , and my people fly away .

to be clean is one thing ; to dust , sweep , and sprinkle seven times a day wearies the very gods themselves . "

" they are , then , as hard-hearted as these people ?

i might have known .

neither earth , sky , nor water shows charity to a jackal .

i saw the tents of a white-face last season , after the rains , and i also took a new yellow bridle to eat .

the white-faces do not dress their leather in the proper way .

it made me very sick . "

" that was better than my case , " said the adjutant .

the boats of the english are thrice as big as this village . "

" he has been as far as delhi , and says all the people there walk on their heads , " muttered the jackal .

the mugger opened his left eye , and looked keenly at the adjutant .

" it is true , " the big bird insisted .

" a liar only lies when he hopes to be believed .

no one who had not seen those boats could believe this truth . "

" that is more reasonable , " said the mugger .

" and then ? "

much split off , and fell about on the shore , and the rest they swiftly put into a house with thick walls .

but a boatman , who laughed , took a piece no larger than a small dog , and threw it to me .

i all my people swallow without reflection , and that piece i swallowed as is our custom .

never have i felt such cold .

my village is not a small one . "

" is that anything less wonderful than a boat thrice the size of mugger-ghaut ? " said the bird , looking up .

" i saw that built , child .

after the first pier was made they never thought to look down the stream for the body to burn .

there , again , i saved much trouble .

there was nothing strange in the building of the bridge , " said the mugger .

" but that which goes across , pulling the roofed carts !

that is strange , " the adjutant repeated .

" it is , past any doubt , a new breed of bullock .

some day it will not be able to keep its foothold up yonder , and will fall as the men did .

the old mugger will then be ready . "

the jackal looked at the adjutant and the adjutant looked at the jackal .

but the mugger had only looked up at the thing from below , where the brass dome seemed rather like a bullock 's hump .

" and again it might be " began the mugger pettishly .

" certainly most certainly , " said the jackal , without waiting for the other to finish .

" what ? " said the mugger angrily , for he could feel that the others knew more than he did .

" what might it be ?

i never finished my words .

you said it was a bullock . "

" it is anything the protector of the poor pleases .

i am his servant not the servant of the thing that crosses the river . "

" you do not know the english as i do , " said the mugger .

is he there ?

bring me my gun . '

me !

when the bridge was finished he went away .

all the english hunt in that fashion , except when they are hunted . "

" who hunts the white-faces ? " yapped the jackal excitedly .

" no one now , but i have hunted them in my time . "

" i remember a little of that hunting .

i was young then , " said the adjutant , clattering his beak significantly .

" i was well established here .

" and what did they say ? " the jackal asked .

" they said enough to make me , the mugger of mugger-ghaut , leave water and take to my feet .

i crossed dusty roads ; i went through tall grass ; i climbed hills in the moonlight .

even rocks did i climb , children consider this well .

i crossed the tail of sirhind , the waterless , before i could find the set of the little rivers that flow gungaward .

i was a month 's journey from my own people and the river that i knew .

that was very marvellous ! "

" that which i could find cousin , " said the mugger slowly , dragging each word .

if they had been alone he would not have cared , but the adjutant 's eyes twinkled with mirth at the ugly jest .

" assuredly , father , i might have known , " said the jackal .

" the protector of the poor has claimed kinship .

how can i remember the precise degree ?

moreover , we eat the same food .

he has said it , " was the jackal 's reply .

indeed , one of the worst terms of contempt along the river-bed is " eater of fresh meat . "

it is nearly as bad as calling a man a cannibal .

" that food was eaten thirty seasons ago , " said the adjutant quietly .

" if we talk for thirty seasons more it will never come back .

tell us , now , what happened when the good waters were reached after thy most wonderful land journey .

if we listened to the howling of every jackal the business of the town would stop , as the saying is . "

the mugger must have been grateful for the interruption , because he went on , with a rush :

" by the right and left of gunga ! when i came there never did i see such waters ! "

" were they better , then , than the big flood of last season ? " said the jackal .

" better !

i got my girth in that season my girth and my depth .

from agra , by etawah and the broad waters by allahabad "

" oh , the eddy that set under the walls of the fort at allahabad ! " said the adjutant .

" they came in there like widgeon to the reeds , and round and round they swung thus ! "

he went off into his horrible dance again , while the jackal looked on enviously .

he naturally could not remember the terrible year of the mutiny they were talking about .

the mugger continued :

to delight in ornaments is to end with a rope for a necklace , as the saying is .

all the muggers of all the rivers grew fat then , but it was my fate to be fatter than them all .

" i know that place , " said the adjutant .

" since those days monghyr is a lost city .

very few live there now . "

" thereafter i worked up-stream very slowly and lazily , and a little above monghyr there came down a boatful of white-faces alive !

they were , as i remember , women , lying under a cloth spread over sticks , and crying aloud .

there was never a gun fired at us , the watchers of the fords in those days .

all the guns were busy elsewhere .

we could hear them day and night inland , coming and going as the wind shifted .

i rose up full before the boat , because i had never seen white-faces alive , though i knew them well otherwise .

it is a pretty thing to see how a child loves running water .

i had fed that day , but there was yet a little unfilled space within me .

still , it was for sport and not for food that i rose at the child 's hands .

they must have passed between tooth and tooth those small white hands .

they cried out one after another in the boat , and presently i rose again to watch them .

the boat was too heavy to push over .

" once a woman gave me some dried skin from a fish , " said the jackal .

" i had hoped to get her baby , but horse-food is better than the kick of a horse , as the saying is .

what did thy woman do ? "

" she fired at me with a short gun of a kind i have never seen before or since .

never did i see such a thing .

five times , as swiftly as i wave my tail thus ! "

one bullet had gone under a neck-plate of mine .

i know not if it is there still , for the reason i cannot turn my head .

look and see , child .

it will show that my tale is true . "

" i ? " said the jackal .

" shall an eater of old shoes , a bone-cracker , presume , to doubt the word of the envy of the river ?

may my tail be bitten off by blind puppies if the shadow of such a thought has crossed my humble mind !

that is sufficient , and i will tell the tale to all my children , asking for no proof . "

" over-much civility is sometimes no better than over-much discourtesy , for , as the saying is , one can choke a guest with curds .

i do not desire that any children of thine should know that the mugger of mugger-ghaut took his only wound from a woman .

they will have much else to think of if they get their meat as miserably as does their father . "

" it is forgotten long ago !

it was never said !

there never was a white woman !

there was no boat !

nothing whatever happened at all . "

the jackal waved his brush to show how completely everything was wiped out of his memory , and sat down with an air .

( neither bore malice , however .

the river was empty for a while .

they came out of little creeks one after another , as the logs come down in the rains .

" ah ! " said the adjutant .

" boats like those come to calcutta of the south .

they are tall and black , they beat up the water behind them with a tail , and they "

" are thrice as big as my village .

i came to my village again , but i did not hope to see any of my people there .

yet they were ploughing and sowing and reaping , and going to and fro in their fields , as quietly as their own cattle . "

" was there still good food in the river ? " said the jackal .

" more than i had any desire for .

then my people said that it was best to say nothing at all , but to pay the tax and plough the land .

a little killing here and there is no bad thing but even the mugger is sometimes satisfied , as the saying is . "

" marvellous !

most truly marvellous ! " said the jackal .

" i am become fat through merely hearing about so much good eating .

and afterward what , if it be permitted to ask , did the protector of the poor do ? "

" i said to myself and by the right and left of gunga !

i locked my jaws on that vow i said i would never go roving any more .

" no one is all happy from his beak to his tail , " said the adjutant sympathetically .

" what does the mugger of mugger-ghaut need more ? "

" that little white child which i did not get , " said the mugger , with a deep sigh .

" he was very small , but i have not forgotten .

i am old now , but before i die it is my desire to try one new thing .

he yawned , and closed his jaws .

" and now i will rest and think .

keep silent , my children , and respect the aged . "

" that was a pleasant and profitable life , " he grinned , looking up inquiringly at the bird who towered above him .

" and not once , mark you , did he think fit to tell me where a morsel might have been left along the banks .

yet i have told him a hundred times of good things wallowing down-stream .

how true is the saying , ' all the world forgets the jackal and the barber when the news has been told ! '

now he is going to sleep !

arrh ! "

" how can a jackal hunt with a mugger ? " said the adjutant coolly .

" big thief and little thief ; it is easy to say who gets the pickings . "

" what now ? " said the adjutant , opening his wings uneasily .

" wait till we see .

the wind blows from us to them , but they are not looking for us those two men . "

" men , is it ?

my office protects me .

all india knows i am holy . "

the adjutant , being a first-class scavenger , is allowed to go where he pleases , and so this one never flinched .

" i am not worth a blow from anything better than an old shoe , " said the jackal , and listened again .

" hark to that footfall ! " he went on .

" that was no country leather , but the shod foot of a white-face .

listen again !

iron hits iron up there !

it is a gun !

friend , those heavy-footed , foolish english are coming to speak with the mugger . "

" warn him , then .

he was called protector of the poor by some one not unlike a starving jackal but a little time ago . "

" let my cousin protect his own hide .

he has told me again and again there is nothing to fear from the white-faces .

they must be white-faces .

not a villager of mugger-ghaut would dare to come after him .

see , i said it was a gun !

now , with good luck , we shall feed before daylight .

he cannot hear well out of water , and this time it is not a woman ! "

a shiny barrel glittered for a minute in the moonlight on the girders .

a voice on the bridge whispered : " it 's an odd shot straight down almost but as safe as houses .

better try behind the neck .

golly ! what a brute !

the villagers will be wild if he 's shot , though .

he 's the deota [ godling ] of these parts . "

i 've been after him in a boat for weeks .

stand by with the martini as soon as i 've given him both barrels of this . "

" mind the kick , then .

a double four-bore 's no joke . "

" that 's for him to decide .

here goes ! "

but the explosive bullets did the work .

he hardly moved his head before the life went out of him , and he lay as flat as the jackal .

" thunder and lightning !

lightning and thunder ! " said that miserable little beast .

" has the thing that pulls the covered carts over the bridge tumbled at last ? "

" it is no more than a gun , " said the adjutant , though his very tail-feathers quivered .

" nothing more than a gun .

he is certainly dead .

here come the white-faces . "

the two englishmen had hurried down from the bridge and across to the sand-bar , where they stood admiring the length of the mugger .

then a native with an axe cut off the big head , and four men dragged it across the spit .

i was a mutiny baby , as they call it .

poor mother was in the boat , too , and she often told me how she fired dad 's old pistol at the beast 's head . "

" well , you 've certainly had your revenge on the chief of the clan even if the gun has made your nose bleed .

hi , you boatmen !

haul that head up the bank , and we 'll boil it for the skull .

the skin 's too knocked about to keep .

come along to bed now .

this was worth sitting up all night for , wasn't it ? "

curiously enough , the jackal and the adjutant made the very same remark not three minutes after the men had left .

a ripple song

once a ripple came to land in the golden sunset burning lapped against a maiden 's hand , by the ford returning .

dainty foot and gentle breast here , across , be glad and rest .

" maiden , wait , " the ripple saith .

" wait awhile , for i am death ! "

dainty foot and tender heart , wait the loaded ferry-cart .

" wait , ah , wait ! " the ripple saith ; " maiden , wait , for i am death ! "

" when my lover calls i haste dame disdain was never wedded ! "

ripple-ripple round her waist , clear the current eddied .

foolish heart and faithful hand , little feet that touched no land .

far away the ripple sped , ripple ripple running red !

the king's ankus

jungle saying .

skin-changing always makes a snake moody and depressed till the new skin begins to shine and look beautiful .

kaa had very courteously packed himself under mowgli 's broad , bare shoulders , so that the boy was really resting in a living arm-chair .

" even to the scales of the eyes it is perfect , " said mowgli , under his breath , playing with the old skin .

" strange to see the covering of one's own head at one 's own feet ! "

does thy skin never feel old and harsh ? "

" i wash , and also i take off my skin .

how looks the new coat ? "

mowgli ran his hand down the diagonal checkerings of the immense back .

" the turtle is harder-backed , but not so gay , " he said judgmatically .

" the frog , my name-bearer , is more gay , but not so hard .

it is very beautiful to see like the mottling in the mouth of a lily . "

" it needs water .

a new skin never comes to full colour before the first bath .

let us go bathe . "

a man might just , as well have tried to heave up a two-foot water-main ; and kaa lay still , puffing with quiet amusement .

" now ! now ! now ! " said kaa , making feints with his head that even mowgli 's quick hand could not turn aside .

" look !

i touch thee here , little brother !

here , and here !

are thy hands numb ?

here again ! "

the game always ended in one way with a straight , driving blow of the head that knocked the boy over and over .

mowgli could never learn the guard for that lightning lunge , and , as kaa said , there was not the least use in trying .

" good hunting ! "

kaa grunted at last ; and mowgli , as usual , was shot away half a dozen yards , gasping and laughing .

kaa 's diamond-shaped head cut the pool like a razor , and came out to rest on mowgli 's shoulder .

they lay still , soaking luxuriously in the cool water .

" it is very good , " said mowgli at last , sleepily .

it is better in the jungle . "

a hurrying cobra slipped down over a rock and drank , gave them " good hunting ! " and went away .

" sssh ! " said kaa , as though he had suddenly remembered something .

" so the jungle gives thee all that thou hast ever desired , little brother ? "

now , i could kill with my own hands , asking no help of buffaloes .

but thus do we feel , all of us . "

" thou hast no other desire ? " the big snake demanded .

" what more can i wish ?

i have the jungle , and the favour of the jungle !

is there more anywhere between sunrise and sunset ? "

" now , the cobra said " kaa began .

" what cobra ?

he that went away just now said nothing .

he was hunting . "

" it was another . "

" hast thou many dealings with the poison people ?

i give them their own path .

they carry death in the fore-tooth , and that is not good for they are so small .

but what hood is this thou hast spoken with ? "

kaa rolled slowly in the water like a steamer in a beam sea .

" three or four moons since , " said he , " i hunted in cold lairs , which place thou hast not forgotten .

" but the people of cold lairs do not live in burrows . "

mowgli knew that kaa was telling of the monkey people .

" this thing was not living , but seeking to live , " kaa replied , with a quiver of his tongue .

" he ran into a burrow that led very far .

i followed , and having killed , i slept .

when i waked i went forward . "

" under the earth ? "

" new game ?

was it good hunting ? "

mowgli turned quickly on his side .

" we will look , " said mowgli .

" i now remember that i was once a man . "

" slowly slowly .

it was haste killed the yellow snake that ate the sun .

we two spoke together under the earth , and i spoke of thee , naming thee as a man .

let him come , and he shall see all these things , for the least of which very many men would die . ' "

" that must be new game .

and yet the poison people do not tell us when game is afoot .

they are an unfriendly folk . "

" it is not game .

it is it is i cannot say what it is . "

" we will go there .

i have never seen a white hood , and i wish to see the other things .

did he kill them ? "

" they are all dead things .

he says he is the keeper of them all . "

" ah !

as a wolf stands above meat he has taken to his own lair .

let us go . "

mowgli was not the least afraid of the monkey people in those days , but the monkey people had the liveliest horror of mowgli .

their tribes , however , were raiding in the jungle , and so cold lairs stood empty and silent in the moonlight .

mowgli gave the snake-call , " we be of one blood , ye and i , " and followed on his hands and knees .

" a safe lair , " said mowgli , rising to his firm feet , " but over-far to visit daily .

and now what do we see ? "

even the spectacle-marks of his spread hood had faded to faint yellow .

his eyes were as red as rubies , and altogether he was most wonderful .

" good hunting ! " said mowgli , who carried his manners with his knife , and that never left him .

" what of the city ? " said the white cobra , without answering the greeting .

i grow deaf here , and it is long since i heard their war-gongs . "

" the jungle is above our heads , " said mowgli .

" i know only hathi and his sons among elephants .

bagheera has slain all the horses in one village , and what is a king ? "

" the city the great city of the forest whose gates are guarded by the king 's towers can never pass .

salomdhi , son of chandrabija , son of viyeja , son of yegasuri , made it in the days of bappa rawal .

whose cattle are ye ? "

" it is a lost trail , " said mowgli , turning to kaa .

" i know not his talk . "

" nor i ..y he is very old .

father of cobras , there is only the jungle here , as it has been since the beginning . "

who is he with the knife and the snake 's tongue ? "

" mowgli they call me , " was the answer .

" i am of the jungle .

the wolves are my people , and kaa here is my brother .

father of cobras , who art thou ? "

" i am the warden of the king 's treasure .

then they let down the treasure through the stone , and i heard the song of the brahmins my masters . "

" umm ! " said mowgli to himself .

" i have dealt with one brahmin already , in the man-pack , and i know what i know .

evil comes here in a little . "

" five times since i came here has the stone been lifted , but always to let down more , and never to take away .

there are no riches like these riches the treasures of a hundred kings .

but it is long and long since the stone was last moved , and i think that my city has forgotten . "

" there is no city .

look up .

yonder are roots of the great trees tearing the stones apart .

trees and men do not grow together , " kaa insisted .

little do men change in the years .

but i change never !

the city is dead , ye say , and here are the roots of the trees ?

stoop down , then , and take what ye will .

earth has no treasure like to these .

" again the trail is lost , " said mowgli coolly .

" can any jackal have burrowed so deep and bitten this great white hood ?

he is surely mad .

father of cobras , i see nothing here to take away . "

" by the gods of the sun and moon , it is the madness of death upon the boy ! " hissed the cobra .

" before thine eyes close i will allow thee this favour .

look thou , and see what man has never seen before ! "

i will look , if that please thee . "

he stared with puckered-up eyes round the vault , and then lifted up from the floor a handful of something that glittered .

he let the gold pieces fall , and move forward .

the white cobra was right .

but mowgli naturally did not understand what these things meant .

the knives interested him a little , but they did not balance so well as his own , and so he dropped them .

at last he found something really fascinating laid on the front of a howdah half buried in the coins .

it was a three-foot ankus , or elephant-goad something like a small boat-hook .

the white cobra had been following him closely .

" is this not worth dying to behold ? " he said .

" have i not done thee a great favour ? "

" i do not understand , " said mowgli .

" the things are hard and cold , and by no means good to eat .

but this " he lifted the ankus " i desire to take away , that i may see it in the sun .

thou sayest they are all thine ?

wilt thou give it to me , and i will bring thee frogs to eat ? "

the white cobra fairly shook with evil delight .

" assuredly i will give it , " he said .

" all that is here i will give thee till thou goest away . "

" but i go now .

this place is dark and cold , and i wish to take the thorn-pointed thing to the jungle . "

" look by thy foot !

what is that there ? "

mowgli picked up something white and smooth .

" it is the bone of a man 's head , " he said quietly .

" and here are two more . "

" they came to take the treasure away many years ago .

i spoke to them in the dark , and they lay still . "

" but what do i need of this that is called treasure ?

if thou wilt give me the ankus to take away , it is good hunting .

if not , it is good hunting none the less .

i do not fight with the poison people , and i was also taught the master-word of thy tribe . "

" there is but one master-word here .

it is mine ! "

kaa flung himself forward with blazing eyes .

" who bade me bring the man ? " he hissed .

" i surely , " the old cobra lisped .

" it is long since i have seen man , and this man speaks our tongue . "

" but there was no talk of killing .

how can i go to the jungle and say that i have led him to his death ? " said kaa .

" i talk not of killing till the time .

and as to thy going or not going , there is the hole in the wall .

peace , now , thou fat monkey-killer !

i have but to touch thy neck , and the jungle will know thee no longer .

never man came here that went away with the breath under his ribs .

i am the warden of the treasure of the king 's city ! "

" but , thou white worm of the dark , i tell thee there is neither king nor city !

the jungle is all about us ! " cried kaa .

" there is still the treasure .

but this can be done .

wait awhile , kaa of the rocks , and see the boy run .

there is room for great sport here .

life is good .

run to and fro awhile , and make sport , boy ! "

mowgli put his hand on kaa 's head quietly .

" the white thing has dealt with men of the man-pack until now .

he does not know me , " he whispered .

" he has asked for this hunting .

let him have it . "

mowgli had been standing with the ankus held point down .

he flung it from him quickly and it dropped crossways just behind the great snake 's hood , pinning him to the floor .

in a flash , kaa 's weight was upon the writhing body , paralysing it from hood to tail .

the red eyes burned , and the six spare inches of the head struck furiously right and left .

" kill ! " said kaa , as mowgli 's hand went to his knife .

" no , " he said , as he drew the blade ; " i will never kill again save for food .

but look you , kaa ! "

the white cobra had outlived his poison , as a snake will .

" the king 's treasure needs a new warden , " he said gravely .

" thuu , thou hast not done well .

run to and fro and make sport , thuu ! "

" i am ashamed .

kill me ! " hissed the white cobra .

" there has been too much talk of killing .

we will go now .

i take the thorn-pointed thing , thuu , because i have fought and worsted thee . "

" see , then , that the thing does not kill thee at last .

it is death !

remember , it is death !

there is enough in that thing to kill the men of all my city .

not long wilt thou hold it , jungle man , nor he who takes it from thee .

they will kill , and kill , and kill for its sake !

my strength is dried up , but the ankus will do my work .

it is death !

it is death !

it is death ! "

" this is brighter than bagheera 's eyes , " he said delightedly , as he twirled the ruby .

" i will show it to him ; but what did the thuu mean when he talked of death ? "

" i cannot say .

i am sorrowful to my tail 's tail that he felt not thy knife .

there is always evil at cold lairs above ground or below .

but now i am hungry .

dost thou hunt with me this dawn ? " said kaa .

" no ; bagheera must see this thing .

good hunting ! "

mowgli told him all his adventures from beginning to end , and bagheera sniffed at the ankus between whiles .

when mowgli came to the white cobra 's last words , the panther purred approvingly .

" then the white hood spoke the thing which is ? "

mowgli asked quickly .

" i was born in the king 's cages at oodeypore , and it is in my stomach that i know some little of man .

very many men would kill thrice in a night for the sake of that one big red stone alone . "

" but the stone makes it heavy to the hand .

my little bright knife is better ; and see ! the red stone is not good to eat .

then why would they kill ? "

" mowgli , go thou and sleep .

thou hast lived among men , and "

" i remember .

men kill because they are not hunting ; for idleness and pleasure .

wake again , bagheera .

for what use was this thorn-pointed thing made ? "

bagheera half opened his eyes he was very sleepy with a malicious twinkle .

" it was made by men to thrust into the head of the sons of hathi , so that the blood should pour out .

i have seen the like in the street of oodeypore , before our cages .

that thing has tasted the blood of many such as hathi . "

" but why do they thrust into the heads of elephants ? "

" to teach them man 's law .

having neither claws nor teeth , men make these things and worse . "

" always more blood when i come near , even to the things the man-pack have made , " said mowgli disgustedly .

he was getting a little tired of the weight of the ankus .

" if i had known this , i would not have taken it .

first it was messua 's blood on the thongs , and now it is hathi 's .

i will use it no more .

look ! "

the ankus flew sparkling , and buried itself point down thirty yards away , between the trees .

" so my hands are clean of death , " said mowgli , rubbing his palms on the fresh , moist earth .

" the thuu said death would follow me .

he is old and white and mad . "

" white or black , or death or life , i am going to sleep , little brother .

i cannot hunt all night and howl all day , as do some folk . "

bagheera went off to a hunting-lair that he knew , about two miles off .

mowgli could hear him snuffing in the half light .

" where is the thorn-pointed thing ? " cried mowgli .

" a man has taken it .

here is the trail . "

" now we shall see whether the thuu spoke truth .

if the pointed thing is death , that man will die .

let us follow . "

" kill first , " said bagheera .

" an empty stomach makes a careless eye .

men go very slowly , and the jungle is wet enough to hold the lightest mark . "

the jungle people know that nothing makes up for being hurried over your meals .

" think you the pointed thing will turn in the man 's hand and kill him ? "

mowgli asked .

" the thuu said it was death . "

" we shall see when we find , " said bagheera , trotting with his head low .

" hai !

" now he runs swiftly , " said mowgli .

" the toes are spread apart . "

they went on over some wet ground .

" now why does he turn aside here ? "

" wait ! " said bagheera , and flung himself forward with one superb bound as far as ever he could .

bagheera turned as he landed , and faced mowgli , crying , " here comes another trail to meet him .

it is a smaller foot , this second trail , and the toes turn inward . "

then mowgli ran up and looked .

" it is the foot of a gond hunter , " he said .

" look !

here he dragged his bow on the grass .

that is why the first trail turned aside so quickly .

big foot hid from little foot . "

" that is true , " said bagheera .

" now , lest by crossing each other 's tracks we foul the signs , let each take one trail .

i am big foot , little brother , and thou art little foot , the gond . "

bagheera leaped back to the original trail , leaving mowgli stooping above the curious narrow track of the wild little man of the woods .

now i hide me behind a rock and stand still , not daring to shift my feet .

cry thy trail , little brother . "

" now , i , little foot , come to the rock , " said mowgli , running up his trail .

" now , i sit down under the rock , leaning upon my right hand , and resting my bow between my toes .

i wait long , for the mark of my feet is deep here . "

" i also , " said bagheera , hidden behind the rock .

" i wait , resting the end of the thorn-pointed thing upon a stone .

it slips , for here is a scratch upon the stone .

cry thy trail , little brother . "

" one , two twigs and a big branch are broken here , " said mowgli , in an undertone .

" now , how shall i cry that ?

ah !

it is plain now .

i , little foot , go away making noises and tramplings so that big foot may hear me . "

he moved away from the rock pace by pace among the trees , his voice rising in the distance as he approached a little cascade .

" i go , far away to where the noise of falling-water covers my noise ; and here i wait .

cry thy trail , bagheera , big foot ! "

the panther had been casting in every direction to see how big foot 's trail led away from behind the rock .

then he gave tongue :

" i come from behind the rock upon my knees , dragging the thorn-pointed thing .

seeing no one , i run .

i , big foot , run swiftly .

the trail is clear .

let each follow his own .

i run ! "

bagheera swept on along the clearly-marked trail , and mowgli followed the steps of the gond .

for some time there was silence in the jungle .

" where art thou , little foot ? " cried bagheera .

mowgli 's voice answered him not fifty yards to the right .

" um ! " said the panther , with a deep cough .

" the two run side by side , drawing nearer ! "

good hunting look !

here stood little foot , with his knee on a rock and yonder is big foot indeed ! "

" was the thuu so old and so mad , little brother ? " said bagheera gently .

" here is one death , at least . "

" follow on .

but where is the drinker of elephant 's blood the red-eyed thorn ? "

" little foot has it perhaps .

it is single-foot again now . "

neither spoke till the trail ran up to the ashes of a camp-fire hidden in a ravine .

" again ! " said bagheera , checking as though he had been turned into stone .

the body of a little wizened gond lay with its feet in the ashes , and bagheera looked inquiringly at mowgli .

" that was done with a bamboo , " said the boy , after one glance .

" i have used such a thing among the buffaloes when i served in the man-pack .

the father of cobras i am sorrowful that i made a jest of him knew the breed well , as i might have known .

said i not that men kill for idleness ? "

" indeed , they killed for the sake of the red and blue stones , " bagheera answered .

" remember , i was in the king 's cages at oodeypore . "

" one , two , three , four tracks , " said mowgli , stooping over the ashes .

" four tracks of men with shod feet .

they do not go so quickly as gonds .

now , what evil had the little woodman done to them ?

see , they talked together , all five , standing up , before they killed him .

bagheera , let us go back .

my stomach is heavy in me , and yet it heaves up and down like an oriole 's nest at the end of a branch . "

" it is not good hunting to leave game afoot .

follow ! " said the panther .

" those eight shod feet have not gone far . "

no more was said for fully an hour , as they worked up the broad trail of the four men with shod feet .

it was clear , hot daylight now , and bagheera said , " i smell smoke . "

bagheera , a little to his left , made an indescribable noise in his throat .

" here is one that has done with feeding , " said he .

a tumbled bundle of gay-coloured clothes lay under a bush , and round it was some spilt flour .

" that was done by the bamboo again , " said mowgli .

" see ! that white dust is what men eat .

" it is the third , " said bagheera .

" i will go with new , big frogs to the father of cobras , and feed him fat , " said mowgli to himself .

" the drinker of elephant 's blood is death himself but still i do not understand ! "

" follow ! " said bagheera .

a half-dead fire smoked in the centre of the circle , under an iron plate which held a blackened and burned cake of unleavened bread .

close to the fire , and blazing in the sunshine , lay the ruby-and-turquoise ankus .

" the thing works quickly ; all ends here , " said bagheera .

" how did these die , mowgli ?

there is no mark on any . "

a jungle-dweller gets to learn by experience as much as many doctors know of poisonous plants and berries .

" apple of death , " he coughed .

" the first must have made it ready in the food for these , who killed him , having first killed the gond . "

" good hunting , indeed !

the kills follow close , " said bagheera .

" apple of death " is what the jungle call thorn-apple or dhatura , the readiest poison in all india .

" what now ? " said the panther .

" must thou and i kill each other for yonder red-eyed slayer ? "

" can it speak ? " said mowgli in a whisper .

" did i do it a wrong when i threw it away ?

between us two it can do no wrong , for we do not desire what men desire .

if it be left here , it will assuredly continue to kill men one after another as fast as nuts fall in a high wind .

i have no love to men , but even i would not have them die six in a night . "

" what matter ?

they are only men .

they killed one another , and were well pleased , " said bagheera .

" that first little woodman hunted well . "

" they are cubs none the less ; and a cub will drown himself to bite the moon 's light on the water .

the fault was mine , " said mowgli , who spoke as though he knew all about everything .

" i will never again bring into the jungle strange things not though they be as beautiful as flowers .

this " he handled the ankus gingerly " goes back to the father of cobras .

but first we must sleep , and we cannot sleep near these sleepers .

also we must bury him , lest he run away and kill another six .

dig me a hole under that tree . "

the trouble is with the men . "

" all one , " said mowgli .

" dig the hole deep .

when we wake i will take him up and carry him back . "

" ah-ha !

it returns , then .

i said the thing was death .

how comes it that thou art still alive ? " the old cobra mumbled , twining lovingly round the ankus-haft .

" by the bull that bought me , i do not know !

that thing has killed six times in a night .

let him go out no more . "

the song of the little hunter

quiquern

translation .

" he has opened his eyes .

look ! "

" put him in the skin again .

he will be a strong dog .

on the fourth month we will name him . "

" for whom ? " said amoraq .

kadlu 's eye rolled round the skin-lined snow-house till it fell on fourteen-year-old kotuko sitting on the sleeping-bench , making a button out of walrus ivory .

" name him for me , " said kotuko , with a grin .

" i shall need him one day . "

he had been out since early dawn at the seal-holes , eight miles away , and had come home with three big seal .

sarpok !

get in ! "

for six months of those nine it is dark ; and that is what makes it so horrible .

hunting is not all catching . "

now that his father had named a puppy for him , things looked brighter .

if the puppy had not had an iron constitution he would have died from over-stuffing and over-handling .

kotuko made him a tiny harness with a trace to it , and hauled him all over the house-floor , shouting : " aua !

ja aua ! "

( go to the right ) .

" choiachoi !

ja choiachoi ! "

( go to the left ) .

" ohaha ! "

( stop ) .

it was a sad time for the puppy .

the boy learned , too , as fast as the dog ; though a dog-sleigh is a heart-breaking thing to manage .

this is very necessary , because young dogs often get the trace between their hind legs , where it cuts to the bone .

and they one and all will go visiting their friends as they run , jumping in and out among the traces .

then they fight , and the result is more mixed than a wet fishing-line next morning .

a great deal of trouble can be avoided by scientific use of the whip .

then he would crawl forward inch by inch , and wait till the seal came up to breathe .

going home was the heavy work .

when kotuko the dog came to his full growth he enjoyed himself too .

on special occasions he was fed with cooked food inside the house , and sometimes was allowed to sleep on the bench with kotuko .

he was a good seal-dog , and would keep a musk-ox at bay by running round him and snapping at his heels .

all an inuit has to do is to get food and skins for himself and his family .

if the supply fails there is no one up there to buy or beg or borrow from .

the people must die .

an inuit does not think of these chances till he is forced to .

but one terrible winter everything betrayed them .

but it was an early and savage autumn .

he never knows when his own turn may come to beg .

amoraq took the girl , who was about fourteen , into her own house as a sort of servant .

she had never seen tin cooking-pots or wooden-shod sleighs before ; but kotuko the boy and kotuko the dog were rather fond of her .

this helps to keep a man 's legs from twitching as he waits and waits and waits for the quick-eared seal to rise .

one could tell by the soap-stone lamps in the huts that famine was near .

the horror of famine up there in the great cold is not so much dying , as dying in the dark .

but worse was to come .

one night kotuko the dog , who had been unusually sullen in harness , leaped up and pushed his head against kotuko 's knee .

kotuko patted him , but the dog still pushed blindly forward , fawning .

then kadlu waked , and gripped the heavy wolf-like head , and stared into the glassy eyes .

the dog whimpered and shivered between kadlu 's knees .

" what is it ? " said kotuko ; for he was beginning to be afraid .

" the sickness , " kadlu answered .

" it is the dog sickness . "

kotuko the dog lifted his nose and howled and howled again .

" i have not seen this before .

what will he do ? " said kotuko .

kadlu shrugged one shoulder a little , and crossed the hut for his short stabbing-harpoon .

his trouble was not hydrophobia , but simple , plain madness .

next hunting-day another dog sickened , and was killed then and there by kotuko as he bit and struggled among the traces .

after that no one would take the dogs out again .

kotuko grieved more for the loss of his dog than anything else ; for though an inuit eats enormously he also knows how to starve .

that was enough for kotuko .

" she said , ' i will be a guide . '

she said , ' i will guide you to the good seal-holes . '

to-morrow i go out , and the tornaq will guide me . "

then the angekok , the village sorcerer , came in , and kotuko told him the tale a second time .

it lost nothing in the telling .

" follow the tornait [ the spirits of the stones ] , and they will bring us food again , " said the angekok .

" my house is your house , " said kotuko ; " but i think that we shall both go to sedna together . "

through the village people were shouting : " the tornait have spoken to kotuko .

they will show him open ice .

he will bring us the seal again ! "

the floe , as you will remember , had been battered and tormented by the autumn gales till it was one frozen earthquake .

when they had slept , the march began again thirty miles a day to get ten miles northward .

the girl looked where kotuko pointed , and something seemed to slip into a ravine .

a polar storm can blow for ten days without a break , and all that while it is certain death to be abroad .

the girl saw it too , but instead of crying aloud with terror , said quietly , " that is quiquern .

what comes after ? "

they may be pleasant or unpleasant things , but not even the sorcerers care to speak about quiquern .

he makes the dogs go mad .

kotuko and the girl huddled into their hut quickly .

there was nothing else to do .

" we shall go to sedna soon very soon , " the girl whispered .

" in three days we shall lie down and go .

will your tornaq do nothing ?

sing her an angekok's song to make her come here . "

he began to sing in the high-pitched howl of the magic songs , and the gale went down slowly .

in the middle of his song the girl started , laid her mittened hand and then her head to the ice floor of the hut .

kotuko followed her example , and the two kneeled , staring into each other 's eyes , and listening with every nerve .

it was almost as delicately adjusted as a compass-needle , and now instead of listening they watched .

" too soon ! " said kotuko .

" some big floe has broken far away outside . "

the girl pointed at the rod , and shook her head .

" it is the big breaking , " she said .

" listen to the ground-ice .

it knocks . "

when they kneeled this time they heard the most curious muffled grunts and knockings , apparently under their feet .

" we shall not go to sedna lying down , " said kotuko .

" it is the breaking .

the tornaq has cheated us .

we shall die . "

all this may sound absurd enough , but the two were face to face with a very real danger .

the gale was evidently a spring gale sent out of time , and anything was possible .

yet the two were happier in their minds than before .

if the floe broke up there would be no more waiting and suffering .

" it is still waiting , " said kotuko .

on the top of a hummock sat or crouched the eight-legged thing that they had seen three days before and it howled horribly .

" let us follow , " said the girl .

" it may know some way that does not lead to sedna " ; but she reeled from weakness as she took the pulling-rope .

this battering-ram ice was , so to speak , the first army that the sea was flinging against the floe .

they pounded in solemnly , the waves breaking white round them , and advanced on the floe like an old-time fleet under full sail .

that showed that the floe was being jammed home against the iron cliffs of bylot 's island , the land to the southward behind them .

" this has never been before , " said kotuko , staring stupidly .

" this is not the time .

how can the floe break now ? "

" follow that ! " the girl cried , pointing to the thing half limping , half running distractedly before them .

they followed , tugging at the hand-sleigh , while nearer and nearer came the roaring march of the ice .

at last the fields round them cracked and starred in every direction , and the cracks opened and snapped like the teeth of wolves .

but where the thing rested , on a mound of old and scattered ice-blocks some fifty feet high , there was no motion .

kotuko leaped forward wildly , dragging the girl after him , and crawled to the bottom of the mound .

the thing had disappeared , and kotuko was talking excitedly about his power over spirits as he crouched round the lamp .

in the middle of his wild sayings the girl began to laugh , and rock herself backward and forward .

kotuko the dog was one , and the black leader was the other .

both were now fat , well-looking , and quite restored to their proper minds , but coupled to each other in an extraordinary fashion .

when the black leader ran off , you remember , his harness was still on him .

that , with the freedom of hunting on their own account , must have helped to cure their madness .

they were very sober .

look at his eight legs and double head ! "

kotuko ran a hand down their ribs , which were round and well clothed .

" they have found food , " he said , with a grin .

" i do not think we shall go to sedna so soon .

my tornaq sent these .

the sickness has left them . "

" empty dogs do not fight , " kotuko said .

" they have found the seal .

let us sleep .

we shall find food . "

when they waked there was open water on the north beach of the island , and all the loosened ice had been driven landward .

nothing , they felt , could alter that .

kotuko found the dogs fighting over a fresh-killed seal who was following the fish that a gale always disturbs .

the weather was as pitiless as usual ; but it is easier to draw a sleigh loaded with good food than to hunt starving .

they left five-and-twenty seal carcasses buried in the ice of the beach , all ready for use , and hurried back to their people .

only three dogs answered them ; the others had been eaten , and the houses were all dark .

kotuko and the girl told their tale .

a dog who has once gone mad and recovered , the inuit say , is safe against all further attacks .

" so the tornaq did not forget us , " said kotuko .

" the storm blew , the ice broke , and the seal swam in behind the fish that were frightened by the storm .

now the new seal-holes are not two days distant .

let the good hunters go to-morrow and bring back the seal i have speared twenty-five seal buried in the ice .

when we have eaten those we will all follow the seal on the floe . "

kadlu looked at the girl from the north , and said quietly , " we build a house . "

he pointed to the north-west side of kadlu 's house , for that is the side on which the married son or daughter always lives .

the girl turned her hands palm upward , with a little despairing shake of her head .

she was a foreigner , picked up starving , and could bring nothing to the housekeeping .

" also these ! " said kotuko , laughing and signing to the dogs , who thrust their cold muzzles into the girl 's face .

" ah , " said the angekok , with an important cough , as though he had been thinking it all over .

" as soon as kotuko left the village i went to the singing-house and sang magic .

i sang all the long nights , and called upon the spirit of the reindeer .

my singing made the gale blow that broke the ice and drew the two dogs toward kotuko when the ice would have crushed his bones .

my song drew the seal in behind the broken ice .

i did it . "

i found it under some rubbish in a house at colombo , and have translated it from one end to the other .

' angutivaun taina '

[ this is a very free translation of the song of the returning hunter , as the men used to sing it after seal-spearing .

the inuit always repeat things over and over again . ]

in from the edge of the floe .

au jana !

aua !

oha !

haq !

we raised our lance when he rose to breathe , we drove it downward so !

and we played him thus , and we killed him thus , out on the edge of the floe .

au jana !

aua !

oha !

haq !

and the loaded dog-teams go , and the wives can hear their men come back .

back from the edge of the floe !

red dog

for our white and our excellent nights - for the nights of swift running .

fair ranging , far seeing , good hunting , sure cunning !

for the smells of the dawning , untainted , ere dew has departed !

for the rush through the mist , and the quarry blind-started !

for the sleep at the lair-mouth by day , it is met , and we go to the fight .

bay !

o bay !

it was after the letting in of the jungle that the pleasantest part of mowgli 's life began .

he had the good conscience that comes from paying debts ; all the jungle was his friend , and just a little afraid of him .

but we must tell one tale at a time .

when he chose to speak the pack waited till he had finished , and he sat at akela 's side on the rock above phao .

those were days of good hunting and good sleeping .

otherwise , he would be far away in the jungle with his four brothers , tasting , touching , seeing , and feeling new things .

the four stopped at once , bristling and growling .

mowgli 's hand went to his knife , and he checked , the blood in his face , his eyebrows knotted .

" there is no striped one dare kill here , " he said .

" that is not the cry of the forerunner , " answered gray brother .

" it is some great killing .

listen ! "

it broke out again , half sobbing and half chuckling , just as though the jackal had soft human lips .

then mowgli drew deep breath , and ran to the council rock , overtaking on his way hurrying wolves of the pack .

phao and akela were on the rock together , and below them , every nerve strained , sat the others .

it was no wolf of the pack , for they were all at the rock .

" good hunting !

under whose headship ? " said phao gravely .

" good hunting !

won-tolla am i , " was the answer .

won-tolla means an outlier one who lies out from any pack .

then he panted , and they could see his heart-beats shake him backward and forward .

" what moves ? " said phao , for that is the question all the jungle asks after the pheeal cries .

" the dhole , the dhole of the dekkan red dog , the killer !

they came north from the south saying the dekkan was empty and killing out by the way .

when this moon was new there were four to me my mate and three cubs .

she would teach them to kill on the grass plains , hiding to drive the buck , as we do who are of the open .

at midnight i heard them together , full tongue on the trail .

at the dawn-wind i found them stiff in the grass four , free people , four when this moon was new .

then sought i my blood-right and found the dhole . "

" how many ? " said mowgli quickly ; the pack growled deep in their throats .

" i do not know .

look , free people ! "

he thrust out his mangled fore-foot , all dark with dried blood .

there were cruel bites low down on his side , and his throat was torn and worried .

" eat , " said akela , rising up from the meat mowgli had brought him , and the outlier flung himself on it .

" this shall be no loss , " he said humbly , when he had taken off the first edge of his hunger .

" give me a little strength , free people , and i also will kill .

my lair is empty that was full when this moon was new , and the blood debt is not all paid . "

phao heard his teeth crack on a haunch-bone and grunted approvingly .

" we shall need those jaws , " said he .

" were there cubs with the dhole ? "

" nay , nay .

red hunters all : grown dogs of their pack , heavy and strong for all that they eat lizards in the dekkan . "

they drive straight through the jungle , and what they meet they pull down and tear to pieces .

though they are not as big nor half as cunning as the wolf , they are very strong and very numerous .

but he knew , for hathi had told him , what a terrible thing a dhole hunting-pack was .

even hathi moves aside from their line , and until they are killed , or till game is scarce , they will go forward .

this is good hunting , and my last .

but , as men live , thou hast very many more nights and days , little brother .

go north and lie down , and if any live after the dhole has gone by he shall bring thee word of the fight . "

" it is to the death , " said akela .

" thou hast never met the dhole the red killer .

even the striped one "

" aowa !

aowa ! " said mowgli pettingly .

this is my word which has gone from me . "

" thou dost not know the dhole , man with a wolf 's tongue , " said won-tolla .

" i look only to clear the blood debt against them ere they have me in many pieces .

there is no meat in this hunting . "

" hear the outlier ! " said mowgli with a laugh .

" free people , we must go north and dig lizards and rats from the bank , lest by any chance we meet the dhole .

he must kill out our hunting-grounds , while we lie hid in the north till it please him to give us our own again .

he is a dog and the pup of a dog red , yellow-bellied , lairless , and haired between every toe !

he counts his cubs six and eight at the litter , as though he were chikai , the little leaping rat .

surely we must run away , free people , and beg leave of the peoples of the north for the offal of dead cattle !

ye know the saying : ' north are the vermin ; south are the lice .

we are the jungle . '

choose ye , o choose .

it is good hunting !

the pack answered with one deep , crashing bark that sounded in the night like a big tree falling .

" it is met ! " they cried .

" stay with these , " said mowgli to the four .

" we shall need every tooth .

phao and akela must make ready the battle .

i go to count the dogs . "

" it is death ! "

won-tolla cried , half rising .

" what can such a hairless one do against the red dog ?

even the striped one , remember "

" thou art indeed an outlier , " mowgli called back ; " but we will speak when the dholes are dead .

good hunting all ! "

" kssha ! " said kaa angrily .

" is this jungle-work , to stamp and tramp and undo a night 's hunting when the game are moving so well , too ? "

" the fault was mine , " said mowgli , picking himself up .

" indeed i was seeking thee , flathead , but each time we meet thou art longer and broader by the length of my arm .

there is none like thee in the jungle , wise , old , strong , and most beautiful kaa . "

" now whither does this trail lead ? "

kaa 's voice was gentler .

could bagheera give thee so good a resting-place ? "

kaa had , as usual , made a sort of soft half-hammock of himself under mowgli 's weight .

" wise i may be , " said kaa at the end ; " but deaf i surely am .

else i should have heard the pheeal .

small wonder the eaters of grass are uneasy .

how many be the dhole ? "

" i have not yet seen .

i came hot-foot to thee .

thou art older than hathi .

but oh , kaa , " here mowgli wriggled with sheerjoy , " it will be good hunting .

few of us will see another moon . "

" dost thou strike in this ?

remember thou art a man ; and remember what pack cast thee out .

let the wolf look to the dog .

thou art a man . "

" last year 's nuts are this year 's black earth , " said mowgli .

i called the river and the trees to remember .

i am of the free people , kaa , till the dhole has gone by . "

" free people , " kaa grunted .

" free thieves !

and thou hast tied thyself into the death-knot for the sake of the memory of the dead wolves ?

this is no good hunting . "

" it is my word which i have spoken .

the trees know , the river knows .

till the dhole have gone by my word comes not back to me . "

" ngssh !

this changes all trails .

now i , kaa , say "

" think well , flathead , lest thou tie thyself into the death-knot also .

i need no word from thee , for well i know "

" be it so , then , " said kaa .

" i will give no word ; but what is in thy stomach to do when the dhole come ? "

" they must swim the waingunga .

" the dhole do not turn and their throats are hot , " said kaa .

" there will be neither manling nor wolf-cub when that hunting is done , but only dry bones . "

" alala !

if we die , we die .

it will be most good hunting .

but my stomach is young , and i have not seen many rains .

i am not wise nor strong .

hast thou a better plan , kaa ? "

" i have seen a hundred and a hundred rains .

ere hathi cast his milk-tushes my trail was big in the dust .

by the first egg , i am older than many trees , and i have seen all that the jungle has done . "

" but this is new hunting , " said mowgli .

" never before have the dhole crossed our trail . "

" what is has been .

what will be is no more than a forgotten year striking backward .

be still while i count those my years . "

art thou still alive , manling ? "

" it is only a little after moonset , " said mowgli .

" i do not understand "

" hssh !

i am again kaa .

i knew it was but a little time .

now we will go to the river , and i will show thee what is to be done against the dhole . "

" nay , do not swim .

i go swiftly .

my back , little brother . "

mowgli tucked his left arm round kaa 's neck , dropped his right close to his body , and straightened his feet .

but mowgli did not trouble his head about the water ; little water in the world could have given him a moment 's fear .

" this is the place of death , " said the boy .

" why do we come here ? "

" they sleep , " said kaa .

" hathi will not turn aside for the striped one .

yet hathi and the striped one together turn aside for the dhole , and the dhole they say turn aside for nothing .

and yet for whom do the little people of the rocks turn aside ?

tell me , master of the jungle , who is the master of the jungle ? "

" these , " mowgli whispered .

" it is the place of death .

let us go . "

" nay , look well , for they are asleep .

it is as it was when i was not the length of thy arm . "

the mere sharp smell of it was enough to frighten anything that had no wings , and knew what the little people were .

kaa moved up-stream again till he came to a sandy bar at the head of the gorge .

" here is this season 's kill , " said he .

" look ! "

on the bank lay the skeletons of a couple of young deer and a buffalo .

mowgli could see that neither wolf nor jackal had touched the hones , which were laid out naturally .

" they came beyond the line ; they did not know the law , " murmured mowgli , " and the little people killed them .

let us go ere they wake . "

" they do not wake till the dawn , " said kaa .

" now i will tell thee .

the sun was high , and the little people were many and very angry .

many , too , were those of the pack who leaped into the waingunga , but they were dead ere they took water .

those who did not leap died also in the rocks above .

but the buck lived . "

" how ? "

the pack , following , was altogether lost under the weight of the little people . "

" the buck lived ? "

mowgli repeated slowly .

what is in thy stomach ? "

kaa 's head was close to mowgli 's ear ; and it was a little time before the boy answered .

" so many have said .

look now , if the dhole follow thee "

" as surely they will follow .

ho ! ho !

i have many little thorns under my tongue to prick into their hides . "

" ahai !

eowawa !

better could not be till the rains fall in the dry season .

there is now only the little matter of the run and the leap .

i will make me known to the dholes , so that they shall follow me very closely . "

" hast thou seen the rocks above thee ?

from the landward side ? "

" indeed , no .

that i had forgotten . "

" go look .

it is all rotten ground , cut and full of holes .

one of thy clumsy feet set down without seeing would end the hunt .

for myself , i am not of one skin with any wolf . "

when kaa disliked an acquaintance he could be more unpleasant than any of the jungle people , except perhaps bagheera .

he swam down-stream , and opposite the rock he came on phao and akela listening to the night noises .

" hssh !

dogs , " he said cheerfully .

" the dholes will come down-stream .

if ye be not afraid ye can kill them in the shallows . "

" when come they ? " said phao .

" and where is my man-cub ? " said akela .

" they come when they come , " said kaa .

" wait and see .

wait here for the dhole , and be glad that the man-cub and i strike on thy side . "

kaa flashed up-stream again , and moored himself in the middle of the gorge , looking upward at the line of the cliff .

" it is no leap by night , " said mowgli quietly .

i have put big stones one above the other by the side of three gullies .

these i shall throw down with my feet in running , and the little people will rise up behind me , very angry . "

" that is man 's talk and man 's cunning , " said kaa .

" thou art wise , but the little people are always angry . "

" nay , at twilight all wings near and far rest for a while .

i will play with the dhole at twilight , for the dhole hunts best by day .

he follows now won-tolla 's blood-trail . "

" chil does not leave a dead ox , nor the dhole the blood-trail , " said kaa .

" then i will make him a new blood-trail , of his own blood , if i can , and give him dirt to eat .

thou wilt stay here , kaa , till i come again with my dholes ? "

good hunting , kaa ! "

" mowgli the frog have i been , " said he to himself ; " mowgli the wolf have i said that i am .

now mowgli the ape must i be before i am mowgli the buck .

at the end i shall be mowgli the man .

ho ! " and he slid his thumb along the eighteen-inch blade of his knife .

he watched the sharp bay head of the leader snuffing along the trail , and gave him " good hunting ! "

the dholes are a very silent people as a rule , and they have no manners even in their own jungle .

" by whose leave do ye come here ? " said mowgli .

" all jungles are our jungle , " was the reply , and the dhole that gave it bared his white teeth .

the pack closed up round the tree-trunk and the leader bayed savagely , calling mowgli a tree-ape .

for an answer mowgli stretched down one naked leg and wriggled his bare toes just above the leader 's head .

that was enough , and more than enough , to wake the pack to stupid rage .

those who have hair between their toes do not care to be reminded of it .

mowgli caught his foot away as the leader leaped up , and said sweetly : " dog , red dog !

go back to the dekkan and eat lizards .

go to chikai thy brother dog , dog red , red dog !

there is hair between every toe ! "

he twiddled his toes a second time .

" come down ere we starve thee out , hairless ape ! " yelled the pack , and this was exactly what mowgli wanted .

there is no speech in the world so rancorous and so stinging as the language the jungle people use to show scorn and contempt .

when you come to think of it you will see how this must be so .

the big bay leader had leaped many times in the air , but mowgli dared not risk a false blow .

at last , made furious beyond his natural strength , he bounded up seven or eight feet clear of the ground .

with his left hand he reached for his knife and cut off the red , bushy tail , flinging the dhole back to earth again .

that was all he needed .

the pack would not go forward on won-tolla 's trail now till they had killed mowgli or mowgli had killed them .

after three or four hours he waked and counted the pack .

they were all there , silent , husky , and dry , with eyes of steel .

the sun was beginning to sink .

ye be true dholes , but to my thinking over much of one kind .

for that reason i do not give the big lizard-eater his tail again .

art thou not pleased , red dog ? "

" i myself will tear out thy stomach ! " yelled the leader , scratching at the foot of the tree .

" nay , but consider , wise rat of the dekkan .

there will now be many litters of little tailless red dogs , yea , with raw red stumps that sting when the sand is hot .

go home , red dog , and cry that an ape has done this .

ye will not go ?

come , then , with me , and i will make you very wise ! "

when he came to the last tree he took the garlic and rubbed himself all over carefully , and the dholes yelled with scorn .

" ape with a wolf 's tongue , dost thou think to cover thy scent ? " they said .

" we follow to the death . "

" take thy tail , " said mowgli , flinging it back along the course he had taken .

the pack instinctively rushed after it .

" and follow now to the death . "

they gave one deep howl , and settled down to the long , lobbing canter that can at the last run down anything that runs .

they were sure that the boy was theirs at last , and he was sure that he held them to play with as he pleased .

all his trouble was to keep them sufficiently hot behind him to prevent their turning off too soon .

so he kept his distance by ear , reserving his last effort for the rush across the bee rocks .

kaa held mowgli fast till the boy had recovered his breath .

" we may not stay here , " he said .

" the little people are roused indeed .

come ! "

swimming low and diving as often as he could , mowgli went down the river , knife in hand .

" slowly , slowly , " said kaa .

" the more work for my knife , then .

phai !

how the little people follow ! "

mowgli sank again .

the face of the water was blanketed with wild bees , buzzing sullenly and stinging all they found .

hear them howl ! "

to remain ashore was death , and every dhole knew it .

mowgli could hear the voice of the tailless leader bidding his people hold on and kill out every wolf in seeonee .

but he did not waste his time in listening .

" one kills in the dark behind us ! " snapped a dhole .

" here is tainted water ! "

" they come to the fight with two stomachs and several voices , " said kaa .

" the rest is with thy brethren below yonder , the little people go back to sleep .

they have chased us far .

now i , too , turn back , for i am not of one skin with any wolf .

good hunting , little brother , and remember the dhole bites low . "

it was won-tolla , the outlier , and he said never a word , but continued his horrible sport beside the dholes .

" this is no good hunting , " said one , panting .

" art thou there , man-cub ? " said won-tolla across the water .

" ask of the dead , outlier , " mowgli replied .

" have none come down-stream ?

whither shall i drive them ? "

" i will wait , " said won-tolla .

" the night is before me . "

nearer and nearer came the bay of the seeonee wolves .

then they saw their mistake .

they should have landed half a mile higher up , and rushed the wolves on dry ground .

now it was too late .

mowgli followed the rush , stabbing and slicing as the dholes , huddled together , rushed up the river-beach in one wave .

on dry land the wolves suffered ; but in the water or ashore , mowgli 's knife came and went without ceasing .

the four had worried their way to his side .

as the night wore on , the quick , giddy-go-round motion increased .

the dholes were cowed and afraid to attack the stronger wolves , but did not yet dare to run away .

mowgli felt that the end was coming soon , and contented himself with striking merely to cripple .

" the meat is very near the bone , " gray brother yelled .

he was bleeding from a score of flesh-wounds .

" but the bone is yet to be cracked , " said mowgli .

" eowawa !

thus do we do in the jungle ! "

the red blade ran like a flame along the side of a dhole whose hind-quarters were hidden by the weight of a clinging wolf .

" my kill ! " snorted the wolf through his wrinkled nostrils .

" leave him to me . "

" is thy stomach still empty , outlier ? " said mowgli .

won-tolla was fearfully punished , but his grip had paralysed the dhole , who could not turn round and reach him .

" by the bull that bought me , " said mowgli , with a bitter laugh , " it is the tailless one ! "

and indeed it was the big bay-coloured leader .

" and thus do we do in the jungle , " said mowgli .

won-tolla said not a word , only his jaws were closing and closing on the backbone as his life ebbed .

the dhole shuddered , his head dropped , and he lay still , and won-tolla dropped above him .

" huh !

the blood debt is paid , " said mowgli .

" sing the song , won-tolla . "

" he hunts no more , " said gray brother ; " and akela , too , is silent this long time . "

" the bone is cracked ! " thundered phao , son of phaona .

" they go !

kill , kill out , o hunters of the free people ! "

" the debt !

the debt ! " shouted mowgli .

" pay the debt !

they have slain the lone wolf !

let not a dog go ! "

" said i not it would be my last fight ? "

akela gasped .

" it is good hunting .

and thou , little brother ? "

" i live , having killed many . "

" even so .

i die , and i would i would die by thee , little brother . "

mowgli took the terrible scarred head on his knees , and put his arms round the torn neck .

" it is long since the old days of shere khan , and a man-cub that rolled naked in the dust . "

" nay , nay , i am a wolf .

i am of one skin with the free people , " mowgli cried .

" it is no will of mine that i am a man . "

" thou art a man , little brother , wolfling of my watching .

thou art a man , or else the pack had fled before the dhole .

my life i owe to thee , and to-day thou hast saved the pack even as once i saved thee .

hast thou forgotten ?

all debts are paid now .

go to thine own people .

i tell thee again , eye of my eye , this hunting is ended .

go to thine own people . "

" i will never go .

i will hunt alone in the jungle .

i have said it . "

" after the summer come the rains , and after the rains comes the spring .

go back before thou art driven . "

" who will drive me ? "

" mowgli will drive mowgli .

go back to thy people .

go to man . "

" when mowgli drives mowgli i will go , " mowgli answered .

" there is no more to say , " said akela .

" little brother , canst thou raise me to my feet ?

i also was a leader of the free people . "

little by little the cries died away , and the wolves returned limping , as their wounds stiffened , to take stock of the losses .

a wolf has died to-night ! "

chil's song

these were my companions going forth by night ( for chil !

look you , for chil ! )

now come i to whistle them the ending of the fight .

( chil !

vanguards of chil ! )

word they gave me overhead of quarry newly slain , word i gave them underfoot of buck upon the plain .

here 's an end of every trail they shall not speak again !

they that called the hunting-cry they that followed fast ( for chil !

look you , for chil ! )

they that bade the sambhur wheel , or pinned him as he passed ( chil !

vanguards of chil ! )

they that lagged behind the scent they that ran before , they that shunned the level horn they that overbore .

here 's an end of every trail they shall not follow more .

these were my companions .

pity ' twas they died !

( for chil !

look you , for chil ! )

now come i to comfort them that knew them in their pride .

( chil !

vanguards of chil ! )

tattered flank and sunken eye , open mouth and red , locked and lank and lone they lie , the dead upon their dead .

here 's an end of every trail and here my hosts are fed .

the spring running

man goes to man !

cry the challenge through the jungle !

he that was our brother goes away .

hear , now , and judge , o ye people of the jungle , answer , who shall turn him who shall stay ?

man goes to man !

he is weeping in the jungle : he that was our brother sorrows sore !

man goes to man !

( oh , we loved him in the jungle ! )

to the man-trail where we may not follow more .

the second year after the great fight with red dog and the death of akela , mowgli must have been nearly seventeen years old .

he could stop a young buck in mid-gallop and throw him sideways by the head .

he could even jerk over the big , blue wild boars that lived in the marshes of the north .

and yet the look in his eyes was always gentle .

even when he fought , his eyes never blazed as bagheera 's did .

they only grew more and more interested and excited ; and that was one of the things that bagheera himself did not understand .

he asked mowgli about it , and the boy laughed and said .

" when i miss the kill i am angry .

when i must go empty for two days i am very angry .

do not my eyes talk then ? "

" the mouth is hungry , " said bagheera , " but the eyes say nothing .

hunting , eating , or swimming , it is all one like a stone in wet or dry weather . "

mowgli looked at him lazily from under his long eyelashes , and , as usual , the panther 's head dropped .

bagheera knew his master .

a little leaf tap-tap-tapped furiously against a twig , as a single leaf caught in a current will .

" the year turns , " he said .

" the jungle goes forward .

the time of new talk is near .

that leaf knows .

it is very good . "

" the grass is dry , " mowgli answered , pulling up a tuft .

" aowh ? " said bagheera .

he seemed to be thinking of other things .

" i say , is it well for the black panther so to mouth and cough , and howl and roll ?

remember , we be the masters of the jungle , thou and i . "

" indeed , yes ; i hear , man-cub . "

bagheera rolled over hurriedly and sat up , the dust on his ragged black flanks .

( he was just casting his winter coat . )

" we be surely the masters of the jungle !

who is so strong as mowgli ?

who so wise ? "

" i said we be beyond question the masters of the jungle , " bagheera repeated .

" have i done wrong ?

i did not know that the man-cub no longer lay upon the ground .

does he fly , then ? "

mowgli sat with his elbows on his knees , looking out across the valley at the daylight .

somewhere down in the woods below a bird was trying over in a husky , reedy voice the first few notes of his spring song .

it was no more than a shadow of the liquid , tumbling call he would be pouring later , but bagheera heard it .

" i said the time of new talk is near , " growled the panther , switching his tail .

" i hear , " mowgli answered .

" bagheera , why dost thou shake all over ?

the sun is warm . "

" that is ferao , the scarlet woodpecker , " said bagheera .

" he has not forgotten .

" there is no game afoot , " said mowgli .

" little brother , are both thine ears stopped ?

that is no killing-word , but my song that i make ready against the need . "

" i had forgotten .

mowgli spoke rather savagely .

" but , indeed , little brother , " bagheera began , " we do not always "

" i say ye do , " said mowgli , shooting out his forefinger angrily .

" ye do run away , and i , who am the master of the jungle , must needs walk alone .

how was it last season , when i would gather sugar-cane from the fields of a man-pack ?

that was no fault of mine . "

" he did not come upon the night when i sent him the word .

no , he was trumpeting and running and roaring through the valleys in the moonlight .

his trail was like the trail of three elephants , for he would not hide among the trees .

he danced in the moonlight before the houses of the man-pack .

i saw him , and yet he would not come to me ; and i am the master of the jungle ! "

" it was the time of new talk , " said the panther , always very humble .

" perhaps , little brother , thou didst not that time call him by a master-word ?

listen to ferao , and be glad ! "

mowgli 's bad temper seemed to have boiled itself away .

he lay back with his head on his arms , his eyes shut .

" i do not know nor do i care , " he said sleepily .

" let us sleep , bagheera .

my stomach is heavy in me .

make me a rest for my head . "

in an indian jungle the seasons slide one into the other almost without division .

and this she does so well that there is no spring in the world like the jungle spring .

one cannot explain this , but it feels so .

up to this year mowgli had always delighted in the turn of the seasons .

the four did not follow him on these wild ringings of the jungle , but went off to sing songs with other wolves .

the jungle people are very busy in the spring , and mowgli could hear them grunting and screaming and whistling according to their kind .

but that spring , as he told bagheera , his stomach was changed in him .

ever since the bamboo shoots turned spotty-brown he had been looking forward to the morning when the smells should change .

" the smells have changed , " screamed mor .

" good hunting , little brother !

where is thy answer ? "

" little brother , good hunting ! " whistled chil the kite and his mate , swooping down together .

the two baffed under mowgli 's nose so close that a pinch of downy white feathers brushed away .

the spring hum broke out for a minute , and was silent , but all the jungle folk seemed to be giving tongue at once .

all except mowgli .

" i have eaten good food , " he said to himself .

" i have drunk good water .

but my stomach is heavy , and i have given very bad talk to bagheera and others , people of the jungle and my people .

huhu !

it is time to make a running !

to-night i will cross the ranges ; yes , i will make a spring running to the marshes of the north , and back again .

i have hunted too easily too long .

the four shall come with me , for they grow as fat as white grubs . "

he called , but never one of the four answered .

at this he shook all over with rage , and half drew his knife .

but never a single one of his people asked him a question , for they were all too busy with their own affairs .

" yes , " said mowgli to himself , though in his heart he knew that he had no reason .

by the bull that bought me ! am i the master of the jungle , or am i not ?

be silent !

what do ye here ? "

a couple of young wolves of the pack were cantering down a path , looking for open ground in which to fight .

( you will remember that the law of the jungle forbids fighting where the pack can see . )

their neck-bristles were as stiff as wire , and they bayed furiously , crouching for the first grapple .

but he had never before interfered with a spring fight .

the two leaped forward and dashed him aside , and without word to waste rolled over and over close locked .

" i have surely eaten poison , " he sighed at last .

" since i broke up the council with the red flower since i killed shere khan none of the pack could fling me aside .

and these be only tail-wolves in the pack , little hunters !

my strength is gone from me , and presently i shall die .

oh , mowgli , why dost thou not kill them both ? "

it was a perfect white night , as they call it .

all green things seemed to have made a month 's growth since the morning .

the branch that was yellow-leaved the day before dripped sap when mowgli broke it .

forgetting his unhappiness , mowgli sang aloud with pure delight as he settled into his stride .

this time mowgli was frightened .

" it is here also ! " he said half aloud .

" it has followed me , " and he looked over his shoulder to see whether the it were not standing behind him .

" there is no one here . "

" i have surely eaten poison , " he said in an awe-stricken voice .

" it must be that carelessly i have eaten poison , and my strength is going from me .

i was afraid and yet it was not i that was afraid mowgli was afraid when the two wolves fought .

akela , or even phao , would have silenced them ; yet mowgli was afraid .

that is true sign i have eaten poison ....y .

but what do they care in the jungle ?

they sing and howl and fight , and run in companies under the moon , and i hai-mai !

i am dying in the marshes , of that poison which i have eaten . "

he was so sorry for himself that he nearly wept .

" and after , " he went on , " they will find me lying in the black water .

" as chil the kite used akela , " he repeated , " on the night i saved the pack from red dog . "

he was quiet for a little , thinking of the last words of the lone wolf , which you , of course , remember .

" now akela said to me many foolish things before he died , for when we die our stomachs change .

he said ....y

none the less , i am of the jungle ! "

" uhh ! " said mysa the wild buffalo ( mowgli could hear him turn in his wallow ) , " that is no man .

it is only the hairless wolf of the seeonee pack .

on such nights runs he to and fro . "

" uhh ! " said the cow , dropping her head again to graze , " i thought it was man . "

" i say no .

oh , mowgli , is it danger ? " lowed mysa .

" oh , mowgli , is it danger ? " the boy called back mockingly .

" that is all mysa thinks for : is it danger ?

but for mowgli , who goes to and fro in the jungle by night , watching , what do ye care ? "

" how loud he cries ! " said the cow .

he stretched a hand to break one of the feathery reeds , but drew it back with a sigh .

mysa went on steadily chewing the cud , and the long grass ripped where the cow grazed .

" i will not die here , " he said angrily .

" mysa , who is of one blood with jacala and the pig , would see me .

let us go beyond the swamp and see what comes .

never have i run such a spring running hot and cold together .

up , mowgli ! "

he could not resist the temptation of stealing across the reeds to mysa and pricking him with the point of his knife .

the great dripping bull broke out of his wallow like a shell exploding , while mowgli laughed till he sat down .

" say now that the hairless wolf of the seeonee pack once herded thee , mysa , " he called .

" wolf !

thou ? " the bull snorted , stamping in the mud .

" all the jungle knows thou wast a herder of tame cattle such a man 's brat as shouts in the dust by the crops yonder .

thou of the jungle !

come to firm ground , and i will i will ....y "

mysa frothed at the mouth , for mysa has nearly the worst temper of any one in the jungle .

mowgli watched him puff and blow with eyes that never changed .

when he could make himself heard through the pattering mud , he said : " what man-pack lair here by the marshes , mysa ?

this is new jungle to me . "

" go north , then , " roared the angry bull , for mowgli had pricked him rather sharply .

" it was a naked cow-herd 's jest .

go and tell them at the village at the foot of the marsh . "

but i will go and look at this village .

yes , i will go .

softly now .

it is not every night that the master of the jungle comes to herd thee . "

" my strength is not altogether gone , " he said .

" it may be that the poison is not to the bone .

there is a star sitting low yonder . "

he looked at it between his half-shut hands .

now that i have seen , i will finish the running . "

the marsh ended in a broad plain where a light twinkled .

three or four yelping dogs gave tongue , for he was on the outskirts of a village .

" ho ! " said mowgli , sitting down noiselessly , after sending back a deep wolf-growl that silenced the curs .

" what comes will come .

mowgli , what hast thou to do any more with the lairs of the man-pack ? "

he rubbed his mouth , remembering where a stone had struck it years ago when the other man-pack had cast him out .

the door of the hut opened , and a woman stood peering out into the darkness .

a child cried , and the woman said over her shoulder , " sleep .

it was but a jackal that waked the dogs .

in a little time morning comes . "

mowgli in the grass began to shake as though he had fever .

o messua ! "

" who calls ? " said the woman , a quiver in her voice .

" hast thou forgotten ? " said mowgli .

his throat was dry as he spoke .

" if it be thou , what name did i give thee ?

say ! "

she had half shut the door , and her hand was clutching at her breast .

" nathoo !

she was older , and her hair was gray , but her eyes and her voice had not changed .

" my son , " she stammered ; and then , sinking to his feet : " but it is no longer my son .

it is a godling of the woods !

ahai ! "

the child half asleep on a cot sprang up and shrieked aloud with terror .

" what wilt thou eat or drink ? "

messua murmured .

" this is all thine .

we owe our lives to thee .

but art thou him i called nathoo , or a godling , indeed ? "

" i am nathoo , " said mowgli , " i am very far from my own place .

i saw this light , and came hither .

i did not know thou wast here . "

rememberest thou ? "

" indeed , i have not forgotten . "

" that also i remember , " said mowgli , with a quiver of his nostril .

it is not so rich as the old village , but we do not need much we two . "

" where is he the man that dug in the dirt when he was afraid on that night ? "

" he is dead a year . "

" and he ? "

mowgli pointed to the child .

" my son that was born two rains ago .

give him an elder brother 's blessing . "

" hai-mai !

what do i know of the thing called a blessing ?

i am neither a godling nor his brother , and o mother , mother , my heart is heavy in me . "

he shivered as he set down the child .

" like enough , " said messua , bustling among the cooking-pots .

" this comes of running about the marshes by night .

beyond question , the fever had soaked thee to the marrow . "

mowgli smiled a little at the idea of anything in the jungle hurting him .

" i will make a fire , and thou shalt drink warm milk .

put away the jasmine wreath : the smell is heavy in so small a place . "

mowgli sat down , muttering , with his face in his hands .

" hah ? " said mowgli , for naturally he had never heard anything of the kind .

messua laughed softly and happily .

the look in his face was enough for her .

" i am the first , then ?

it is right , though it comes seldom , that a mother should tell her son these good things .

thou art very beautiful .

never have i looked upon such a man . "

" nay , thou must not mock thy brother , " said messua , catching him to her breast .

messua laughed , and set the evening meal before him .

the smell of the dew in the marshes made him hungry and restless .

" out and wait !

ye would not come when i called , " said mowgli in jungle-talk , without turning his head , and the great gray paw disappeared .

" do not do not bring thy thy servants with thee , " said messua .

" i we have always lived at peace with the jungle . "

" it is peace , " said mowgli , rising .

" think of that night on the road to khanhiwara .

there were scores of such folk before thee and behind thee .

but i see that even in springtime the jungle people do not always forget .

mother , i go . "

" come back ! " she whispered .

" son or no son , come back , for i love thee look , he too grieves . "

the child was crying because the man with the shiny knife was going away .

" come back again , " messua repeated .

" by night or by day this door is never shut to thee . "

why came ye not all four when i called so long ago ? "

" so long ago ?

it was but last night .

i we were singing in the jungle the new songs , for this is the time of new talk .

rememberest thou ? "

" truly , truly . "

" and as soon as the songs were sung , " gray brother went on earnestly , " i followed thy trail .

i ran from all the others and followed hot-foot .

but , o little brother , what hast thou done , eating and sleeping with the man-pack ? "

" if ye had come when i called , this had never been , " said mowgli , running much faster .

" and now what is to be ? " said gray brother .

mowgli was going to answer when a girl in a white cloth came down some path that led from the outskirts of the village .

gray brother dropped out of sight at once , and mowgli backed noiselessly into a field of high-springing crops .

he could almost have touched her with his hand when the warm , green stalks closed before his face and he disappeared like a ghost .

the girl screamed , for she thought she had seen a spirit , and then she gave a deep sigh .

mowgli parted the stalks with his hands and watched her till she was out of sight .

" and now i do not know , " he said , sighing in his turn .

" why did ye not come when i called ? "

" we follow thee we follow thee , " gray brother mumbled , licking at mowgli 's heel .

" we follow thee always , except in the time of the new talk . "

" and would ye follow me to the man-pack ? "

mowgli whispered .

" did i not follow thee on the night our old pack cast thee out ?

who waked thee lying among the crops ? "

" ay , but again ? "

" have i not followed thee to-night ? "

" ay , but again and again , and it may be again , gray brother ? "

gray brother was silent .

when he spoke he growled to himself , " the black one spoke truth . "

" and he said ? "

" man goes to man at the last .

raksha , our mother , said "

" so also said akela on the night of red dog , " mowgli muttered .

" so also says kaa , who is wiser than us all . "

" what dost thou say , gray brother ? "

" they cast thee out once , with bad talk .

they cut thy mouth with stones .

they sent buldeo to slay thee .

they would have thrown thee into the red flower .

thou , and not i , hast said that they are evil and senseless .

thou , and not i i follow my own people didst let in the jungle upon them .

thou , and not i , didst make song against them more bitter even than our song against red dog . "

" i ask thee what thou sayest ? "

they were talking as they ran .

i speak for the three .

but what wilt thou say to the jungle ? "

" that is well thought .

between the sight and the kill it is not good to wait .

go before and cry them all to the council rock , and i will tell them what is in my stomach .

but they may not come in the time of new talk they may forget me . "

from one to another gray brother ran , crying , " the master of the jungle goes back to man !

come to the council rock . "

and the happy , eager people only answered , " he will return in the summer heats .

the rains will drive him to lair .

run and sing with us , gray brother . "

" but the master of the jungle goes back to man , " gray brother would repeat .

" eee yoawa ?

is the time of new talk any less sweet for that ? " they would reply .

" thy trail ends here , then , manling ? " said kaa , as mowgli threw himself down , his face in his hands .

" cry thy cry .

we be of one blood , thou and i man and snake together . "

" why did i not die under red dog ? " the boy moaned .

" my strength is gone from me , and it is not any poison .

by night and by day i hear a double step upon my trail .

when i turn my head it is as though one had hidden himself from me that instant .

i go to look behind the trees and he is not there .

i call and none cry again ; but it is as though one listened and kept back the answer .

i lie down , but i do not rest .

i run the spring running , but i am not made still .

i bathe , but i am not made cool .

the kill sickens me , but i have no heart to fight except i kill .

the red flower is in my body , my bones are water and i know not what i know . "

" what need of talk ? " said baloo slowly , turning his head to where mowgli lay .

" akela by the river said it , that mowgli should drive mowgli back to the man-pack .

i said it .

but who listens now to baloo ?

bagheera where is bagheera this night ? he knows also .

it is the law . "

" when we met at cold lairs , manling , i knew it , " said kaa , turning a little in his mighty coils .

" man goes to man at the last , though the jungle does not cast him out . "

the four looked at one another and at mowgli , puzzled but obedient .

" the jungle does not cast me out , then ? "

mowgli stammered .

gray brother and the three growled furiously , beginning , " so long as we live none shall dare " but baloo checked them .

" i taught thee the law .

" the middle jungle is thine also , " said kaa .

" i speak for no small people . "

" hai-mai , my brothers , " cried mowgli , throwing up his arms with a sob .

" i know not what i know !

i would not go ; but i am drawn by both feet .

how shall i leave these nights ? "

" nay , look up , little brother , " baloo repeated .

" there is no shame in this hunting .

when the honey is eaten we leave the empty hive . "

" having cast the skin , " said kaa , " we may not creep into it afresh .

it is the law . "

" listen , dearest of all to me , " said baloo .

there is neither word nor will here to hold thee back .

look up !

who may question the master of the jungle ?

there remains nothing but old bones .

it is no longer the man-cub that asks leave of his pack , but the master of the jungle that changes his trail .

who shall question man in his ways ? "

" but bagheera and the bull that bought me , " said mowgli .

" i would not "

" therefore , " he said , stretching out a dripping right paw , " i did not come .

all debts are paid now .

for the rest , my word is baloo 's word . "

he licked mowgli 's foot .

" remember , bagheera loved thee , " he cried , and bounded away .

remember , bagheera loved thee . "

" thou hast heard , " said baloo .

" there is no more .

go now ; but first come to me .

o wise little frog , come to me ! "

" the stars are thin , " said gray brother , snuffing at the dawn wind .

" where shall we lair to-day ? for from now , we follow new trails . "

and this is the last of the mowgli stories .

the outsong

[ this is the song that mowgli heard behind him in the jungle till he came to messua 's door again . ]

baloo

when thy pack would work thee ill , say : " shere khan is yet to kill . "

when the knife is drawn to slay , keep the law and go thy way .

( root and honey , palm and spathe , guard a cub from harm and scathe ! )

wood and water , wind and tree , jungle-favour go with thee !

kaa

anger is the egg of fear only lidless eyes are clear .

cobra-poison none may leech .

even so with cobra-speech .

open talk shall call to thee strength , whose mate is courtesy .

send no lunge beyond thy length ; lend no rotten bough thy strength .

gauge thy gape with buck or goat , lest thine eye should choke thy throat , after gorging , wouldst thou sleep ?

look thy den is hid and deep , lest a wrong , by thee forgot , draw thy killer to the spot .

east and west and north and south , wash thy hide and close thy mouth .

( pit and rift and blue pool-brim , middle-jungle follow him ! )

wood and water , wind and tree , jungle-favour go with thee !

bagheera

in the cage my life began ; well i know the worth of man .

by the broken lock that freed man-cub , ' ware the man-cub 's breed !

scenting-dew or starlight pale , choose no tangled tree-cat trail .

pack or council , hunt or den , cry no truce with jackal-men .

feed them silence when they say : " come with us an easy way . "

feed them silence when they seek help of thine to hurt the weak .

make no banaar 's boast of skill ; hold thy peace above the kill .

let nor call nor song nor sign turn thee from thy hunting-line .

( morning mist or twilight clear , serve him , wardens of the deer ! )

wood and water , wind and tree , jungle-favour go with thee !

the three

end of project gutenberg 's the second jungle book , by rudyard kipling