The Jungle Book

The 12th book that I have read is The Jungle Book, written by Indian-born Englishman Rudyard Kipling. It has 5 parts, 3 of them can be one story, while the other two can be separate stories. The overall book has the usual rating: 5/5!

Here is the summary of the story:

Parts 1, 2, and 3
It starts when Mother and Father Wolf finds a man-cub in the bushes. Shere Khan, the menacing tiger, argues about the ownership of the man-cub with the wolves. However, the wolves claim ownership of the man-cub, which they named Mowgli the Frog. At the meeting at Council Rock, Shere Khan once again argues about who should own Mowgli. Akela, the leader of the wolves, asked which two non-parent members would speak for the cub. Baloo, the brown bear, and Bagheera, the Black Panther, had spoken for Mowgli. Shere Khan was dismayed that Mowgli was not handed over to him.

After 10 or 11 years, Mowgli had learned the Law of the Jungle, as well as how to hunt. Baloo and Bagheera both taught him how to do these things. Later, however, he is kidnapped by the Monkey People. Baloo and Bagheera called Kaa, the Rock Snake to help them rescue Mowgli. Chil the Kite helped spread the word in an effort to get more creatures helping in the rescue. Mowgli was later saved by the three, but later, the pack had cast him out. He was forced into the human world and after a while, gets punished for interrupting a story. The punishment, however, was herding the cattle. Mowgli heard that Shere Khan was coming back to kill him. Along with Akela and another wolf, Rama, they plotted a plan to trick Shere Khan. He was later killed and his skin was placed on top of Council Rock for all time.

Part 4
This part is about a mongoose that saved a human family from snakes--three times! Named Rikki-tikki-tavi, the mongoose was adopted by a family. Darzee, the Tailorbird, said that Nag, a snake, ate one of their babies. The mongoose fought Nag and won, saving the family for the first time because another snake had attacked the son. Nag and his wife had plotted to attack the family once more. But once again, the mongoose attacked Nag, saving the family for the second time. When Nag’s wife, Nagaina, was preparing to attack the family, the mongoose attacked the snake, saving the family for the third time. Before that, Darzee had distracted Nagaina while the mongoose crushed Nagaina’s eggs. The mongoose has been feared by snakes ever since.

Part 5
Kala Nag, “black snake”, was a large elephant that had served in the Indian government for about 50 years. He is nearly 70 now, and memories of past events filled his mind. Whenever the elephants ran wild, the men had called on him to tame them. A young boy named Little Toomai had been punished for trying to be an elephant hunter. But one night Kala Nag took Little Toomai into the jungle. Little Toomai got to see something that the other elephant catchers couldn’t see: the dancing of the elephants. At the time, the term “when the elephants dance” meant never but his experience proved it otherwise. However, because of this, Little Toomai is widely known around the community and is a great help in the elephant-catching business.

-End of Summary-