The Jungle Book Notes

Rikki Tikki Tavi

An English couple and their son, Teddy, have recently moved in to a bungalow with a big overgrown garden. On the path one day they find a young mongoose, Rikki-Tikki-Ravi, who has been washed out of his burrow by a flood. They think he is drowned and dead, but he soon recovers and, after the manner of mongooses, makes himself thoroughly at home with the family. In the garden he encounters a pair of big cobras, Nag and Nagaina, who try to kill him, but fail. He finds a karait, another deadly snake, on the path where Teddy is stooping, and kills it. He then overhears the cobras planning to kill Teddy's father, and Nag lies in wait for him in the bathroom. Instead he encounters Rikki, who boldly attacks him, and makes so much noise that Teddy's father comes in with his gun. and blasts Nag to death. Then Rikki finds out where Nagaina hides her eggs, destroys all but one, and finds the big snake threatening Teddy at the breakfast table. To save her last egg she turns away, seizes it, and flees. But Rikki follows her down into her burrow, and kills her there. There will be no more danger from cobras in that garden.

Her Majesty's Servants

In Rawalpindi the Viceroy of India is due to receive a visit from the Amir of Afghanistan, and the story is set in a crowded camp full of men and their animals. The baggage camels are nervous creatures, and tend to stampede, and one wet night the narrator's tent is knocked over, and he has to take shelter under a gun. Various animals are nearby, mules, a camel, a cavalry charger, a pair of gun bullocks, and an elephant, all part of the army, and all disturbed by the stampede. They talk together about their work, and about being afraid. The screw-gun mule talks of the need to keep one's head and do one's duty in the most precipitous places. The troop horse speaks of trusting one's rider and holding one's position among a lot of hairy enemies with knives. The baggage camels explain how they sit down to form a square so that the soldiers can fire across their backs. The bullocks talk of dragging the big guns into battle when the elephants refuse to go on, and quietly grazing while the guns are firing. The elephant, the most intelligent and powerful of them all, explains that after a time he can go no further, because he can 'see inside his head' what might happen. But when he trumpets all are afraid. And all fear blood. That afternoon at the big parade all the animals are there, and all are doing their duty. The Afghans are mightily impressed by the discipline on display. A native officer explains to an Afghan chief that it is based on the fact that all the animals and men alike obey their orders, which come down the chain of authority from the Queen herself.

Toomai of the Elephants

Kala Nag (Black Snake), a wise old elephant, has been taken up to the Garo hills to help in the yearly drive to catch wild elephants and break them in. His driver, Big Toomai, takes no pleasure in the work, but Little Toomai, his ten year old son, delights in the camp life. When the wild tuskers are being driven into the Keddah (the stockade) Little Toomai sits high on a post shouting and waving, and when a driver drops the end of a rope, he slips down among the feet of the elephants at peril of his life and throws it up to him. Little Toomai's father is angry with him, but Petersen Sahib, who is in charge of all the elephant catching, hears of it, and tells him that one day he may become a hunter too. But when he asks if he can go again into the Keddah, Petersen Sahib tells him he can go into all the Keddahs—'when thou hast seen the elephants dance'. By that he means 'never', because although flattened 'dance-floors' had sometimes been found deep in the hills, no man had ever seen the elephants dance there. At the end of the season the hunters set off for the plains, and at night, at the first camp on the way, Little Toomai sees Kala Nag slip out of his pickets, and down the road in the moonlight. He runs after him, and the elephant picks him up, puts him on his back, and plunges into the jungle. Deep in the hills they come to a clearing where there are many many elephants. Soon they start to stamp their feet up and down, making the ground tremble, until dawn. At daybreak they all disperse, and Kala Nag takes little Toomai back to the camp. When the tale is told, Little Toomai is saluted, not only by the hunters, but by the elephants themselves. He has seen the elephants dance, and one day he will be Toomai of the Elephants

The White Seal

Kotick, a baby seal, is born amongst thousands of others on the beach at Novastosnah, on a distant northern island in the Bering Sea. He is unusual because he is white. As he grows up, he swims with his mother to the South Pacific, and back to the island at the end of the year. There he witnesses many seals being clubbed to death and skinned by Aleutian islanders. He resolves to look for a safe place for seals where there is no danger from men. He scours the world for such a place, and after many wanderings across thousands of miles of ocean, he finds one at last. He returns to Novastoshnah and, after many struggles, persuades thousands of the seals to follow him to the safe beaches where no man comes.

Mowgli's Brothers

Mowgli, a male infant (or man-cub), miraculously escapes Shere Khan (the Bengal tiger) and makes his way to a wolf pack. A wolf couple, who recently had four cubs of their own, adopt Mowgli and protect him from Shere Khan. At the wolf gathering, Father and Mother Wolf present Mowgli. Akela, the wolf leader, proclaims that Mowgli needs two other sponsors besides the wolf couple. Baloo (the brown bear) and Bagheera (the black panther) sponsor Mowgli. Shere Khan becomes angry that the wolves do not give him Mowgli.

Mowgli's Brothers

Ten or eleven years later, Mowgli has learned to live in the jungle according to Jungle Law. But in the meantime, Shere Khan had made friends with many of the younger wolves and had convinced them to despise Mowgli. Bagheera warns Mowgli and tells him to get the Red Flower (fire) from the man village. When Akela becomes too old to be an effective leader, Shere Khan makes his move. The wolves who follow the tiger advance on Mowgli. But Mowgli takes a burning branch and beats Shere Khan with it and swings it at the rebellious wolves. Although Mowgli scares off Shere Khan and his followers, the boy realizes he is no longer part of the Wolf Pack. So, he goes off to the man village

Tiger-tiger

This story takes place after Mowgli left the Wolf Pack. Mowgli goes to a man village and is rescued by Messua and her husband, who believe Mowgli to be their own son who was taken by a tiger many years ago. Mowgli learns the ways and speech of man. But soon Mowgli hears from Grey Brother (one of his wolf cub step-brothers) that Shere Khan is plotting revenge. In the village Mowgli makes enemies of Buldeo (the hunter) and the priest and other men when he, Mowgli, criticizes their foolish stories about the jungle and the animals and when he mocks the village god. Mowgli is given the menial task of herding the cattle. Later, when Mowgli hears that Shere Khan has come back, he divides the cattle up into two groups. Mowgli takes one group of cattle on one side of a ravine, and Akela and Grey Brother take charge of the other cattle on the opposite side of the ravine. Mowgli taunts Shere Khan and traps him in the middle of the ravine. Mowgli charges the cattle to stampede, and Shere Khan is trampled to death. When Mowgli is skinning the tiger, Buldeo comes and tries to take the tiger skin for himself. But Mowgli and Akela scare Buldeo away. Buldeo tells the villagers that Mowgli is a sorcerer and demon, and they stop Mowgli from returning to the village. Mowgli places the tiger hide on Council Rock for all of the Wolf Pack to see, but then Mowgli leaves the Wolf Pack once again.

Kaa's Hunting

This story takes place before Mowgli left the Wolf Pack. Baloo teaches Mowgli the Master Words so that he can communicate and enlist the aid of the various animals of the jungle. But Mowgli is misled by the Monkey-People, who tell him that they will make him their leader. Baloo and Bagheera warn Mowgli that the Monkeys are foolish and are incapable of carrying out any plan for any sustained length of time. But the warning comes too late: the Monkeys want Mowgli and kidnap him. However, Mowgli remembers a Master Word and asks Chil (a kite: a predatory bird) to notify Baloo and Bagheera. Baloo asks Kaa (a 30-foot python) for help, and they track Mowgli to the Lost City [or Monkey City]. With the help of Kaa, Baloo and Bagheera defeat the Monkeys and rescue Mowgli.