The Jungle Book / Книга джунглей. Книга для чтения на английском языке

“Ye will not forget me?” said Mowgli.

“Never while we can follow a trail,” said the cubs. “Come to the foot of the hill when thou art a man, and we will talk to thee; and we will come into the croplands to play with thee by night.”

“Come soon!” said Father Wolf. “Oh, wise little frog, come again soon; for we be old, thy mother and I.”

“Come soon,” said Mother Wolf, “little naked son of mine. For, listen, child of man, I loved thee more than ever I loved my cubs.”

“I will surely come,” said Mowgli.

The dawn was beginning to break when Mowgli went down the hillside alone, to meet those mysterious things that are called men.

HUNTING-SONG OF THE SEEONEE PACK

As the dawn was breaking the Sambhur belled

Once, twice and again!

And a doe leaped up, and a doe leaped up

From the pond in the wood where the wild deer sup.

This I, scouting alone, beheld,

Once, twice and again!

As the dawn was breaking the Sambhur belled

Once, twice and again!

And a wolf stole back, and a wolf stole back

To carry the word to the waiting pack,

And we sought and we found and we bayed on his track

Once, twice and again!

As the dawn was breaking the Wolf Pack yelled

Once, twice and again!

Feet in the jungle that leave no mark!

Eyes that can see in the dark – the dark!

Tongue – give tongue to it! Hark! O hark!

Once, twice and again!

KAA’S HUNTING

His spots are the joy of the Leopard: his horns

are the Bu?alo’s pride —

Be clean, for the strength of the hunter is

known by the gloss of his hide.

If ye ?nd that the Bullock can toss you, or the

heavy-browed Sambhur can gore;

Ye need not stop work to inform us: we knew

it ten seasons before.

Oppress not the cubs of the stranger, but hail

them as Sister and Brother,

For though they are little and fubsy, it may be

the Bear is their mother.

“There is none like to me!” says the Cub in

the pride of his earliest kill;

But the jungle is large and the Cub he is

small. Let him think and be still.

    Maxims of Baloo

All that is told here happened some time before Mowgli was turned out of the Seeonee Wolf Pack, or revenged himself on Shere Khan the tiger. It was in the days when Baloo was teaching him the Law of the Jungle.