by Rudyard Kipling
Characters:
Mowgli, a boy of India.
Shere Khan, a Bengal tiger; Tabaqui, the jackal.
Balao, a small bear; Bagheera, a phanter.
The Story:
A collection of connected short stories about Mowgli, a little boy from a village in India who got lost in the forests. A mother wolf who had just given birth allowed Mowgli to suckle with her young. He grew up with the bests of the forests.
Mowgli, foraging foe food, pitted his wits with Shere Khan, fierce Bengal tiger who feared Man’s superior mind. The tiger roamed the forests with Tabaqui, the mischievous jackal. The other stories were about the live of Baloo, the sleepy brown bear who taught wolf cubs the law of the jungle; the cunning of Bagheera, the black phanter; and the wiles of Kan, a big rock python, the monkey people, and other animals.
Shere Khan tried to trap and kill Mowgli. This boy artfully avoided the plot through sheer power and determination. When monkey people forcibly carried off Mowgli, the other jungle animals who were his friends banded together and rescued him from the fierce monkey tribe. Finally Mowgli went back to live among men bringing with him the rich knowledge of how beasts live in forests and treat one another.
Comment:
Rudyard Kipling points out that animals, like human beings, are capable of thinking and behaving according to their endowed habits, traits and experiences. The book reveals the author’s familiarity with and knowledge of animals in India.