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The Jungle Book - Rudyard Kipling · Children’s Stories Library

0:00
Speaker 1: Chapter one, Mowgli's brothers now chill. The kite brings home
0:06
Speaker 1: the night that Mang the bat sets free. The herds
0:10
Speaker 1: are shut in byre and hut for loose till dawn
0:13
Speaker 1: are we. This is the hour of pride and power,
0:17
Speaker 1: talon and tush and claw. Oh, hear the call good hunting,
0:22
Speaker 1: all that keep the jungle law. Night song in the jungle.
0:28
Speaker 1: It was seven o'clock of a very warm evening in
0:31
Speaker 1: the Siainnee Hills when Father Wulf woke up from his
0:34
Speaker 1: day's rest, scratched himself, yawned, and spread out his paws
0:38
Speaker 1: one after the other to get rid of the sleepy
0:40
Speaker 1: feeling in their tips. Mother Wulf lay with her big
0:44
Speaker 1: gray nose dropped across her four tumbling, squealing cubs, and
0:48
Speaker 1: the moon shone into the mouth of the cave where
0:50
Speaker 1: they all lived. Har said Father Wulf, it is time
0:55
Speaker 1: to hunt again. He was going to spring down hill
0:59
Speaker 1: when a little shadow with a bushy tail crossed the threshold,
1:02
Speaker 1: and whind. Good luck go with you, o chief of
1:05
Speaker 1: the wolves, and good luck and strong white teeth go
1:09
Speaker 1: with the noble children, that they may never forget the
1:12
Speaker 1: hungry in this world it was the jackal Tabaqui, the
1:16
Speaker 1: dish liquor. And the wolves of India despise Tabaqui because
1:21
Speaker 1: he runs about, making mischief and telling tales, and eating
1:24
Speaker 1: rags and pieces of leather from the village rubbish heaps.
1:27
Speaker 1: But they are afraid of him too, because Tabaqui, more
1:31
Speaker 1: than any one else in the jungle, is apt to
1:33
Speaker 1: go mad. And then he forgets that he was ever
1:36
Speaker 1: afraid of any one, and runs through the forest, biting
1:39
Speaker 1: everything in his way. Even the tiger runs and hides
1:43
Speaker 1: when little Tobaqui goes mad, For madness is the most
1:46
Speaker 1: disgraceful thing that can overtake a wild creature. We call
1:50
Speaker 1: it hydrophobia, but they call it dewanee the madness. And
1:54
Speaker 1: run enter then and look, said father Wulf stiffly. But
2:00
Speaker 1: there is no food here for a wolf, no, said Tabaquei.
2:06
Speaker 1: But for so mean a person as myself, A dry
2:09
Speaker 1: bone is a good feast. Who are we, the geter
2:12
Speaker 1: log the jackal people to pick and choose? He scuttled
2:17
Speaker 1: to the back of the cave, where he found the
2:19
Speaker 1: bone of a buck with some meat on it, and
2:22
Speaker 1: sat cracking the end merrily. All thanks for this good meal,
2:27
Speaker 1: he said, licking his lips. How beautiful are the noble children,
2:32
Speaker 1: How large are their eyes? And so young too. Indeed, indeed,
2:37
Speaker 1: I might have remembered that the children of kings are
2:39
Speaker 1: men from the beginning. Now, Tobacque knew as well as
2:43
Speaker 1: any one else that there is nothing so unlucky as
2:46
Speaker 1: to compliment children to their faces. It pleased him to
2:50
Speaker 1: see mother and father Wolf look uncomfortable. TABAQUEI sat still,
2:55
Speaker 1: rejoicing in the mischief that he had made. And then
2:58
Speaker 1: he said, spitefully, sher Khan, the big one, has shifted
3:02
Speaker 1: his hunting grounds. He will hunt among these hills for
3:05
Speaker 1: the next moon, so he has told me. Shir Khan
3:09
Speaker 1: was the tiger who lived near the Wayne Gunga River,
3:11
Speaker 1: twenty miles away. He has no right, father Wulf, began angrily.
3:17
Speaker 1: By the law of the jungle. He has no right
3:20
Speaker 1: to change his quarters without due warning. He will frighten
3:23
Speaker 1: every head of game within ten miles, and I I
3:26
Speaker 1: have to kill for two these days. His mother did
3:30
Speaker 1: not call him Lungry, the lame one, for nothing, said
3:33
Speaker 1: mother Wulf quietly. He has been lame in one foot
3:37
Speaker 1: from his berth. That is why he has only killed cattle.
3:41
Speaker 1: Now the villagers of the Wayne Gunga are angry with him,
3:44
Speaker 1: and he has come here to make our villagers angry.
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Speaker 1: They will scour the jungle for him when he is
3:49
Speaker 1: far away, and we and our children must run when
3:52
Speaker 1: the grass is set alight. Indeed, we are very grateful
3:56
Speaker 1: to Shear Khan. Shall I tell him of your gratitude,
4:01
Speaker 1: said Tabaqwi Out, snapped Father Wulf. Out, and hunt with
4:05
Speaker 1: thy master. Thou hast done harm enough for one night?
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Speaker 1: I go, said Tabaqui quietly. Ye can hear Sher Khan
4:15
Speaker 1: below in the thickets? I might have saved myself the message.
4:19
Speaker 1: Father Wulf listened, and below, in the valley that ran
4:22
Speaker 1: down to a little river, he heard the dry, angry,
4:25
Speaker 1: snarly sing song whine of a tiger who has caught
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Speaker 1: nothing and does not care if all the jungle knows it.
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Speaker 1: The fool, said Father Wulf, to begin a night's work
4:36
Speaker 1: with that noise? Does he think that our buck are
4:39
Speaker 1: like his fat win Gunga bullocks? Hush? It is neither
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Speaker 1: bullock nor buck. He hunts to night, said Mother Wulf.
4:47
Speaker 1: It is man. The wine had changed to a sort
4:51
Speaker 1: of humming purr that seemed to come from every quarter
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Speaker 1: of the compass. It was the noise that bewilders wood
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Speaker 1: cutters and gypsies sleeping in the open, and makes runs
5:00
Speaker 1: sometimes into the very mouth of the tiger man, said
5:05
Speaker 1: father wolf, showing all his white teeth, faugh, are there
5:09
Speaker 1: not enough beetles and frogs in the tanks that he
5:11
Speaker 1: must eat man? And on our ground too. The law
5:17
Speaker 1: of the jungle, which never orders anything without a reason
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Speaker 1: forbids every beast to eat man, except when he is killing,
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Speaker 1: to show his children how to kill, and then he
5:26
Speaker 1: must hunt outside the hunting grounds of his pack or tribe.
5:30
Speaker 1: The real reason for this is that man killing means
5:33
Speaker 1: sooner or later the arrival of white men on elephants
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Speaker 1: with guns and hundreds of brown men with gongs and
5:39
Speaker 1: rockets and torches. Then everybody in the jungle suffers. The
5:44
Speaker 1: reason the beasts give among themselves is that man is
5:47
Speaker 1: the weakest and most defenseless of all living things, and
5:50
Speaker 1: it is unsportsmanlike to touch him, they say, too, And
5:54
Speaker 1: it is true that man eaters become mangy and lose
5:57
Speaker 1: their teeth. The purr grew louder and ended in the
6:02
Speaker 1: full throated ah of the tiger's charge. Then there was
6:06
Speaker 1: a howl, an untigrish howl from Sher Khan. He has missed,
6:12
Speaker 1: said Mother Wulf. What is it? Father Wulf ran out
6:16
Speaker 1: a few paces and heard Sher Khan muttering and mumbling
6:19
Speaker 1: savagely as he tumbled about in the scrub. The fool
6:24
Speaker 1: has had no more sense than to jump at a
6:26
Speaker 1: woodcutter's camp fire, and has burned his feet, said Father Wulf,
6:29
Speaker 1: with a grunt. Tobacqui is with him? Something is coming
6:34
Speaker 1: up hill, said Mother Wulf, twitching one ear get ready.
6:38
Speaker 1: The bushes rustled a little in the thicket, and Father
6:41
Speaker 1: Wulf dropped to his haunches under him, ready for his leap.
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Speaker 1: Then if you had been watching, you would have seen
6:48
Speaker 1: the most wonderful thing in the world. The wolf checked
6:51
Speaker 1: in mid spring. He made his bound before he saw
6:54
Speaker 1: what he was jumping at, and then he tried to
6:56
Speaker 1: stop himself. The result was that he shot up straight
6:59
Speaker 1: into the air for four or five feet, landing almost
7:02
Speaker 1: where he left the ground. Man he snapped a man's
7:07
Speaker 1: cub look Directly in front of him, holding on by
7:12
Speaker 1: a low branch, stood a naked brown baby who could
7:15
Speaker 1: just walk as soft and as dimpled a little atom
7:19
Speaker 1: as ever came to a wolf's cave at night. He
7:22
Speaker 1: looked up into Father Wulf's face and laughed. Is that
7:27
Speaker 1: a man's cub? Said Mother Wulf. I have never seen
7:30
Speaker 1: one bring it here. A wolf accustomed to moving his
7:35
Speaker 1: own cubs, can, if necessary, mouth an egg without breaking it.
7:39
Speaker 1: And though Father Wulf's jaws closed right on the child's back,
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Speaker 1: not a tooth even scratched the skin as he laid
7:45
Speaker 1: it down among the cubs. How little, how naked, and
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Speaker 1: how bold, said Mother Wolf softly. The baby was pushing
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Speaker 1: his way between the cubs to get closer to the
7:56
Speaker 1: warm hide. Ahi, he is taking his meal with the others,
8:02
Speaker 1: And so this is a man's cub. Now was there
8:05
Speaker 1: ever a wolf that could boast of a man's cub
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Speaker 1: among her children? I have heard now and again of
8:11
Speaker 1: such a thing, but never in our pack or in
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Speaker 1: my time, said Father Wulf. He is altogether without hair,
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Speaker 1: and I could kill him with a touch of my foot.
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Speaker 1: But see he looks up and is not afraid. The
8:26
Speaker 1: moonlight was blocked out of the mouth of the cave
8:28
Speaker 1: for Sheer Khan's great head and shoulders were thrust into
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Speaker 1: the entrance. Tabaqui behind him was squeaking, my lord, my lord.
8:37
Speaker 1: It went in here. Shr Khan does us great honor,
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Speaker 1: said Father Wulf, but his eyes were very angry. What
8:45
Speaker 1: does shr Khan need my quarry? A man's cub went
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Speaker 1: this way, said shr Khan. Its parents have run off.
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Speaker 1: Give it to me. Shrkhan had jumped at a woodcutter's
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Speaker 1: camp fire, as Father Wulf had said, and was furious
9:02
Speaker 1: from the pain of his burned feet. But Father Wulf
9:05
Speaker 1: knew that the mouth of the cave was too narrow
9:07
Speaker 1: for a tiger to come in by. Even where he was,
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Speaker 1: Shrkhan's shoulders and forepaws were cramped for want of room,
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Speaker 1: as a man's would be if he tried to fight
9:16
Speaker 1: in a barrel. The wolves are a free people, said
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Speaker 1: Father Wulf. They take orders from the head of the pack,
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Speaker 1: and not from any striped cattle killer. The man's cub
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Speaker 1: is ours to kill if we choose, Ye choose, and
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Speaker 1: ye do not choose. What talk is this of choosing
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Speaker 1: by the bull that I killed? Am I to stand
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Speaker 1: nosing in your dog's den? For my fair dues? It
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Speaker 1: is I Sheer Khan, who speak the tiger's roar filled
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Speaker 1: the cave with thunder. Mother Wulf shook herself free of
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Speaker 1: the cubs and sprang forward, her eyes like two green
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Speaker 1: moons in the darkness, facing the blazing eyes of Sher Khan.
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Speaker 1: And it is I Rakshah, the demon who answers the
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Speaker 1: man's cub is mine, lungry mine to me. He shall
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Speaker 1: not be killed. He shall live, to run with the pack,
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Speaker 1: and to hunt with the pack. And in the end, look,
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Speaker 1: you hunter of little naked cubs, frog eater, fish killer,
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Speaker 1: He shall hunt thee Now get hence or buy sambour
10:17
Speaker 1: that I killed, I eat no starved cattle back. Thou
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Speaker 1: goest to thy mother, burned beast of the jungle, lamer
10:24
Speaker 1: than ever thou camest into the world. Go. Father Wulf
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Speaker 1: looked on, amazed. He had almost forgotten the days when
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Speaker 1: he won Mother Wolf in fair fight from five other wolves,
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Speaker 1: when she ran in the pack and was not called
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Speaker 1: the demon. For compliment's sake. Shr Kan might have faced
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Speaker 1: Father Wulf, but he could not stand up against Mother Wulf,
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Speaker 1: for he knew that where he was, she had all
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Speaker 1: the advantage of the ground and would fight to the death.
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Speaker 1: So he backed out of the cave, mouth growling, and
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Speaker 1: when he was clear, he shouted, Each dog barks in
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Speaker 1: his own yard. We will see what the pack will
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Speaker 1: say to this fostering of man cubs. The cub is mine,
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Speaker 1: and to my teeth, he will come in the end,
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Speaker 1: o bush tailed thieves. Mother Wulf threw herself down, panting
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Speaker 1: among the cubs, and Father Wulf said to her gravely,
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Speaker 1: shar Khan speaks this much truth. The cub must be
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Speaker 1: shown to the pack. Wilt thou still keep him? Mother?
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Speaker 1: Keep him? She gasped. He came naked by night, alone
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Speaker 1: and very hungry, Yet he was not afraid. Look, he
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Speaker 1: has pushed one of my babes to one side already,
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Speaker 1: and that lame butcher would have killed him and would
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Speaker 1: have run off to the wain Gunga, while the villagers
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Speaker 1: here hunted through all our lairs in revenge. Keep him, assuredly,
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Speaker 1: I will keep him. Lie still, little frog, O thou Mowgli,
11:47
Speaker 1: for Mowgli the frog, I will call thee. The time
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Speaker 1: will come when thou wilt hunt sharr Khan, as he
11:53
Speaker 1: has hunted thee. But what will our pack say? Said
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Speaker 1: father Wulf. The law of the jungle lays down very
12:01
Speaker 1: clearly that any wolf may, when he marries withdraw from
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Speaker 1: the pack he belongs to, But as soon as his
12:08
Speaker 1: cubs are old enough to stand on their feet, he
12:10
Speaker 1: must bring them to the pack council, which is generally
12:13
Speaker 1: held once a month at full moon, in order that
12:15
Speaker 1: the other wolves may identify them. After that inspection, the
12:20
Speaker 1: cubs are free to run where they please, and until
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Speaker 1: they have killed their first buck, no excuse is accepted.
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Speaker 1: If a grown wolf of the pack kills one of them,
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Speaker 1: the punishment is death where the murderer can be found.
12:31
Speaker 1: And if you think for a minute, you will see
12:33
Speaker 1: that this must be so. Father Wolf waited till his
12:37
Speaker 1: cubs could run a little, and then on the night
12:39
Speaker 1: of the pack meeting took them and Mowgli and Mother
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Speaker 1: Wolf to the council Rock, a hilltop covered with stones
12:45
Speaker 1: and boulders where a hundred wolves could hide. Akila, the
12:50
Speaker 1: great gray lone wolf, who led all the pack by
12:52
Speaker 1: strength and cunning, lay out at full length on his rock,
12:56
Speaker 1: and below him sat forty or more wolves of every
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Speaker 1: size and color, from badger colored veterans who could handle
13:02
Speaker 1: a buck alone to young black three year olds who
13:05
Speaker 1: thought they could the lone wolf had led them for
13:08
Speaker 1: a year. Now, he had fallen twice into a wolf
13:11
Speaker 1: trap in his youth, and once he had been beaten
13:14
Speaker 1: and left for dead, so he knew the manners and
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Speaker 1: customs of men. There was very little talking at the rock.
13:21
Speaker 1: The cubs tumbled over each other in the center of
13:23
Speaker 1: the circle where their mothers and fathers sat, And now
13:26
Speaker 1: and again a senior wolf would go quietly up to
13:29
Speaker 1: a cub, look at him carefully, and return to his
13:32
Speaker 1: place on noiseless feet. Sometimes a mother would push her
13:36
Speaker 1: cub far out into the moonlight to be sure that
13:38
Speaker 1: he had not been overlooked. Aquilah, from his rock would cry,
13:43
Speaker 1: ye know the law, Ye know the law, Look well,
13:47
Speaker 1: o wolves, and the anxious mothers would take up the call,
13:51
Speaker 1: look look well o wolves. At last, and Mother Wulf's
13:57
Speaker 1: neck bristles lifted. As the time came. Father Wolf pushed
14:00
Speaker 1: Mowgli the frog as they called him, into the center,
14:03
Speaker 1: where he sat, laughing and playing with some pebbles that
14:06
Speaker 1: glistened in the moonlight. Akila never raised his head from
14:10
Speaker 1: his paws, but went on with the monotonous cry, Look well.
14:16
Speaker 1: A muffled roar came up from behind the rocks, the
14:18
Speaker 1: voice of sher Khan, crying, the cub is mine, Give
14:22
Speaker 1: him to me. What have the free people to do
14:25
Speaker 1: with a man's cub? Akila never even twitched his ears.
14:29
Speaker 1: All he said was, look well, o wolves, what have
14:33
Speaker 1: the free people to do with the orders of any
14:35
Speaker 1: save the free people? Look well? There was a chorus
14:40
Speaker 1: of deep growls, and a young wolf in his fourth
14:43
Speaker 1: year flung back sher Khan's question to Aquila, what have
14:47
Speaker 1: the free people to do with a man's cub? Now?
14:51
Speaker 1: The law of the jungle lays down that if there
14:53
Speaker 1: is any dispute as to the right of a cub
14:55
Speaker 1: to be accepted by the pack, he must be spoken
14:58
Speaker 1: for by at least two members of the pack who
15:00
Speaker 1: are not his father and mother. Who speaks for this cub,
15:05
Speaker 1: said Aquila, among the free people who speaks? There was
15:10
Speaker 1: no answer, and mother Wulf got ready for what she
15:13
Speaker 1: knew would be her last fight. If things came to fighting.
15:18
Speaker 1: Then the only other creature who is allowed at the
15:20
Speaker 1: pack council Blue, the sleepy brown bear who teaches the
15:24
Speaker 1: wolf cubs. The law of the jungle, Old Ballue, who
15:27
Speaker 1: can come and go where he pleases, because he eats
15:29
Speaker 1: only nuts and roots and honey rose upon his hind
15:32
Speaker 1: quarters and grunted the man's cub, The man's cub, he said,
15:39
Speaker 1: I speak for the man's cub. There is no harm
15:43
Speaker 1: in a man's cub. I have no gift of words,
15:46
Speaker 1: but I speak the truth. Let him run with the
15:49
Speaker 1: pack and be entered with the others. I myself will
15:53
Speaker 1: teach him. We need yet another, said Aquila. Ballou has spoken,
15:59
Speaker 1: and he is our teacher for the young cubs. Who
16:02
Speaker 1: speaks besides Balue. A black shadow dropped down into the circle.
16:08
Speaker 1: It was Baghira, the black panther, inky black all over,
16:12
Speaker 1: but with the panther markings showing up in certain lights
16:15
Speaker 1: like the pattern of watered silk. Everybody knew Bagherra, and
16:19
Speaker 1: nobody cared to cross his path, for he was as
16:22
Speaker 1: cunning as Tabaqui, as bold as the wild buffalo, and
16:26
Speaker 1: as reckless as the wounded elephant. But he had a
16:29
Speaker 1: voice as soft as wild honey dripping from a tree,
16:32
Speaker 1: and a skin softer than down oh Akuila, and ye,
16:37
Speaker 1: the free people, he purred, I have no right in
16:41
Speaker 1: your assembly. But the law of the jungle says that
16:44
Speaker 1: if there is a doubt which is not a killing
16:46
Speaker 1: matter in regard to a new cub, the life of
16:49
Speaker 1: that cub may be bought at a price, And the
16:52
Speaker 1: law does not say who may or may not pay
16:55
Speaker 1: that price. Am I right? Good? Good? Said the young
17:00
Speaker 1: wolves who are always hungry. Listen to Bagheera. The cub
17:04
Speaker 1: can be bought for a price. It is the law.
17:08
Speaker 1: Knowing that I have no right to speak here, I
17:11
Speaker 1: ask your leave speak, then cried twenty voices. To kill
17:17
Speaker 1: a naked cub is a shame. Besides, he may be
17:21
Speaker 1: better sport for you when he is grown. Ballou has
17:24
Speaker 1: spoken in his behalf. Now to Ballou's word, I will
17:28
Speaker 1: add one bull and a fat one, newly killed, not
17:32
Speaker 1: half a mile from here, if you will accept the
17:35
Speaker 1: man's cub according to the law. Is it difficult? There
17:41
Speaker 1: is a clamor of scores of voices saying what matter?
17:45
Speaker 1: He will die in the winter rains, he will scorch
17:47
Speaker 1: in the sun. What harm can a naked frog do us?
17:50
Speaker 1: Let him run with the pack? Where's the bull? Bagheera
17:53
Speaker 1: let him be accepted, and then came Akilah's deep bay, crying,
17:57
Speaker 1: look well, look well, o wolves. Mowgli was still deeply
18:02
Speaker 1: interested in the pebbles, and he did not notice when
18:05
Speaker 1: the wolves came and looked at him one by one.
18:08
Speaker 1: At last they all went down the hill for the
18:10
Speaker 1: dead bull, and only Akilah, Bagheera, Baloo, and Mowgli's own
18:14
Speaker 1: wolves were left. Sher Khan roared still in the night,
18:18
Speaker 1: for he was very angry that Mowgli had not been
18:21
Speaker 1: handed over to him. Ay roar well, said Bagheera under
18:27
Speaker 1: his whiskers, for the time will come when this naked
18:31
Speaker 1: thing will make thee roar to another tune, or I
18:34
Speaker 1: know nothing of man. It was well done, said Achila.
18:39
Speaker 1: Men and their cubs are very wise. He may be
18:42
Speaker 1: a help in time, truly a help in time of need,
18:47
Speaker 1: for none can hope to lead the pack forever, said Bagheera.
18:51
Speaker 1: Akilah said nothing. He was thinking of the time that
18:54
Speaker 1: comes to every leader of every pack, when his strength
18:57
Speaker 1: goes from him and he gets feebler, and till at
19:01
Speaker 1: last he is killed by the wolves, and a new
19:03
Speaker 1: leader comes up to be killed in his turn. Take
19:08
Speaker 1: him away, he said to Father Wulf, and train him
19:11
Speaker 1: as befits, one of the free people. And that is
19:15
Speaker 1: how Mowgli was entered into the sea anee wolf pack
19:18
Speaker 1: for the price of a bull, and on Bulow's good word.
19:24
Speaker 1: End of Chapter one, Part one, Chapter one, Part two.
19:31
Speaker 1: Now you must be content to skip ten or eleven
19:34
Speaker 1: whole years and only guess at all the wonderful life
19:37
Speaker 1: that Mowgli led among the wolves, because if it were
19:40
Speaker 1: written out, it would fill ever so many books. He
19:43
Speaker 1: grew up with the cubs, though they, of course were
19:46
Speaker 1: grown wolves, almost before he was a child, and Father
19:49
Speaker 1: Wulf taught him his business and the meaning of things
19:52
Speaker 1: in the jungle, till every rustle in the grass, every
19:55
Speaker 1: breath of the warm night air, every note of the
19:58
Speaker 1: owls above his head, every scratch of a bat's claws
20:01
Speaker 1: as it roosted for a while in a tree, and
20:03
Speaker 1: every splash of every little fish jumping in a pool
20:06
Speaker 1: meant just as much to him as the work of
20:09
Speaker 1: his office means to a business man. When he was
20:12
Speaker 1: not learning, he sat out in the sun and slept,
20:15
Speaker 1: and ate and went to sleep again. When he felt
20:18
Speaker 1: dirty or hot, he swam in the forest pools, and
20:22
Speaker 1: when he wanted honey. Ballue told him that honey and
20:25
Speaker 1: nuts were just as pleasant to eat as raw meat.
20:27
Speaker 1: He climbed up for it, and that Bagheera showed him
20:30
Speaker 1: how to do. Bagheera would lie out on a branch
20:33
Speaker 1: and call, come along, little brother, and at first Mowgli
20:38
Speaker 1: would cling like the sloth, but afterward he would fling
20:41
Speaker 1: himself up through the branches almost as boldly as the
20:43
Speaker 1: gray ape. He took his place at the council rock too,
20:47
Speaker 1: when the pack met, and there he discovered that if
20:50
Speaker 1: he stared hard at any wolf, the wolf would be
20:53
Speaker 1: forced to drop his eyes, and so he used to
20:56
Speaker 1: stare for fun. At other times, he would pick the
21:00
Speaker 1: long thorns out of the pads of his friends, for
21:03
Speaker 1: wolves suffer terribly from thorns and burrs in their coats.
21:07
Speaker 1: He would go down the hillside into the cultivated lands
21:09
Speaker 1: by night and look very curiously at the villagers in
21:12
Speaker 1: their huts. But he had a mistrust of men because
21:16
Speaker 1: Bagheera showed him a square box with a drop gate
21:18
Speaker 1: so cunningly hidden in the jungle that he nearly walked
21:21
Speaker 1: into it and told him that it was a trap.
21:25
Speaker 1: He loved better than anything else to go with Bagheera
21:27
Speaker 1: into the dark, warm heart of the forest to sleep
21:31
Speaker 1: all through the drowsy day and at night see how
21:33
Speaker 1: Bakhira did his killing. Baghia killed right and left as
21:38
Speaker 1: he felt hungry, and so did Mowgli, with one exception.
21:42
Speaker 1: As soon as he was old enough to understand things,
21:45
Speaker 1: Baghiera told him that he must never touch cattle, because
21:49
Speaker 1: he had been bought into the pack at the price
21:50
Speaker 1: of a bull's life. All the jungle is thine, said Bagheera,
21:56
Speaker 1: and thou canst kill everything that thou art strong enough
22:00
Speaker 1: to kill. But for the sake of the bull that
22:03
Speaker 1: bought thee thou must never kill or eat any cattle,
22:07
Speaker 1: young or old. That is the law of the jungle.
22:11
Speaker 1: Mowgli obeyed faithfully, and he grew and grew strong, as
22:16
Speaker 1: a boy must grow who does not know that he
22:18
Speaker 1: is learning any lessons, and who has nothing in the
22:20
Speaker 1: world to think of except things to eat. Mother Wulf
22:25
Speaker 1: told him once or twice that shar Khan was not
22:27
Speaker 1: a creature to be trusted, and that some day he
22:29
Speaker 1: must kill sher Khan. But though a young wolf would
22:33
Speaker 1: have remembered that advice, every hour Mowgli forgot it because
22:37
Speaker 1: he was only a boy, though he would have called
22:39
Speaker 1: himself a wolf if he had been able to speak
22:41
Speaker 1: in any human tongue. Shar Khan was always crossing his
22:45
Speaker 1: path in the jungle, for as Akila grew older and feebler,
22:48
Speaker 1: the lame tiger had come to be great friends with
22:50
Speaker 1: the young wolves of the pack who followed him for scraps,
22:54
Speaker 1: a thing Akuila would never have allowed. If he had
22:56
Speaker 1: dared to push his authority to the proper bounds. Then
23:00
Speaker 1: Shirrkan would flatter them and wonder that such fine young
23:03
Speaker 1: hunters were content to be led by a dying wolf
23:06
Speaker 1: and a man's cub. They tell me. Sharrkan would say
23:11
Speaker 1: that at counsel, ye dare not look him between the eyes,
23:15
Speaker 1: and the young wolves would growl and bristle. Bagheera, who
23:19
Speaker 1: had eyes and ears everywhere, knew something of this, and
23:23
Speaker 1: once or twice he told Mowgli in so many words
23:26
Speaker 1: that Shirrkan would kill him some day. Mowgli would laugh
23:30
Speaker 1: and answer, I have the pack, and I have thee
23:33
Speaker 1: and Ballou, though he is so lazy, might strike a
23:35
Speaker 1: blow or two for my sake. Why should I be afraid.
23:40
Speaker 1: It was one very warm day that a new notion
23:43
Speaker 1: came to Bagheera, born of something that he had heard,
23:47
Speaker 1: perhaps saw he the porcupine had told him. But he
23:49
Speaker 1: said to Mowgli when they were deep in the jungle,
23:52
Speaker 1: as the boy lay with his head on Bakia's beautiful
23:55
Speaker 1: black skin, little brother, how often have I told thee
23:59
Speaker 1: that Shirkan is thy enemy? As many times as there
24:03
Speaker 1: are nuts on that palm, said Mowgli, who naturally could
24:07
Speaker 1: not count. What of it? I am sleepy, Bikhira, and
24:11
Speaker 1: shir Khan is all long tail and loud talk like
24:13
Speaker 1: more the peacock. But this is no time for sleeping.
24:18
Speaker 1: Blue knows it. I know it, the pack know it,
24:22
Speaker 1: and even the foolish, foolish deer know it. Tabaqui has
24:26
Speaker 1: told thee too, Ho Ho, said Mowgli. Tobaqui came to
24:31
Speaker 1: me not long ago with some rude talk that I
24:33
Speaker 1: was a naked man's cub and not fit to dig
24:35
Speaker 1: pig nuts. But I caught Tobakwi by the tail and
24:38
Speaker 1: swung him twice against a palm tree to teach him
24:40
Speaker 1: better manners. That was foolish, for though Tobakwi is a
24:45
Speaker 1: mischief maker. He would have told thee something that concerned thee.
24:48
Speaker 1: Closely open those eyes, little brother, shar Khan, dare not
24:53
Speaker 1: kill thee in the jungle. But remember Akila is very old,
24:58
Speaker 1: and soon the day comes when he ca cannot kill
25:00
Speaker 1: his buck, and then he will be a leader no more.
25:04
Speaker 1: Many of the wolves that look thee over when thou
25:06
Speaker 1: hast brought to the council first, are old too. And
25:10
Speaker 1: the young wolves believe as Sheer Khan has taught them
25:13
Speaker 1: that a man club has no place with the pack.
25:16
Speaker 1: In a little time thou wilt be a man. And
25:21
Speaker 1: what is a man that he should not run with
25:23
Speaker 1: his brothers? Said Mowgli. I was born in the jungle.
25:26
Speaker 1: I have obeyed the law of the jungle. And there
25:29
Speaker 1: is no wolf of ours from whose paws I have
25:31
Speaker 1: not pulled a thorn. Surely they are my brothers. Bagheera
25:35
Speaker 1: stretched himself at full length and half shut his eyes.
25:39
Speaker 1: Little brother said he feel under my jaw. Mowgli put
25:45
Speaker 1: up his strong brown hand, and just under Bakhiera's silky chin,
25:48
Speaker 1: where the giant rolling muscles were all hid by the
25:51
Speaker 1: glossy hair, he came upon a little bald spot. There
25:55
Speaker 1: is no one in the jungle that knows that I
25:58
Speaker 1: Bagheera carry that mark, the mark of the collar. And yet,
26:03
Speaker 1: little brother, I was born among men, And it was
26:06
Speaker 1: among men that my mother died in the cages of
26:09
Speaker 1: the king's palace at Odeipour. It was because of this
26:14
Speaker 1: that I paid the price for thee at the council,
26:16
Speaker 1: when thou wast a little naked cub. Yes, I too
26:21
Speaker 1: was born among men. I had never seen the jungle.
26:24
Speaker 1: They fed me behind bars from an iron pan, till
26:27
Speaker 1: one night I felt that I was Bagheera, the panther,
26:30
Speaker 1: and no man's plaything. And I broke the silly lock
26:34
Speaker 1: with one blow of my paw and came away. And
26:37
Speaker 1: because I had learned the ways of men, I became
26:40
Speaker 1: more terrible in the jungle than Sheer Khan. Is it
26:44
Speaker 1: not so, yes, said Mowgli, All the jungle for your baghia,
26:50
Speaker 1: all except Mowgli. Oh, thou art a man's cub, said
26:55
Speaker 1: the black panther, very tenderly. And even as I returned
26:59
Speaker 1: to myungle, so thou must go back to men at last,
27:03
Speaker 1: to the men who are thy brothers. If thou art
27:06
Speaker 1: not killed in the council. But why, but why should
27:11
Speaker 1: any wish to kill me, said Mowgli. Look at me,
27:15
Speaker 1: said Bagheera, and Mowgli looked at him steadily between the eyes.
27:19
Speaker 1: The big panther turned his head away in half a minute.
27:23
Speaker 1: That is why, he said, shifting his paw on the leaves.
27:27
Speaker 1: Not even I can look THEE between the eyes. And
27:30
Speaker 1: I was born among men, and I love THEE, little brother.
27:34
Speaker 1: The others they hate THEE because their eyes cannot meet thine,
27:37
Speaker 1: because thou art wise, because thou hast pulled out thorns
27:41
Speaker 1: from their feet, because thou art a man. I did
27:47
Speaker 1: not know these things, said Mowgli, sullenly, and he frowned
27:50
Speaker 1: under his heavy black eyebrows. What is the law of
27:55
Speaker 1: the jungle? Strike first, and then give tongue by thy
28:00
Speaker 1: very carelessness. They know that thou art a man, But
28:04
Speaker 1: be wise. It is in my heart that when Achila
28:06
Speaker 1: misses his next kill, and at each hunt it costs
28:09
Speaker 1: him more to pin the buck, the pack will turn
28:13
Speaker 1: against him and against thee. They will hold a jungle
28:16
Speaker 1: council at the rock. And then and then I have it,
28:21
Speaker 1: said Bakhiera, leaping up, Go thou down quickly to the
28:24
Speaker 1: men's huts in the valley, and take some of the
28:27
Speaker 1: red flower which they grow in there, so that when
28:29
Speaker 1: the time comes thou mayest have even a stronger friend
28:32
Speaker 1: than I or Blue or those of the pack that
28:35
Speaker 1: love thee. Get the red flower. By red flower, Bagheera
28:41
Speaker 1: meant fire. Only No creature in the jungle will call
28:43
Speaker 1: fire by its proper name. Every beast lives in deadly
28:47
Speaker 1: fear of it and invents a hundred ways of describing it.
28:53
Speaker 1: The red flower, said Mowgli, that grows outside their huts
28:56
Speaker 1: in the twilight. I will get some there, speaks the
29:01
Speaker 1: man's cub, said Bagheera, proudly. Remember that it grows in
29:05
Speaker 1: little pots. Get one swiftly, and keep it by thee
29:09
Speaker 1: for time of need. Good, said Mowgli. I go, but
29:14
Speaker 1: art thou sure, o, my Baghira. He slipped his arm
29:17
Speaker 1: around the splendid neck and looked deep into the big eyes.
29:20
Speaker 1: Art thou sure that all this is Sheer Khan's doing.
29:24
Speaker 1: By the broken lock that freed me, I am sure,
29:27
Speaker 1: little brother. Then by the bull that bought me, I
29:31
Speaker 1: will pay Shir Khan full tail for this, and it
29:34
Speaker 1: may be a little over, said Mowgli, and he bounded away.
29:38
Speaker 1: That is a man, that is all a man, said
29:41
Speaker 1: Bagheera to himself, lying down again. Oh, Sheer Khan, never
29:47
Speaker 1: was a blacker hunting than that frog hunt of thine
29:49
Speaker 1: ten years ago. Mowgli was far and far through the forest,
29:55
Speaker 1: running hard, and his heart was hot in him. He
29:58
Speaker 1: came to the cave as the evening misst rose, and
30:00
Speaker 1: drew breath and looked down the valley. The cubs were out,
30:04
Speaker 1: but mother wolf at the back of the cave knew
30:07
Speaker 1: by his breathing that something was troubling her frog. What
30:11
Speaker 1: is it, son, she said, some bats chatter of Sheer Khan.
30:16
Speaker 1: He called back, I hunt among the plowed fields to night,
30:20
Speaker 1: and he plunged downward through the bushes to the stream
30:23
Speaker 1: at the bottom of the valley. There he checked for
30:26
Speaker 1: He heard the yell of the pack hunting, heard the
30:29
Speaker 1: bellow of a hunted sambur, and the snort as the
30:32
Speaker 1: buck turned at bay. Then there were wicked bitter howls
30:36
Speaker 1: from the young wolves. Akuila. Akuila let the lone wolf
30:40
Speaker 1: show his strength room for the leader of the pack spring. Akuila,
30:45
Speaker 1: the lone wolf must have sprung and missed his hold.
30:48
Speaker 1: Form Owgli heard the snap of his teeth, and then
30:51
Speaker 1: a yelp as the sun bourer knocked him over with
30:53
Speaker 1: his fore feet. He did not wait for anything more,
30:56
Speaker 1: but dashed on, and the yells grew fainter behind him
30:59
Speaker 1: as he ran into the crop lands where the villagers lived.
31:03
Speaker 1: Pikera spoke truth. He panted as he nestled down in
31:06
Speaker 1: some cattle fodder by the window of a hut. Tomorrow
31:09
Speaker 1: is one day, both for Aquila and for me. Then
31:13
Speaker 1: he pressed his face close to the window and watched
31:16
Speaker 1: the fire on the hearth. He saw the husband man's
31:19
Speaker 1: wife get up and feed it in the night with
31:22
Speaker 1: black lumps, And when the morning came and the mists
31:25
Speaker 1: were all white and cold, he saw the man's child
31:28
Speaker 1: pick up a wicker pot plastered inside with earth, fill
31:31
Speaker 1: it with lumps of red hot charcoal, put it under
31:34
Speaker 1: his blanket, and go out to tend the cows in
31:36
Speaker 1: the byre. Is that all, said Mowgli. If a cub
31:41
Speaker 1: can do it, there is nothing to fear. So he
31:44
Speaker 1: strode round the corner and met the boy took the
31:47
Speaker 1: pot from his hand and disappeared into the mist, while
31:50
Speaker 1: the boy howled with fear. They are very like me,
31:54
Speaker 1: said Mowgli, blowing into the pot, as he had seen
31:56
Speaker 1: the woman do. This thing will die if I do
31:59
Speaker 1: not give things to eat, and he dropped twigs and
32:02
Speaker 1: dried bark on the red stuff. Half Way up the
32:05
Speaker 1: hill he met Bagheera, with the morning dew shining like
32:08
Speaker 1: moonstones on his coat. Akila has missed, said the panther.
32:14
Speaker 1: They would have killed him last night, but they needed
32:17
Speaker 1: thee also. They were looking for thee on the hill.
32:22
Speaker 1: I was among the plowed lands. I am ready see.
32:25
Speaker 1: Mowgli held up the fire pot. Good now I have
32:29
Speaker 1: seen men thrust a dry branch into that stuff, and
32:32
Speaker 1: presently the red flower blossomed at the end of it.
32:36
Speaker 1: Art thou not afraid? Now? Why should I fear? I
32:41
Speaker 1: remember now, if it is not a dream, how before
32:44
Speaker 1: I was a wolf. I lay beside the red flower,
32:47
Speaker 1: and it was warm and pleasant. All that day Mowgli
32:52
Speaker 1: sat in the cave, tending his fire pot and dipping
32:54
Speaker 1: dry branches into it to see how they looked. He
32:57
Speaker 1: found a branch that satisfied him, and in the evening,
33:00
Speaker 1: when Tabakwi came to the cave and told him rudely
33:03
Speaker 1: enough that he was wanted at the council rock, he
33:05
Speaker 1: laughed till Tobakwi ran away. Then Mowgli went to the
33:09
Speaker 1: council still laughing. Akilah, the lone wolf, lay by the
33:14
Speaker 1: side of his rock as a sign that the leadership
33:16
Speaker 1: of the pack was open, and shir Khan, with his
33:19
Speaker 1: following of scrap fed wolves, walked to and fro openly.
33:23
Speaker 1: Being flattered. Bagheera lay close to Mogli, and the fire
33:27
Speaker 1: pot was between Mowgli's knees. When they were all gathered together,
33:31
Speaker 1: shir Khan began to speak, a thing he would never
33:34
Speaker 1: have dared to do when Akila was in his prime.
33:38
Speaker 1: He has no right, whispered Bakhira. Say so, he is
33:42
Speaker 1: a dog's son. He will be frightened. Mowgli sprang to
33:46
Speaker 1: his feet, Free people, He cried, does shir Khan lead
33:50
Speaker 1: the pack? What has a tiger to do with our leadership?
33:54
Speaker 1: Seeing that the leadership is yet open, and being asked
33:58
Speaker 1: to speak, shir Khan began, by whom said Mowgli are
34:02
Speaker 1: we all jackals to fawn on this cattle, butcher the
34:06
Speaker 1: leadership of the pack is with the pack alone. There
34:09
Speaker 1: were yells of silence. Thou man's cub, let him speak,
34:13
Speaker 1: he has kept our law. And at last the seniors
34:16
Speaker 1: of the pack thundered, let the dead wolf speak. When
34:21
Speaker 1: a leader of the pack has missed his kill, he
34:23
Speaker 1: is called the dead wolf as long as he lives,
34:26
Speaker 1: which is not long. Akilah raised his old head wearily.
34:32
Speaker 1: Free people, and ye too, jackals of sher Khan. For
34:35
Speaker 1: twelve seasons, I have led ye to and from the kill,
34:39
Speaker 1: and in all that time not one has been trapped
34:42
Speaker 1: or maimed. Now I have missed my kill. Ye know
34:46
Speaker 1: how that plot was made. Ye know how ye brought
34:49
Speaker 1: me up to an untried buck to make my weakness known.
34:53
Speaker 1: It was cleverly done. Your right is to kill me
34:57
Speaker 1: here on the council rock. Now therefore I ask who
35:01
Speaker 1: comes to make an end of the lone wolf, For
35:04
Speaker 1: it is my right, by the law of the jungle,
35:07
Speaker 1: that ye come one by one. There was a long hush,
35:13
Speaker 1: for no single wolf cared to fight Aquila to the death.
35:17
Speaker 1: Then sher Khan roared, bah, what have we to do
35:21
Speaker 1: with this toothless fool. He is doomed to die. It
35:25
Speaker 1: is the man's cub who has lived too long free people.
35:29
Speaker 1: He was my meat from the first. Give him to me.
35:33
Speaker 1: I am weary of this man wolf folly. He has
35:36
Speaker 1: troubled the jungle for ten seasons. Give me the man cub,
35:40
Speaker 1: or I will hunt here always and not give you
35:43
Speaker 1: one bone. He is a man, a man's child, and
35:47
Speaker 1: from the marrow of my bones I hate him. Then
35:51
Speaker 1: more than half the pack yelled, a man a man.
35:55
Speaker 1: What has a man to do with us? Let him
35:57
Speaker 1: go to his own place and turn all the people
36:01
Speaker 1: of the villages against us. Clamored shrkan, no, give him
36:05
Speaker 1: to me. He is a man, and none of us
36:08
Speaker 1: can look him between the eyes. Akila lifted his head
36:13
Speaker 1: again and said, he has eaten our food. He has
36:16
Speaker 1: slept with us, he has driven game for us. He
36:19
Speaker 1: has broken no word of the law of the jungle. Also,
36:24
Speaker 1: I paid for him with a bull when he was accepted.
36:27
Speaker 1: The worth of a bull is little, but Baghera's honor
36:31
Speaker 1: is something that he will perhaps fight for, said bagheera,
36:34
Speaker 1: in his gentlest voice. A bull paid ten years ago.
36:39
Speaker 1: The pack snarled, What do we care for bones ten
36:42
Speaker 1: years old? Or for a pledge? Said Baghiera, his white
36:47
Speaker 1: teeth bared under his lip. Well are ye called the
36:51
Speaker 1: free people? No man's cub can run with the people
36:56
Speaker 1: of the jungle, howled Shr Khan. Give him to me.
37:01
Speaker 1: He is our brother in all but blood. Achila went on,
37:04
Speaker 1: and YE would kill him here In truth, I have
37:07
Speaker 1: lived too long. Some of ye are eaters of cattle
37:11
Speaker 1: and of others. I have heard that under Sher Khan's teaching,
37:14
Speaker 1: ye go by dark night and snatch children from the
37:17
Speaker 1: villager's doorstep. Therefore I know ye to be cowards, and
37:21
Speaker 1: it is to cowards I speak. It is certain that
37:25
Speaker 1: I must die, and my life is of no worth,
37:28
Speaker 1: or I would offer that in the man Cub's place,
37:31
Speaker 1: but for the sake of the honor of the pack,
37:33
Speaker 1: A little matter that by being without a leader, ye
37:36
Speaker 1: have forgotten. I promise that if ye let the man
37:39
Speaker 1: cub go to his own place, I will not, when
37:42
Speaker 1: my time comes to die, bear one tooth against ye.
37:46
Speaker 1: I will die without fighting. That will at least save
37:49
Speaker 1: the pack. Three lives. More I cannot do. But if
37:53
Speaker 1: ye will, I can save ye the shame that comes
37:55
Speaker 1: of killing a brother against whom there is no fault,
37:58
Speaker 1: a brother spoken for and bought into the pack. According
38:01
Speaker 1: to the law of the jungle. He is a man.
38:05
Speaker 1: A man, a man, snarled the pack, and most of
38:09
Speaker 1: the wolves began to gather round sher Khan, whose tail
38:12
Speaker 1: was beginning to switch. Now the business is in thy hands,
38:17
Speaker 1: said Bakia to Mowgli. We can do no more except fight.
38:22
Speaker 1: Mowgli stood upright, the fire pot in his hands. Then
38:25
Speaker 1: he stretched out his arms and yawned in the face
38:28
Speaker 1: of the council. But he was furious with rage and sorrow,
38:31
Speaker 1: for wolf like the wolves had never told him how
38:34
Speaker 1: they hated him. Listen you, he cried, There is no
38:38
Speaker 1: need for this dog's jabber. Ye have told me so
38:41
Speaker 1: often to night that I am a man, and indeed
38:44
Speaker 1: I would have been a wolf with you to my
38:45
Speaker 1: life's end. That I feel your words are true. So
38:49
Speaker 1: I do not call ye my brothers any more but
38:51
Speaker 1: sag dogs, as a man should. What ye will do
38:56
Speaker 1: and what ye will not do is not yours. To
38:58
Speaker 1: say the matter is with me, and that we may
39:01
Speaker 1: see the matter more plainly, I the man, have brought
39:05
Speaker 1: here a little of the red flower, which ye dogs fear.
39:09
Speaker 1: He flung the fire pot on the ground, and some
39:11
Speaker 1: of the red coals lit a tuft of dried moss
39:14
Speaker 1: that flared up. As all the council drew back in
39:16
Speaker 1: terror before the leaping flames, Mowgli thrust his dead branch
39:20
Speaker 1: into the fire till the twigs lit and crackled, and
39:23
Speaker 1: whirled it above his head among the cowering wolves. Thou
39:27
Speaker 1: art the master, said Bakhiera in an undertone. Save Aquila
39:32
Speaker 1: from the death. He was ever thy friend. Akila, the
39:37
Speaker 1: grim old wolf, who had never asked for mercy in
39:39
Speaker 1: his life, gave one piteous look at Mowgli as the
39:42
Speaker 1: boy stood all naked, his long black hair tossing over
39:45
Speaker 1: his shoulders, in the light of the blazing branch that
39:48
Speaker 1: made the shadows jump and quiver. Good, said Mowgli, staring
39:53
Speaker 1: round slowly. I see that ye are dogs. I go
39:57
Speaker 1: from you to my own people, if they be my
39:59
Speaker 1: own peace. The jungle is shut to me, and I
40:03
Speaker 1: must forget your talk and your companionship. But I will
40:07
Speaker 1: be more merciful than ye are, because I was all
40:10
Speaker 1: but your brother in blood. I promise that when I
40:12
Speaker 1: am a man among men, I will not betray ye
40:15
Speaker 1: to men as ye have betrayed me. He kicked the
40:18
Speaker 1: fire with his foot and the sparks flew up. There
40:22
Speaker 1: shall be no war between any of us in the pack.
40:25
Speaker 1: But here is a debt to pay before I go.
40:28
Speaker 1: He strode forward to where Sheer Khan sat, blinking stupidly
40:31
Speaker 1: at the flames, and caught him by the tuft on
40:33
Speaker 1: his chin. Beghira followed. In case of accidents, up dog
40:39
Speaker 1: Mowgli cried, up when a man speaks, or I will
40:42
Speaker 1: set that coat ablaze. Sharr Khan's ears lay flat back
40:46
Speaker 1: on his head, and he shut his eyes, for the
40:48
Speaker 1: blazing branch was very near. This cattle killer said he
40:52
Speaker 1: would kill me in the council because he had not
40:54
Speaker 1: killed me when I was a cub. Thus, and thus
40:57
Speaker 1: then do we beat dogs when we are men. Stir
41:01
Speaker 1: a whisker lungry, and I ram the red flower down
41:03
Speaker 1: thy gullet. He beat Sharrkhan over the head with the branch,
41:07
Speaker 1: and the tiger whimpered and whined in an agony of fear.
41:12
Speaker 1: Pah singed, jungle cat. Go now, but remember when next
41:16
Speaker 1: I come to the council rock, as a man should come,
41:19
Speaker 1: it will be with Sheer Khan's hide on my head.
41:22
Speaker 1: For the rest Akilah goes free to live as he pleases.
41:26
Speaker 1: YE will not kill him, because that is not my will,
41:29
Speaker 1: Nor do I think that ye will sit here any longer,
41:32
Speaker 1: lolling out your tongues as though ye were somebody's instead
41:35
Speaker 1: of dogs, whom I drive out. Thus go. The fire
41:39
Speaker 1: was burning furiously at the end of the branch, and
41:41
Speaker 1: Mowgli struck right and left round the circle, and the
41:44
Speaker 1: wolves ran howling with the sparks burning their fur. At
41:48
Speaker 1: last there were only Akila, Bagheera and perhaps ten wolves
41:52
Speaker 1: that had taken Mowgli's part. Then something began to hurt
41:56
Speaker 1: Mowgli inside him as he had never been hurt in
41:59
Speaker 1: his life before, and he caught his breath and sobbed,
42:02
Speaker 1: and the tears ran down his face. What is it?
42:06
Speaker 1: What is it? He said? I do not wish to
42:09
Speaker 1: leave the jungle, and I do not know what this is.
42:12
Speaker 1: Am I dying? Bagheera, No little brother, that is only
42:17
Speaker 1: tears such as men use, said Baghera. Now I know
42:21
Speaker 1: thou art a man and a man's cub. No longer
42:25
Speaker 1: the jungle is shut indeed to thee. Henceforward, let them fall, Mowgli.
42:31
Speaker 1: They are only tears. So Mowgli sat and cried as
42:36
Speaker 1: though his heart would break, and he had never cried
42:38
Speaker 1: in all his life before. Now he said, I will
42:43
Speaker 1: go to men, but first I must say farewell to
42:47
Speaker 1: my mother. And he went to the cave where she
42:50
Speaker 1: lived with Father Wulf, and he cried on her coat,
42:53
Speaker 1: while the four cubs howled miserably. You will not forget me,
42:58
Speaker 1: said Mowgli. Never while we can follow a trail, said
43:02
Speaker 1: the cubs. Come to the foot of the hill when
43:05
Speaker 1: thou art a man, and we will talk to thee,
43:07
Speaker 1: and we will come into the croplands to play with
43:09
Speaker 1: thee by night. Come soon, said father Wulf. O wise,
43:14
Speaker 1: little frog, come again soon, for we be old, thy mother,
43:17
Speaker 1: and I come soon, said Mother Wulf, little naked son
43:22
Speaker 1: of mine. For listen, child of man, I loved thee
43:26
Speaker 1: more than ever I loved my cubs. I will surely come,
43:30
Speaker 1: said Mowgli. And when I come, it will be to
43:33
Speaker 1: lay out Sheer Khan's hide upon the council rock. Do
43:36
Speaker 1: not forget me. Tell them in the jungle, never to
43:39
Speaker 1: forget me. The dawn was beginning to break when Mowgli
43:43
Speaker 1: went down the hill side alone to meet those mysterious
43:47
Speaker 1: things that are called men hunting. Song of the sea,
43:53
Speaker 1: aee pack. As the dawn was breaking, the sambur belled
43:58
Speaker 1: once twice and again, and a doe leaped up, and
44:02
Speaker 1: a doe leaped up from the pond in the wood
44:04
Speaker 1: where the wild dear sup This eye scouting alone beheld
44:08
Speaker 1: once twice and again. As the dawn was breaking, the
44:11
Speaker 1: sambour belled once twice and again, and a wolf stole back,
44:15
Speaker 1: and a wolf stole back to carry the word to
44:18
Speaker 1: the waiting pack. And we sought, and we found, and
44:20
Speaker 1: we bade on his track once twice and again. As
44:24
Speaker 1: the dawn was breaking, the wolf pack yelled once twice
44:27
Speaker 1: and again. Feet in the jungle that leave no mark,
44:31
Speaker 1: eyes that can see in the dark, the dark tongue,
44:33
Speaker 1: give tongue to it. Hark oh, hark, once twice and again.
44:42
Speaker 1: End of Chapter one, Section two, Chapter two, Cause hunting.
44:49
Speaker 1: His spots are the joy of the leopard, His horns
44:52
Speaker 1: are the buffalo's pride. Be clean for the strength of
44:56
Speaker 1: the hunter is known by the gloss of his hide.
44:59
Speaker 1: If ye find that the bullet can toss you, or
45:02
Speaker 1: the heavy brown sambur can gore you, need not stop
45:05
Speaker 1: work to inform us. We knew it ten seasons before.
45:10
Speaker 1: Oppress not the cubs of the stranger, but hail them
45:13
Speaker 1: as sister and brother. For though they are little and fubbsy,
45:17
Speaker 1: it may be the bear is their mother. There is
45:20
Speaker 1: none like me, says the cub in the pride of
45:22
Speaker 1: his earliest kill. But the jungle is large, and the
45:26
Speaker 1: cub he is small. Let him think and be still,
45:30
Speaker 1: maxims of blue. All that is told here happened some
45:36
Speaker 1: time before Mowgli was turned out of the sea any
45:38
Speaker 1: wolf pack or revenged himself on sheer Khan the Tiger.
45:42
Speaker 1: It was in the days when Bulloo was teaching him
45:44
Speaker 1: the law of the jungle. The big, serious, old brown
45:49
Speaker 1: bear was delighted to have so quick a pupil. For
45:52
Speaker 1: the young wolves will only learn as much of the
45:54
Speaker 1: law of the jungle as applies to their own pack
45:57
Speaker 1: and tribe, and run away as soon as they can
45:59
Speaker 1: repeat the hunter verse. Feet that make no noise, eyes
46:02
Speaker 1: that can see in the dark ears that can hear
46:05
Speaker 1: the winds in their lairs, and sharp white teeth. All
46:08
Speaker 1: these things are the marks of our brothers, except Tobaki
46:11
Speaker 1: the jackal and the Hyaena, whom we hate. But Mowgli,
46:15
Speaker 1: as a man cub, had to learn a great deal
46:17
Speaker 1: more than this. Sometimes Beghira, the black panther would come
46:22
Speaker 1: lounging through the jungle to see how his pet was
46:25
Speaker 1: getting on, and would purr with his head against a
46:27
Speaker 1: tree while Mowgli recited the day's lesson to Blue. The
46:31
Speaker 1: boy could climb almost as well as he could swim,
46:34
Speaker 1: and swim almost as well as he could run. So Ballue,
46:38
Speaker 1: the teacher of the law, taught him the wood and
46:40
Speaker 1: water laws, how to tell a rotten branch from a
46:43
Speaker 1: sound one, how to speak politely to the wild bees
46:46
Speaker 1: when he came upon a hive of them fifty feet
46:48
Speaker 1: above the ground, what to say to Mang the bat
46:52
Speaker 1: when he disturbed him in the branches at midday, And
46:54
Speaker 1: how to warn the water snakes in the pools before
46:57
Speaker 1: he splashed down among them. None of the jungle people
47:01
Speaker 1: like being disturbed, and all are very ready to fly
47:04
Speaker 1: at an intruder. Then, too, Mowgli was taught the stranger's
47:09
Speaker 1: hunting call, which must be repeated aloud till it is answered.
47:12
Speaker 1: Whenever one of the jungle people hunts outside his own grounds.
47:16
Speaker 1: It means translated, give me leave to hunt here because
47:20
Speaker 1: I am hungry, And the answer is hunt then for food,
47:25
Speaker 1: but not for pleasure. All this will show you how
47:29
Speaker 1: much Mowgli had to learn by heart, and he grew
47:31
Speaker 1: very tired of saying the same thing over a hundred times.
47:35
Speaker 1: But as Balu said to Bagheera one day, when Mowgli
47:38
Speaker 1: had been cuffed and run off in a temper, a
47:42
Speaker 1: man's cub is a man's cub, and he must learn
47:45
Speaker 1: all the law of the jungle. But think how small
47:49
Speaker 1: he is, said the black panther, who would have spoiled
47:52
Speaker 1: Mowgli if he had had his own way. How can
47:55
Speaker 1: his little head carry all thy long talk? Is there
48:00
Speaker 1: anything in the jungle too little to be killed? No?
48:04
Speaker 1: That is why I teach him these things, And that
48:07
Speaker 1: is why I hit him very softly when he forgets softly?
48:13
Speaker 1: What dost thou know of softnessed? Old iron feet, baghera
48:16
Speaker 1: grunted his face is all bruised to day by thy softness.
48:21
Speaker 1: Ugh better he should be bruised from head to foot
48:26
Speaker 1: by me who love him, than that he should come
48:28
Speaker 1: to harm through ignorance, Blue answered very earnestly. I am
48:32
Speaker 1: now teaching him the master words of the jungle that
48:34
Speaker 1: shall protect him with the birds and the snake people,
48:37
Speaker 1: and all that hunt on four feet except his own pack.
48:41
Speaker 1: He can now claim protection if he will only remember
48:43
Speaker 1: the words from all the jungle. Is not that worth
48:47
Speaker 1: a little beating? Well? Look to it then, that thou
48:52
Speaker 1: dost not kill the man cub. He is no tree
48:55
Speaker 1: trunk to sharpen thy blunt claws upon. But what are
48:59
Speaker 1: these master words? I am more likely to give help
49:03
Speaker 1: than to ask it. The kihara stretched out one paw
49:06
Speaker 1: and admired the steel blue ripping chisel talons at the
49:09
Speaker 1: end of it. Still I should like to know. I
49:14
Speaker 1: will call Mowgli and he shall say them if he
49:17
Speaker 1: will come, little brother, my head is ringing like a
49:22
Speaker 1: bee tree, said a sullen little voice over their heads,
49:25
Speaker 1: and Mowgli slid down a tree trunk, very angry and indignant,
49:28
Speaker 1: adding as he reached the ground, I come for Bagheera,
49:32
Speaker 1: and not for thee fat old ballue. That is all
49:36
Speaker 1: one to me, said Bullo, though he was hurt and grieved.
49:40
Speaker 1: Tell Bagherra, then the master words of the jungle that
49:42
Speaker 1: I have taught thee this day, master words for which people,
49:46
Speaker 1: said Mowgli, delighted to show off. The jungle has many tongues.
49:51
Speaker 1: I know them all a little thou knowest, but not much,
49:56
Speaker 1: see o, Beghira. They never thank their teacher. Not one
50:00
Speaker 1: small wolfling has ever come back to thank Old Baloo
50:02
Speaker 1: for his teachings. Say the word for the hunting people, then,
50:06
Speaker 1: great scholar, we be of one blood. Ye, and I
50:11
Speaker 1: said Mowgli, giving the words the bare accent which all
50:13
Speaker 1: the hunting people use. Good. Now for the birds, Mowgli repeated,
50:19
Speaker 1: with the kite's whistle at the end of the sentence.
50:23
Speaker 1: Now for the snake people, said Baghiera. The answer was
50:26
Speaker 1: a perfectly indescribable hiss, and Mowgli kicked up his feet behind,
50:30
Speaker 1: clapped his hands together to applaud himself, and jumped on
50:33
Speaker 1: to Beghira's back, where he sat sideways, drumming with his
50:36
Speaker 1: heels on the glossy skin and making the worst faces
50:39
Speaker 1: he could think of at Ballue. There there that was
50:43
Speaker 1: worth a little bruise, said the brown bear tenderly. Some
50:47
Speaker 1: day thou wilt remember me. Then he turned aside to
50:50
Speaker 1: tell Baghiera how he had begged the master words from Hathi,
50:53
Speaker 1: the wild elephant, who knows all about these things, And
50:57
Speaker 1: how Hathi had taken Mowgli down to a pool to
50:59
Speaker 1: get the sword from a water snake because Balloo could
51:02
Speaker 1: not pronounce it, And how Mowgli was now reasonably safe
51:05
Speaker 1: against all accidents in the jungle because neither snake, bird,
51:09
Speaker 1: nor beast would hurt him. No one then is to
51:13
Speaker 1: be feared. Balu wound up, patting his big furry stomach
51:16
Speaker 1: with pride, except his own tribe, said Bagheera under his breath,
51:22
Speaker 1: and then allowed to Mowgli, have a care for my ribs,
51:25
Speaker 1: little brother. What is all this dancing up and down?
51:29
Speaker 1: Mowgli had been trying to make himself heard by pulling
51:32
Speaker 1: at Baghera's shoulder fur and kicking hard. When the two
51:35
Speaker 1: listened to him, he was shouting at the top of
51:37
Speaker 1: his voice. And so I shall have a tribe of
51:40
Speaker 1: my own and lead them through the branches all day long.
51:44
Speaker 1: What is this new folly, little dreamer of dreams, said Bagheera, Yes,
51:49
Speaker 1: and throw branches and dirt at old Balloo. Mowgli went on,
51:53
Speaker 1: They have promised me this ah woof Baloo's big paw
51:58
Speaker 1: scooped Mowgli off Bagheera's back, and as the boy lay
52:01
Speaker 1: between the big fore paws, he could see the bear
52:03
Speaker 1: was angry. Mowgli said, Balu, thou hast been talking with
52:08
Speaker 1: the bend or Log, the monkey people. Mowgli looked at
52:12
Speaker 1: Baghir to see if the panther was angry too, and
52:15
Speaker 1: Beghera's eyes were as hard as jadestones. Thou hast been
52:20
Speaker 1: with the monkey people, the gray apes, the people without
52:23
Speaker 1: a law, the eaters of everything that is great shame.
52:29
Speaker 1: When Baloo hurt my head, said Mowgli. He was still
52:32
Speaker 1: on his back. I went away, and the gray apes
52:35
Speaker 1: came down from the trees and had pity on me.
52:37
Speaker 1: No one else cared. He snuffled a little, the pity
52:42
Speaker 1: of the monkey people. Blue snorted, the stillness of the
52:46
Speaker 1: mountain stream, the cool of the summer sun, and then
52:50
Speaker 1: man Cub, and then and then They gave me nuts
52:55
Speaker 1: and pleasant things to eat. And they they carried me
52:58
Speaker 1: and their arms up to the top of the trees
52:59
Speaker 1: and said I was their blood brother, except that I
53:02
Speaker 1: had no tail, and should be their leader some day.
53:06
Speaker 1: They have no leader, said Bagheera. They lie, They have
53:10
Speaker 1: always lied. They were very kind and bade me come again.
53:16
Speaker 1: Why have I never been taken among the monkey people.
53:18
Speaker 1: They stand on their feet as I do. They do
53:21
Speaker 1: not hit me with hard paws. They play all day.
53:25
Speaker 1: Let me get up, bad balloo, Let me up. I
53:28
Speaker 1: will play with them again. Listen, man cub, said the bear,
53:33
Speaker 1: and his voice rumbled like thunder on a hot night.
53:36
Speaker 1: I have taught thee all the law of the jungle,
53:39
Speaker 1: for all the peoples of the jungle, except the monkey
53:41
Speaker 1: folk who live in the trees. They have no law.
53:45
Speaker 1: They are outcast. They have no speech of their own,
53:48
Speaker 1: but use the stolen words which they overhear when they
53:51
Speaker 1: listen and peep and wait up above in the branches.
53:55
Speaker 1: Their way is not our way. They are without leaders.
53:59
Speaker 1: They have no remembrance. They boast and chatter and pretend
54:03
Speaker 1: that they are a great people about to do great
54:05
Speaker 1: affairs in the jungle, But the falling of a nut
54:07
Speaker 1: turns their minds to laughter, and all is forgotten. We
54:11
Speaker 1: of the jungle have no dealings with them. We do
54:14
Speaker 1: not drink where the monkeys drink. We do not go
54:16
Speaker 1: where the monkeys go. We do not hunt where they hunt.
54:19
Speaker 1: We do not die where they die. Hast thou ever
54:22
Speaker 1: heard me speak of the band our log till to day? No,
54:27
Speaker 1: said Mowgli in a whisper, for the forest was very
54:30
Speaker 1: still now Blue had finished. The jungle people put them
54:34
Speaker 1: out of their mouths and out of their mind. They
54:37
Speaker 1: are very many, evil, dirty, shameless, and they desire, if
54:41
Speaker 1: they have any fixed desire, to be noticed by the
54:44
Speaker 1: jungle people. But we do not notice them, even when
54:48
Speaker 1: they throw nuts and filth on our heads. He had
54:51
Speaker 1: hardly spoken when a shower of nuts and twigs spattered
54:54
Speaker 1: down through the branches, and they could hear coughings and
54:57
Speaker 1: howlings and angry jumpings high up in the air among
54:59
Speaker 1: the branches. The monkey people are forbidden, said Blo, Forbidden
55:06
Speaker 1: to the jungle people. Remember forbidden, said Bakhiera. But I
55:12
Speaker 1: still think Ballue should have warned thee against them. I
55:17
Speaker 1: I how was I to guess? He would play with
55:19
Speaker 1: such dirt. The monkey people faugh, a fresh shower came
55:24
Speaker 1: down on their heads, and the two trotted away, taking
55:27
Speaker 1: Mowgli with them. What Baalu had said about the monkeys
55:30
Speaker 1: was perfectly true. They belonged to the tree tops, and
55:34
Speaker 1: as beasts, very seldom look up. There was no occasion
55:36
Speaker 1: for the monkeys and the jungle people to cross each
55:38
Speaker 1: other's path. But whenever they found a sick wolf, for
55:42
Speaker 1: a wounded tiger or bear, the monkeys would torment him
55:45
Speaker 1: and would throw sticks and nuts at any beast for
55:47
Speaker 1: fun and in the hope of being noticed. Then they
55:50
Speaker 1: would howl and shriek senseless songs and invite the jungle
55:53
Speaker 1: people to climb up their trees and fight them, or
55:56
Speaker 1: would start furious battles over nothing among themselves and lee
56:00
Speaker 1: of the dead monkeys where the jungle people could see them.
56:03
Speaker 1: They were always just going to have a leader and
56:06
Speaker 1: laws and customs of their own, but they never did
56:09
Speaker 1: because their memories would not hold over from day to day,
56:12
Speaker 1: and so they compromised things by making up a saying
56:15
Speaker 1: what the band our log think now, the jungle will
56:18
Speaker 1: think later, and that comforted them a great deal none
56:22
Speaker 1: of the beasts could reach them, but on the other hand,
56:25
Speaker 1: none of the beasts would notice them, and that was
56:28
Speaker 1: why they were so pleased when Mowgli came to play
56:30
Speaker 1: with them and they heard how angry Balloo was. They
56:35
Speaker 1: never meant to do any more. The bandar log never
56:38
Speaker 1: meant anything at all, but one of them invented what
56:41
Speaker 1: seemed to him a brilliant idea, and he told all
56:44
Speaker 1: the others that Mowgli would be a useful person to
56:47
Speaker 1: keep in the tribe because he could weave sticks together
56:50
Speaker 1: for protection from the wind, so if they caught him,
56:53
Speaker 1: they could make him teach them. Of course, Mogli, as
56:57
Speaker 1: a woodcutter's child, inherited all sorts of inns instincts and
57:01
Speaker 1: used to make little huts of fallen branches without thinking
57:04
Speaker 1: how he came to do it, and the monkey people
57:06
Speaker 1: watching in the trees considered his play most wonderful. This time,
57:11
Speaker 1: they said they were really going to have a leader
57:14
Speaker 1: and become the wisest people in the jungle, so wise
57:17
Speaker 1: that everyone else would notice and envy them. Therefore, they
57:21
Speaker 1: followed Blue and Baghera and Mowgli through the jungle very quietly,
57:26
Speaker 1: till it was time for the midday nap, and Mowgli,
57:29
Speaker 1: who was very much ashamed of himself, slept between the
57:32
Speaker 1: panther and the bear, resolving to have no more to
57:35
Speaker 1: do with the monkey people. The next thing he remembered
57:39
Speaker 1: was feeling hands on his legs and arms, hard, strong
57:43
Speaker 1: little hands, and then a swash of branches in his face,
57:47
Speaker 1: and then he was staring down through the swaying branches
57:50
Speaker 1: as Blue woke the jungle with his deep cries, and
57:52
Speaker 1: Bagera bounded up the trunk with every tooth bared. The
57:56
Speaker 1: bander Log howled with triumph and scuffled away to the
57:59
Speaker 1: upper branches, where Bagheera dared not follow, shouting he has
58:03
Speaker 1: noticed us, Bagheera has noticed us. All the jungle people
58:07
Speaker 1: admire us for our skill and our cunning. Then they
58:11
Speaker 1: began their flight. And the flight of the monkey people
58:14
Speaker 1: through tree Land is one of the things nobody can describe.
58:17
Speaker 1: They have their regular roads and cross roads, up hills
58:21
Speaker 1: and down hills, all laid out from fifty to seventy
58:24
Speaker 1: or a hundred feet above the ground, and by these
58:27
Speaker 1: they can travel even at night if necessary. Two of
58:31
Speaker 1: the strongest monkeys caught Mowgli under the arms and swung
58:34
Speaker 1: off with him through the tree tops twenty feet at
58:36
Speaker 1: a bound. Had they been alone, they could have gone
58:39
Speaker 1: twice as fast, but the boy's weight held them back.
58:44
Speaker 1: Sick and giddy as Mowgli was, he could not help
58:47
Speaker 1: enjoying the wild rush, though the glimpses of the earth
58:50
Speaker 1: far down below frightened him, and the terrible check and
58:53
Speaker 1: jerk at the end of the swing over nothing but
58:55
Speaker 1: empty air brought his heart between his teeth. His escort
58:59
Speaker 1: would brush him up a tree till he felt the
59:01
Speaker 1: thinnest topmost branches crackle and bend under them, and then,
59:05
Speaker 1: with a cough and a whoop, would fling themselves into
59:07
Speaker 1: the air outwards and downwards, and bring up, hanging by
59:11
Speaker 1: their hands or their feet, to the lower limbs of
59:13
Speaker 1: the next tree. Sometimes he could see for miles and
59:17
Speaker 1: miles across the still green jungle, as a man on
59:20
Speaker 1: the top of a mast can see for miles across
59:22
Speaker 1: the sea. And then the branches and leaves would lash
59:26
Speaker 1: him across the face, and he and his two guards
59:29
Speaker 1: would be almost down to earth again, so bounding and
59:33
Speaker 1: crashing and whooping and yelling. The whole tribe of band
59:36
Speaker 1: or Logs swept along the tree roads, with Mowgli their prisoner.
59:41
Speaker 1: For a time he was afraid of being dropped. Then
59:44
Speaker 1: he grew angry, but knew better than to struggle, And
59:47
Speaker 1: then he began to think. The first thing was to
59:51
Speaker 1: send back word to Ballue and bagheera, for at the
59:54
Speaker 1: pace the monkeys were going, he knew his friends would
59:56
Speaker 1: be left far behind. It was useless to look down,
1:00:00
Speaker 1: for he could only see the top sides of the branches,
1:00:03
Speaker 1: so he stared upwards and saw far away in the
1:00:06
Speaker 1: blue Chill the kite, balancing and wheeling as he kept
1:00:09
Speaker 1: watch over the jungle, waiting for things to die. Chill
1:00:14
Speaker 1: saw that the monkeys were carrying something and dropped a
1:00:16
Speaker 1: few hundred yards to find out whether their load was
1:00:19
Speaker 1: good to eat. He whistled with surprise when he saw
1:00:22
Speaker 1: Mowgli being dragged up to a tree top and heard
1:00:25
Speaker 1: him give the kite call for we be of one blood,
1:00:28
Speaker 1: thou and I. The waves of the branches closed over
1:00:33
Speaker 1: the boy, but Chill balanced away to the next tree
1:00:36
Speaker 1: in time to see the little brown face come back
1:00:38
Speaker 1: up again. Mark my trail Mowgli shouted, Tell Baloo of
1:00:43
Speaker 1: the sea and Epac and Bagheera of the council rock
1:00:47
Speaker 1: in whose name. Brother Chill had never seen Mowgli before,
1:00:51
Speaker 1: though of course he had heard of him, Mowgli the
1:00:54
Speaker 1: frog man cub. They call me mark my trail. The
1:00:59
Speaker 1: last towards were shrieked as he was being swung through
1:01:02
Speaker 1: the air, but Chill nodded and rose up till he
1:01:04
Speaker 1: looked no bigger than a speck of dust. And there
1:01:07
Speaker 1: he hung, watching with his telescope eyes the swaying of
1:01:10
Speaker 1: the tree tops as Mowgli's escort whirled along. They never
1:01:15
Speaker 1: go far, he said, with a chuckle. They never do
1:01:17
Speaker 1: what they set out to do, always pecking at new things.
1:01:21
Speaker 1: Are the bander log this time, if I have any eyesight,
1:01:25
Speaker 1: they have pecked down trouble for themselves, for Balloo is
1:01:28
Speaker 1: no fledgling, and beg Hira can, as I know, kill
1:01:31
Speaker 1: more than goats. So he rocked on his wings, his
1:01:34
Speaker 1: feet gathered up under him, and waited. Meantime, Balloo and
1:01:39
Speaker 1: Bagheera were furious with rage and grief. Bagheera climbed as
1:01:43
Speaker 1: he had never climbed before, but the thin branches broke
1:01:46
Speaker 1: beneath his weight, and he slipped down, his claws full
1:01:49
Speaker 1: of bark. Why didst thou not warn the man cub?
1:01:54
Speaker 1: He roared to poor Buloo, who had set off at
1:01:56
Speaker 1: a clumsy trot in the hope of overtaking the monkeys.
1:02:00
Speaker 1: What was the use of half slaying him with blows
1:02:02
Speaker 1: if thou didst not warn him? Haste, oh, haste, we
1:02:08
Speaker 1: we may catch them, Yet Blue panted at that speed,
1:02:13
Speaker 1: it would not tire a wounded cow. Teacher of the law,
1:02:17
Speaker 1: cub beater A mile of that rolling to and fro
1:02:20
Speaker 1: would burst thee open. Sit still and think, make a plan.
1:02:24
Speaker 1: This is no time for chasing. They may drop him
1:02:27
Speaker 1: if we follow too close. Arrula Ooo. They may have
1:02:32
Speaker 1: dropped him already, being tired of carrying him. Who can
1:02:36
Speaker 1: trust the bander log? Put dead bats on my head,
1:02:39
Speaker 1: give me black bones to eat, Roll me into the
1:02:42
Speaker 1: hives of the wild bees that I may be stung
1:02:44
Speaker 1: to death, and bury me with the hyaena, for I
1:02:47
Speaker 1: am the most miserable of bears. Arula la wahooa, oh, Mowgli, Mowgli.
1:02:54
Speaker 1: Why did I not warn thee against the monkey? Folk
1:02:57
Speaker 1: instead of breaking thy head. Now, perhaps I may have
1:03:00
Speaker 1: knocked the day's lesson out of his mind, and he
1:03:03
Speaker 1: will be alone in the jungle without the master words.
1:03:07
Speaker 1: Baloo clasped his paws over his ears and rolled to
1:03:10
Speaker 1: and fro, moaning. At least he gave me all the
1:03:14
Speaker 1: words correctly a little time ago, said Bakhera impatiently, Baloo,
1:03:18
Speaker 1: thou hast neither memory nor respect. What would the jungle
1:03:22
Speaker 1: think if I, the black panther, curled myself up like
1:03:26
Speaker 1: saw he the porcupine, and howled? What do I care
1:03:30
Speaker 1: what the jungle thinks. He may be dead by now,
1:03:34
Speaker 1: unless and until they drop him from the branches in
1:03:37
Speaker 1: sport or kill him out of idleness. I have no
1:03:40
Speaker 1: fear for the man cub. He is wise and well taught,
1:03:44
Speaker 1: and above all he has the eyes that make the
1:03:47
Speaker 1: jungle people afraid. But and it is a great evil.
1:03:51
Speaker 1: He is in the power of the bandar Log and they,
1:03:54
Speaker 1: because they live in trees, have no fear of any
1:03:57
Speaker 1: of our people. Kira licked one forepaw, thoughtfully, fool that
1:04:04
Speaker 1: I am, oh fat brown root digging fool that I am,
1:04:08
Speaker 1: said Balloo, uncoiling himself with a jerk. It is true
1:04:12
Speaker 1: what Hathi the wild elephant says to each his own fear,
1:04:16
Speaker 1: and they the bandar log fear. Caw the rock snake.
1:04:20
Speaker 1: He can climb as well as they can. He steals
1:04:23
Speaker 1: the young monkeys in the night. The whisper of his
1:04:26
Speaker 1: name makes their wicked tails cold. Let us go to Kaw.
1:04:31
Speaker 1: What will he do for us? He is not of
1:04:34
Speaker 1: our tribe, being footless and with most evil eyes, said Bagheera.
1:04:40
Speaker 1: He is very old and very cunning. Above all, he
1:04:43
Speaker 1: is always hungry, said Baloo. Hopefully, promise him many goats.
1:04:48
Speaker 1: He sleeps for a full month after he has once eaten.
1:04:51
Speaker 1: He may be asleep now. And even were he awake,
1:04:54
Speaker 1: what if he would rather kill his own goats? Bagheera,
1:04:58
Speaker 1: who did not know much about Kaw, was naturally suspicious.
1:05:03
Speaker 1: Then in that case, thou and I, together, old hunter,
1:05:06
Speaker 1: might make him see reason. Here Balu rubbed his faded
1:05:09
Speaker 1: brown shoulder against the panther, and they went off to
1:05:12
Speaker 1: look for Kaw the rock Python. They found him stretched
1:05:16
Speaker 1: out on a warm ledge in the afternoon sun, admiring
1:05:19
Speaker 1: his beautiful new coat, for he had been in retirement
1:05:22
Speaker 1: for the last ten days, changing his skin, and now
1:05:26
Speaker 1: he was very splendid, darting his big, blunt nosed head
1:05:29
Speaker 1: along the ground and twisting the thirty feet of his
1:05:32
Speaker 1: body into fantastic knots and curves, and licking his lips
1:05:35
Speaker 1: as he thought of his dinner to come. He has
1:05:40
Speaker 1: not eaten, said Balue, with a grunt of relief. As
1:05:42
Speaker 1: soon as he saw the beautifully mottled brown and yellow jacket.
1:05:46
Speaker 1: Be careful, bagheera. He is always a little blind after
1:05:49
Speaker 1: he has changed his skin, and very quick to strike.
1:05:54
Speaker 1: Kaw was not a poison snake. In fact, he rather
1:05:57
Speaker 1: despised the poison snakes as cowards. But his strength lay
1:06:01
Speaker 1: in his hug, and when he had once lapped his
1:06:03
Speaker 1: huge coils round anybody, there was no more to be said.
1:06:08
Speaker 1: Good hunting, cried Balloo, sitting up on his haunches. Like
1:06:12
Speaker 1: all snakes of his breed, Kaw was rather deaf and
1:06:15
Speaker 1: did not hear the call at first. Then he curled up,
1:06:18
Speaker 1: ready for any accident. His head lowered. Good hunting for
1:06:23
Speaker 1: us all, he answered, Oh, Ballou, what dost thou do here?
1:06:28
Speaker 1: Good hunting? Bighira, One of us at least needs food.
1:06:32
Speaker 1: Is there any news of game, afoot, a dough now
1:06:36
Speaker 1: or even a young buck. I am as empty as
1:06:38
Speaker 1: a dried well. We are hunting, said Ballu carelessly. He
1:06:44
Speaker 1: knew that you must not hurry Ka, he is too big.
1:06:48
Speaker 1: Give me permission to come with you, said Ka. A
1:06:51
Speaker 1: blow more or less is nothing to thee bighira or Balloo.
1:06:55
Speaker 1: But I I have to wait and wait for days
1:06:58
Speaker 1: in a wood path and climb half an on the
1:07:00
Speaker 1: mere chance of a young ape pshaw. The branches are
1:07:04
Speaker 1: not what they were when I was young. Rotten twigs
1:07:08
Speaker 1: and dried thows are they all? Maybe thy great weight
1:07:12
Speaker 1: has something to do with that matter, said Billoo. I
1:07:16
Speaker 1: am a fair length a fair length, said Ka, with
1:07:19
Speaker 1: a little pride. But for all that, it is the
1:07:22
Speaker 1: fault of this new grown timber. I came very near
1:07:25
Speaker 1: to falling on my last hunt, very near, indeed, and
1:07:29
Speaker 1: the noise of my slipping, for my tail was not
1:07:31
Speaker 1: tight wrapped round the tree waked the bandir log. And
1:07:35
Speaker 1: they called me most evil names, footless yellow earthworm, said
1:07:41
Speaker 1: Baghera under his whiskers, as though he were trying to
1:07:43
Speaker 1: remember something. Have they ever called me that? Said Ka,
1:07:50
Speaker 1: something of that kind? It was that they shouted to
1:07:53
Speaker 1: us last moon, but we never noticed them. They will
1:07:56
Speaker 1: say anything, even that thou had lost all thy teeth,
1:08:00
Speaker 1: and wilt not face anything bigger than a kid, because
1:08:03
Speaker 1: they are indeed shameless, these bander Log, because thou art
1:08:07
Speaker 1: afraid of the he goat's horns. Bagheera went on sweetly.
1:08:12
Speaker 1: Now a snake, especially a wary old python like Kaw,
1:08:15
Speaker 1: very seldom shows that he is angry. But Balloo and
1:08:19
Speaker 1: Bagheera could see the big swallowing muscles on either side
1:08:21
Speaker 1: of Ka's throat, ripple and bulge. The bander log have
1:08:26
Speaker 1: shifted their grounds, he said quietly. When I came up
1:08:30
Speaker 1: into the sun to day, I heard them whooping among
1:08:33
Speaker 1: the tree tops. It it is the bander log that
1:08:37
Speaker 1: we follow, now, said Bulloo, but the words stuck in
1:08:40
Speaker 1: his throat, for that was the first time in his
1:08:42
Speaker 1: memory that one of the jungle people had owned to
1:08:45
Speaker 1: being interested in the doings of the monkeys. Beyond doubt.
1:08:49
Speaker 1: Then it is no small thing that it takes two
1:08:52
Speaker 1: such hunters leaders in their own jungle. I am certain
1:08:56
Speaker 1: on the trail of the bander log, Kaw replied, courteous
1:09:00
Speaker 1: as he swelled with curiosity, indeed, Baloo began, I am
1:09:05
Speaker 1: no more than the old and sometimes very foolish teacher
1:09:08
Speaker 1: of the law to the sea any wolf cubs and
1:09:10
Speaker 1: Baghira here is Baghira, said the black panther, and his
1:09:15
Speaker 1: jaws shut with a snap, for he did not believe
1:09:18
Speaker 1: in being humble. The trouble is this, Ka, those nut
1:09:22
Speaker 1: stealers and pickers of palm leaves have stolen away our
1:09:26
Speaker 1: man cub, of whom thou hast perhaps heard. I heard
1:09:30
Speaker 1: some news from Sahi. His quills make him presumptuous of
1:09:35
Speaker 1: a man thing that was entered into a wolf pack.
1:09:38
Speaker 1: But I did not believe Sah. He is full of
1:09:41
Speaker 1: stories half heard and very badly told. But it is
1:09:46
Speaker 1: true he is such a man cub as never was,
1:09:49
Speaker 1: said Baloo, the best and wisest and boldest of man cubs,
1:09:53
Speaker 1: my own pupil, who shall make the name of Ballou
1:09:56
Speaker 1: famous throughout the jungles. And besides we love him Ka
1:10:03
Speaker 1: t st t s said Ka, waving his head to
1:10:06
Speaker 1: and fro. I also have known what love is. There
1:10:10
Speaker 1: are tales I could tell that that need a clear night,
1:10:14
Speaker 1: when we are all well fed to praise properly, said
1:10:17
Speaker 1: Bagheera quickly. Our man cub is in the hands of
1:10:20
Speaker 1: the bandar log now, and we know that of all
1:10:23
Speaker 1: the jungle people, they fear kaw alone. They fear me alone.
1:10:29
Speaker 1: They have good reasons, said Ka Chattering. Foolish, vain, vain,
1:10:34
Speaker 1: foolish and chattering are the monkeys. But a man thing
1:10:38
Speaker 1: in their hands is in no good luck. They grow
1:10:41
Speaker 1: tired of the nuts they pick and throw them down.
1:10:44
Speaker 1: They carry a branch half a day, meaning to do
1:10:47
Speaker 1: great things with it, and then they snap it in two.
1:10:51
Speaker 1: That man thing is not to be envied. They called
1:10:55
Speaker 1: me also yellow fish? Was it not? Worm worm? Earth worm?
1:11:01
Speaker 1: Said Bagheera, as well as other things which I cannot
1:11:05
Speaker 1: now say for shame. We must remind them to speak
1:11:09
Speaker 1: well of their master, ah sp We must help their
1:11:14
Speaker 1: wandering memories. Now whither went they with the cub? The
1:11:20
Speaker 1: jungle alone knows towards the sunset, I believe, said Baloo.
1:11:25
Speaker 1: We had thought that thou wouldstnow caw ay how I
1:11:30
Speaker 1: take them when they come in my way. But I
1:11:32
Speaker 1: do not hunt the bander log or frogs or green
1:11:36
Speaker 1: scum on a water hole, for that matters up up
1:11:43
Speaker 1: up up hillo Illo. Illo look up blue of the sea,
1:11:46
Speaker 1: any wolf pack. Balu looked up to see where the
1:11:49
Speaker 1: voice came from, and there was Chill the kite, sweeping
1:11:52
Speaker 1: down with the sun shining on the upturned flanges of
1:11:54
Speaker 1: his wings. It was near Chill's bedtime, but he had
1:11:58
Speaker 1: ranged all over the jungle looking for the bear and
1:12:00
Speaker 1: missed him in the thick foliage. What is it, said Baloo.
1:12:06
Speaker 1: I have seen Mowgli among the bander log. He bade
1:12:09
Speaker 1: me tell you. I watched the bander log have taken
1:12:12
Speaker 1: him beyond the river to the monkey city, to the
1:12:14
Speaker 1: cold lairs. They may stay there for a night, or
1:12:17
Speaker 1: ten nights or an hour. I have told the bats
1:12:19
Speaker 1: to watch through the dark time. That is my message.
1:12:23
Speaker 1: Good hunting all you below, full gorge, and a deep
1:12:27
Speaker 1: sleep to you. Chill, cried Bakhira. I will remember thee
1:12:31
Speaker 1: in my next kill, and put aside the head for
1:12:33
Speaker 1: thee alone. Oh, best of kites, it is nothing, it
1:12:38
Speaker 1: is nothing. The boy held the master word. I could
1:12:41
Speaker 1: have done no less, and Chill circled up again to
1:12:44
Speaker 1: his roost. He has not forgotten to use his tongue,
1:12:48
Speaker 1: said Baloo, with a chuckle of pride to think of
1:12:51
Speaker 1: one so young, remembering the master word for the birds too.
1:12:54
Speaker 1: While he was being pulled across the trees, it was
1:12:58
Speaker 1: most firmly driven in to him, said Bagheera. But I
1:13:01
Speaker 1: am proud of him. And now we must go to
1:13:04
Speaker 1: the Cold Lairs. They all knew where that place was,
1:13:08
Speaker 1: but few of the jungle people ever went there, because
1:13:11
Speaker 1: what they called the Cold Lairs was an old, deserted city,
1:13:14
Speaker 1: lost and buried in the jungle. And beasts seldom use
1:13:18
Speaker 1: a place that men have once used. The wild boar will,
1:13:21
Speaker 1: but the hunting tribes do not. Besides, the monkeys lived
1:13:25
Speaker 1: there as much as they could be said to live anywhere,
1:13:28
Speaker 1: and no self respecting animal would come within eyeshot of it,
1:13:31
Speaker 1: except in times of drought, when the half ruined tanks
1:13:34
Speaker 1: and reservoirs held a little water. It is half a
1:13:37
Speaker 1: night's journey at full speed, said Baghiera, and Balloo looked
1:13:41
Speaker 1: very serious. I will go as fast as I can,
1:13:45
Speaker 1: he said anxiously. We dare not wait for thee follow Ballou.
1:13:50
Speaker 1: We must go on the quick foot, Kaw and ay
1:13:55
Speaker 1: feet or no feet. I can keep abreast of all
1:13:57
Speaker 1: thy for said ka. Shortly, Balloo made one effort to hurry,
1:14:01
Speaker 1: but he had to sit down panting, and so they
1:14:04
Speaker 1: left him to come on later. While Bakia hurried forward
1:14:07
Speaker 1: at the quick panther canter, Ka said nothing but strive
1:14:11
Speaker 1: as Baghera might. The huge rock Python held level with him.
1:14:15
Speaker 1: When they came to a hill stream, Bakera gained because
1:14:18
Speaker 1: he bounded across, while Kaw swam his head and two
1:14:21
Speaker 1: feet of his neck clearing the water. But on level ground,
1:14:24
Speaker 1: Ka made up the distance by the broken lock that
1:14:28
Speaker 1: freed me, said Bakhia, when twilight had fallen. Thou art
1:14:31
Speaker 1: no slow goer. I am hungry, said Ka. Besides, they
1:14:37
Speaker 1: called me a speckled frog worm, earthworm and yellow to boot.
1:14:44
Speaker 1: All one let us go on, and Ka seemed to
1:14:47
Speaker 1: pour himself along the ground, finding the shortest road with
1:14:50
Speaker 1: his steady eyes and keeping to it. End of Chapter two,
1:14:56
Speaker 1: Part one, Chapter two, Part two. In the Cold Lairs,
1:15:02
Speaker 1: the monkey people were not thinking of Mowgli's friends at all.
1:15:07
Speaker 1: They had brought the boy to the lost city and
1:15:09
Speaker 1: were very pleased with themselves for the time. Mowgli had
1:15:13
Speaker 1: never seen an Indian city before, and though this was
1:15:16
Speaker 1: almost a heap of ruins, it seemed very wonderful and splendid.
1:15:21
Speaker 1: Some king had built it long ago on a little hill.
1:15:25
Speaker 1: You could still trace the stone causeways that led up
1:15:27
Speaker 1: to the ruined gates, where the last splinters of wood
1:15:30
Speaker 1: hung to the worn, rusted hinges. Trees had grown into
1:15:34
Speaker 1: and out of the walls. The battlements were tumbled down
1:15:37
Speaker 1: and decayed, and wild creepers hung out of the windows
1:15:40
Speaker 1: of the towers on the walls in bushy hanging clumps.
1:15:45
Speaker 1: A great roofless palace crowned the hill, and the marble
1:15:48
Speaker 1: of the courtyards and the fountains was split and stained
1:15:51
Speaker 1: with red and green, and the very cobblestones in the
1:15:54
Speaker 1: courtyard where the king's elephants used to live had been
1:15:57
Speaker 1: thrust up and apart by grasses and yeng trees. From
1:16:01
Speaker 1: the palace you could see the rows and rows of
1:16:04
Speaker 1: roofless houses that made up the city, looking like empty
1:16:07
Speaker 1: honeycombs filled with blackness, the shapeless block of stone that
1:16:11
Speaker 1: had been an idol in the square where four roads met,
1:16:15
Speaker 1: the pits and dimples at street corners where the public
1:16:18
Speaker 1: wells once stood, and the shattered domes of temples with
1:16:21
Speaker 1: wild figs sprouting on their sides. The monkeys called the
1:16:26
Speaker 1: place their city, and pretended to despise the jungle people
1:16:29
Speaker 1: because they lived in the forest. And yet they never
1:16:33
Speaker 1: knew what the buildings were made for, nor how to
1:16:36
Speaker 1: use them. They would sit in circles on the hall
1:16:39
Speaker 1: of the King's council Chamber and scratch for fleas and
1:16:42
Speaker 1: pretend to be men. Or they would run in and
1:16:45
Speaker 1: out of the roofless houses and collect pieces of plaster
1:16:48
Speaker 1: and old bricks in a corner and forget where they
1:16:51
Speaker 1: had hidden them, and fight and cry in scuffling crowds,
1:16:54
Speaker 1: and then break off to play up and down the
1:16:56
Speaker 1: terraces of the King's garden, where they would shake the
1:16:59
Speaker 1: rose trees and the oranges in sport to see the
1:17:02
Speaker 1: fruit and flowers fall. They explored all the passages and
1:17:06
Speaker 1: dark tunnels in the palace, and the hundreds of little
1:17:09
Speaker 1: dark rooms, but they never remembered what they had seen
1:17:12
Speaker 1: and what they had not, and so drifted about in
1:17:15
Speaker 1: ones and twos or crowds, telling each other that they
1:17:18
Speaker 1: were doing as men did. They drank at the tanks
1:17:22
Speaker 1: and made the water all muddy, and then they fought
1:17:24
Speaker 1: over it, and then they would all rush together in
1:17:27
Speaker 1: mobs and shout, there is no one in the jungle
1:17:30
Speaker 1: so wise and good, and clever and strong and gentle
1:17:33
Speaker 1: as the bend are log. Then all would begin again
1:17:37
Speaker 1: till they grew tired of the city and went back
1:17:39
Speaker 1: to the tree tops, hoping the jungle people would notice them. Mowgli,
1:17:45
Speaker 1: who had been trained under the law of the jungle,
1:17:47
Speaker 1: did not like or understand this kind of life. The
1:17:51
Speaker 1: monkeys dragged him into the cold lairs late in the afternoon,
1:17:55
Speaker 1: and instead of going to sleep as Mowgli would have
1:17:57
Speaker 1: done after a long journey, they joined hands and danced
1:18:00
Speaker 1: about and sang their foolish songs. One of the monkeys
1:18:04
Speaker 1: made a speech and told his companions that Mowgli's capture
1:18:07
Speaker 1: marked a new thing in the history of the bandar Log,
1:18:10
Speaker 1: for Mowgli was going to show them how to weave
1:18:13
Speaker 1: sticks and canes together as a protection against rain and cold.
1:18:18
Speaker 1: Mowgli picked up some creepers and began to work them
1:18:21
Speaker 1: in and out, and the monkeys tried to imitate, but
1:18:24
Speaker 1: in a very few minutes they lost interest and began
1:18:27
Speaker 1: to pull their friend's tails or jump up and down
1:18:29
Speaker 1: on all fours, coughing. I wish to eat, said Mowgli.
1:18:34
Speaker 1: I am a stranger in this part of the jungle.
1:18:37
Speaker 1: Bring me food or give me leave to hunt here.
1:18:41
Speaker 1: Twenty or thirty monkeys bounded away to bring him nuts
1:18:44
Speaker 1: and wild pawpaws, but they felt a fighting on the road,
1:18:47
Speaker 1: and it was too much trouble to go back with
1:18:49
Speaker 1: what was left of the fruit. Mowgli was sore and
1:18:51
Speaker 1: angry as well as hungry, and he roamed through the
1:18:54
Speaker 1: empty city, giving the stranger's hunting call from time to time,
1:18:58
Speaker 1: but no one answered him, and Mowgli felt that he
1:19:01
Speaker 1: had reached a very bad place. Indeed, all that Blue
1:19:05
Speaker 1: has said about the bander log is true, he thought
1:19:08
Speaker 1: to himself. They have no law, no hunting call, and
1:19:12
Speaker 1: no leaders, nothing but foolish words and little picking thievish hands.
1:19:17
Speaker 1: So if I am starved or killed here, it will
1:19:19
Speaker 1: be all my own fault. But I must try to
1:19:21
Speaker 1: return to my own jungle. Ballue will surely beat me,
1:19:25
Speaker 1: but that is better than chasing silly rose leaves with
1:19:27
Speaker 1: a bander log. No sooner had he walked to the
1:19:31
Speaker 1: city wall than the monkeys pulled him back telling him
1:19:34
Speaker 1: that he did not know how happy he was, and
1:19:36
Speaker 1: pinching him to make him grateful. He set his teeth
1:19:39
Speaker 1: and said nothing, but went with the shouting monkeys to
1:19:42
Speaker 1: a terrace above the red sandstone reservoirs that were half
1:19:45
Speaker 1: full of rain water. There was a ruined summer house
1:19:49
Speaker 1: of white marble in the center of the terrace, built
1:19:52
Speaker 1: for queens dead a hundred years ago. The domed roof
1:19:56
Speaker 1: had half fallen in and blocked up the underground passage
1:19:59
Speaker 1: from the palace by which the queens used to enter,
1:20:02
Speaker 1: But the walls were made of screens of marble tracery,
1:20:05
Speaker 1: beautiful milk white fretwork, set with agates and cornelians and
1:20:09
Speaker 1: jasper and lapis lazuli. And as the moon came up
1:20:12
Speaker 1: behind the hill, it shone through the open work, casting
1:20:16
Speaker 1: shadows on the ground like black velvet embroidery. Sore, sleepy
1:20:21
Speaker 1: and hungry as he was, Mowgli could not help laughing
1:20:24
Speaker 1: when the bander log began twenty at a time to
1:20:27
Speaker 1: tell him how great and wise and strong and gentle
1:20:29
Speaker 1: they were, and how foolish he was to wish to
1:20:32
Speaker 1: leave them. We are great, we are free, we are wonderful.
1:20:37
Speaker 1: We are the most wonderful people in all the jungle.
1:20:40
Speaker 1: We all say so, and so it must be true,
1:20:42
Speaker 1: they shouted. Now, as you are a new listener and
1:20:45
Speaker 1: can carry our words back to the jungle people, so
1:20:48
Speaker 1: that they may notice us in the future, we will
1:20:50
Speaker 1: tell you all about our most excellent selves. Mowgli made
1:20:54
Speaker 1: no objection, and the monkeys gathered by hundreds and hundreds
1:20:58
Speaker 1: on the terrace to listen to their own star speakers
1:21:00
Speaker 1: singing the praises of the bander Log, And whenever a
1:21:03
Speaker 1: speaker stopped for want of breath, they would all shout together.
1:21:06
Speaker 1: This is true, we all say so. Mowgli nodded and
1:21:10
Speaker 1: blinked and said yes when they asked him a question,
1:21:13
Speaker 1: and his head spun with all the noise to Poqui,
1:21:17
Speaker 1: the jackal must have fitten all these people, he said
1:21:20
Speaker 1: to himself, And now they have the madness. Certainly this
1:21:24
Speaker 1: is des wanie, the madness. Did they never go to sleep?
1:21:28
Speaker 1: Now there is a cloud coming to cover the moon.
1:21:31
Speaker 1: If it were only a big enough cloud, I might
1:21:33
Speaker 1: try to run away in the darkness. But I am tired.
1:21:38
Speaker 1: That same cloud was being watched by two good friends
1:21:40
Speaker 1: in the ruined ditch below the city wall. For Bagheera
1:21:44
Speaker 1: and Kaw, knowing well how dangerous the monkey people were
1:21:47
Speaker 1: in large numbers, did not wish to run any risks.
1:21:51
Speaker 1: The monkeys never fight unless they are a hundred to one,
1:21:54
Speaker 1: and few in the jungle care for those odds. I
1:21:58
Speaker 1: will go to the west, all Kaw whispered, and come
1:22:02
Speaker 1: swiftly down the slope of the ground in my favor.
1:22:05
Speaker 1: They will not throw themselves upon my back in their hundreds.
1:22:09
Speaker 1: But I know it, said Bagheera, would that baloo were here.
1:22:14
Speaker 1: But we must do what we can. When that cloud
1:22:17
Speaker 1: covers the moon, I shall go by the terrace. They
1:22:21
Speaker 1: hold some sort of council there over the boy. Good hunting,
1:22:26
Speaker 1: said Kaw grimly, and glided away to the west wall
1:22:30
Speaker 1: that happened to be the least ruined of any and
1:22:33
Speaker 1: the big snake was delayed awhile before he could find
1:22:35
Speaker 1: a way up the stones, the cloud hid the moon,
1:22:38
Speaker 1: and as Mowgli wondered what would come next, he heard
1:22:41
Speaker 1: Bagheera's light feet on the terrace. The black panther had
1:22:45
Speaker 1: raced up the slope almost without a sound, and was
1:22:48
Speaker 1: striking he knew better than to waste time in biting
1:22:51
Speaker 1: right and left. Among the monkeys who were seated round
1:22:53
Speaker 1: Mowgli in circles fifty and sixty deep, there was a
1:22:57
Speaker 1: howl of fright and rage, and then, as Baguire a
1:23:00
Speaker 1: trip on the rolling, kicking bodies beneath him, a monkey shouted,
1:23:04
Speaker 1: there's only one here, Kill him. Kill. A scuffling mass
1:23:08
Speaker 1: of monkeys, biting, scratching, tearing and pulling closed over Bagheera,
1:23:13
Speaker 1: while five or six laid hold of Mowgli, dragged him
1:23:16
Speaker 1: up the wall of the summer house, and pushed him
1:23:18
Speaker 1: through the whole of the broken dome. A man trained
1:23:21
Speaker 1: boy would have been badly bruised, for the fall was
1:23:24
Speaker 1: a good fifteen feet, but Mowgli fell as Balloo had
1:23:27
Speaker 1: taught him to fall, and landed on his feet. Stay there,
1:23:31
Speaker 1: shouted the monkeys, till we have killed thy friends, and
1:23:34
Speaker 1: later we will play with thee. If the poison people
1:23:37
Speaker 1: leave thee alive, we be of one blood, ye, And
1:23:41
Speaker 1: I said Mowgli, quickly giving the snake's call. He could
1:23:45
Speaker 1: hear rustling and hissing in the rubbish around him, and
1:23:48
Speaker 1: he gave the call a second time to make sure.
1:23:52
Speaker 1: Even so down hoods all said half a dozen low
1:23:57
Speaker 1: voices every ruin in India, because sooner or later a
1:24:01
Speaker 1: dwelling place of snakes and the old summer house was
1:24:03
Speaker 1: alive with cobras. Stand still, little brother, for thy feet
1:24:09
Speaker 1: may do us harm. Mowgli stood as quietly as he could,
1:24:13
Speaker 1: peering through the open work and listening to the furious
1:24:16
Speaker 1: din of the fight round the black panther, the yells
1:24:19
Speaker 1: and chatterings and scufflings, and Bakira's deep, hoarse cough as
1:24:23
Speaker 1: he backed and bucked and twisted and plunged under the
1:24:25
Speaker 1: heaps of the enemies. For the first time since he
1:24:29
Speaker 1: was born, Baghira was fighting for his life. Blue must
1:24:35
Speaker 1: be at hand. Baghira would not have come alone, Mowgli thought,
1:24:39
Speaker 1: And then he called aloud to the tank bagheera, roll
1:24:42
Speaker 1: to the water tanks, roll and plunge. Get to the water.
1:24:47
Speaker 1: Baghierra heard, and the cry that told him Mowgli was
1:24:50
Speaker 1: safe gave him new courage. He worked his way desperately,
1:24:54
Speaker 1: inch by inch, straight for the reservoirs, halting in silence.
1:24:58
Speaker 1: Then from the ruin wall nearest the jungle rose up
1:25:02
Speaker 1: the rumbling war shout of blue. The old bear had
1:25:05
Speaker 1: done his best, but he could not come before begheerra.
1:25:10
Speaker 1: He shouted, I am here, I climb, I haste ah, hoorrah.
1:25:16
Speaker 1: The stone slip under my feet, wait my coming. Almost
1:25:20
Speaker 1: infamous banned our log. He panted up the terrace, only
1:25:25
Speaker 1: to disappear to the head in a wave of monkeys.
1:25:27
Speaker 1: But he threw himself squarely on his haunches and spreading
1:25:31
Speaker 1: out his fore paws, hugged as many as he could hold,
1:25:34
Speaker 1: and then began to hit with ir regular bat bat bat,
1:25:37
Speaker 1: like the flipping strokes of a paddle wheel. A crash
1:25:41
Speaker 1: and a splash told Mowgli that Bagheera had fought his
1:25:43
Speaker 1: way to the tank, where the monkeys could not follow.
1:25:47
Speaker 1: The panther lay gasping for breath, his head just out
1:25:50
Speaker 1: of water, while the monkeys stood three deep on the
1:25:52
Speaker 1: red steps, dancing up and down with rage, ready to
1:25:55
Speaker 1: spring upon him from all sides if he came out
1:25:58
Speaker 1: to help Balloo. It was then that Baghier lifted up
1:26:01
Speaker 1: his dripping chin and in despair, gave the snake's call
1:26:04
Speaker 1: for protection. We be of one blood, ye and I
1:26:09
Speaker 1: for he believed that Ka had turned tail at the
1:26:11
Speaker 1: last minute. Even Bullue, half smothered under the monkeys on
1:26:15
Speaker 1: the edge of the terrace, could not help chuckling as
1:26:18
Speaker 1: he heard the black panther asking for help. Ka had
1:26:22
Speaker 1: only just worked his way over the west wall, landing
1:26:25
Speaker 1: with a wrench that dislodged a coping stone into the ditch.
1:26:29
Speaker 1: He had no intention of losing any advantage of the ground,
1:26:32
Speaker 1: and coiled and uncoiled himself once or twice to be
1:26:35
Speaker 1: sure that every foot of his long body was in
1:26:37
Speaker 1: working order. All that while the fight with Balloo went on,
1:26:42
Speaker 1: and the monkeys yelled in the tank round Bagheera and
1:26:45
Speaker 1: Mang the bat, flying to and fro, carried the news
1:26:47
Speaker 1: of the great battle over the jungle till even Hathy
1:26:50
Speaker 1: the wild elephant trumpeted, and far away, scattering bands of
1:26:54
Speaker 1: the monkey folk woke and came leaping along the tree
1:26:57
Speaker 1: roads to help their comrades in the cold lairs, and
1:27:00
Speaker 1: the noise of the fight roused all the day birds
1:27:02
Speaker 1: for miles round. Then Kaw came straight, quickly and anxious
1:27:07
Speaker 1: to kill. The fighting strength of a python is in
1:27:11
Speaker 1: the driving blow of his head, backed by all the
1:27:13
Speaker 1: strength and weight of his body. If you can imagine
1:27:16
Speaker 1: a lance, or a battering ram, or a hammer weighing
1:27:20
Speaker 1: nearly half a ton, driven by a cool, quiet mind
1:27:23
Speaker 1: limbing in the handle of it, you can roughly imagine
1:27:25
Speaker 1: what Kaw was like when he fought. A python four
1:27:29
Speaker 1: or five feet long can knock a man down if
1:27:32
Speaker 1: he hits him fairly in the chest, and Kaw was
1:27:35
Speaker 1: thirty feet long. As you know. His first stroke was
1:27:38
Speaker 1: delivered into the heart of the crowd. Round Blue was
1:27:41
Speaker 1: sent home with shut mouth, in silence, and there was
1:27:45
Speaker 1: no need of a second The monkeys scattered with cries
1:27:48
Speaker 1: of Kaw. It is Kaw, Run run. Generations of monkeys
1:27:54
Speaker 1: had been scared into good behavior by the stories their
1:27:56
Speaker 1: elders told them of Kaw, the knight beef, who could
1:27:59
Speaker 1: slip along the branches as quietly as moss grows and
1:28:02
Speaker 1: steal away the strongest monkey that ever lived, Of old Ka,
1:28:06
Speaker 1: who could make himself look so like a dead branch
1:28:09
Speaker 1: or a rotten stump, that the wisest were deceived till
1:28:12
Speaker 1: the branch caught them. Ka was everything that the monkeys
1:28:16
Speaker 1: feared in the jungle, for none of them knew the
1:28:18
Speaker 1: limits of his power. None of them could look him
1:28:21
Speaker 1: in the face, and none had ever come alive out
1:28:25
Speaker 1: of his hug. And so they ran, stammering with terror,
1:28:29
Speaker 1: to the walls and the roofs of the houses, and
1:28:32
Speaker 1: Blue drew a deep breath of relief. His fur was
1:28:36
Speaker 1: much thicker than Bagheera's, but he had suffered sorely in
1:28:39
Speaker 1: the fight. Then Kaw opened his mouth for the first
1:28:42
Speaker 1: time and spoke one long, hissing word, and the far
1:28:46
Speaker 1: away monkeys, hurrying to the defense of the cold lairs,
1:28:50
Speaker 1: stayed where they were, cowering till the loaded branches bent
1:28:54
Speaker 1: and crackled under them. The monkeys on the walls and
1:28:57
Speaker 1: the empty houses stopped their cries, and in the stillness
1:29:00
Speaker 1: that fell upon the city, Mowgli heard Bakira shaking his
1:29:04
Speaker 1: wet sides as he came up from the tank. Then
1:29:08
Speaker 1: the clamor broke out again. The monkeys leaped higher up
1:29:11
Speaker 1: on the walls. They clung round the necks of the
1:29:13
Speaker 1: big stone idols and shrieked as they skipped along the battlements,
1:29:17
Speaker 1: while Mowgli, dancing in the summer house, put his eye
1:29:20
Speaker 1: to the screenwork and hooted owl fashion between his front
1:29:23
Speaker 1: teeth to show his derision and contempt. Get the man
1:29:28
Speaker 1: cub out of that trap. I can do no more,
1:29:32
Speaker 1: Pekia gasped. Let us take the man cub and go.
1:29:36
Speaker 1: They may attack again. They will not move till I
1:29:41
Speaker 1: order them to stay. You so Kaw hissed, and the
1:29:45
Speaker 1: city was silent once more. I could not come before, brother,
1:29:50
Speaker 1: But I think I heard THEE call. This was to Bagheera.
1:29:55
Speaker 1: I I may have cried out in the battle Pegkuerra,
1:29:59
Speaker 1: answered Balloo. Art thou hurt. I am sure that they
1:30:04
Speaker 1: did not pull me into a hundred little bearlings, said
1:30:08
Speaker 1: Baloo gravely, shaking one leg after the other. Wow, I
1:30:11
Speaker 1: am sore. Kaw we owe THEE. I think our lives
1:30:16
Speaker 1: Bagheira and I no matter where is the manling here
1:30:23
Speaker 1: in a trap, I cannot climb out, cried Mowgli. The
1:30:27
Speaker 1: curve of the broken dome was above his head. Take
1:30:31
Speaker 1: him away. He dances like more at the peacock. He
1:30:34
Speaker 1: will crush our young, said the cobras inside Ha said
1:30:39
Speaker 1: Ka with a chuckle. He has friends everywhere. This manling.
1:30:43
Speaker 1: Stand back, Manling, and hide you o poisoned people. I
1:30:47
Speaker 1: break down the wall. Kaw looked carefully till he found
1:30:51
Speaker 1: a discolored crack in the marble tracery, showing a weak spot,
1:30:55
Speaker 1: made two or three light taps with his head to
1:30:57
Speaker 1: get the distance, and then, lifting up six feet of
1:31:00
Speaker 1: his body clear of the ground, sent home half a
1:31:03
Speaker 1: dozen full power smashing blows nose first. The screenwork broke
1:31:08
Speaker 1: and fell away in a cloud of dust and rubbish,
1:31:11
Speaker 1: and Mowgli leaped through the opening and flung himself between
1:31:14
Speaker 1: Baalu and Baghira, an arm around each big neck. Art
1:31:19
Speaker 1: thou hurt, said Balu, hugging him softly. I am sore, hungry,
1:31:25
Speaker 1: and not a little bruised. But oh, they have handled
1:31:28
Speaker 1: ye grievously, my brothers, Ye bleed others, also said Bagheera,
1:31:34
Speaker 1: licking his lips and looking at the monkey dead on
1:31:36
Speaker 1: the terrace and round the tank. It is nothing, It
1:31:40
Speaker 1: is nothing. If thou art safe, Oh, my pride of
1:31:43
Speaker 1: all little frogs, whimpered Balu. Of that we shall judge. Later,
1:31:49
Speaker 1: said Baghira, in a dry voice, that Mowgli did not
1:31:52
Speaker 1: at all like. But here is Kaw to whom we
1:31:55
Speaker 1: owe the battle, and thou owest thy life. Thank him
1:32:00
Speaker 1: according to our customs, Mowgli. Mowgli turned and saw the
1:32:05
Speaker 1: great python's head swaying a foot above his own. So
1:32:10
Speaker 1: this is the manling, said Kaw. Very soft is his skin,
1:32:15
Speaker 1: and he is not unlike the bander log. Have a care, Manling,
1:32:19
Speaker 1: that I do not mistake thee for a monkey. Some twilight,
1:32:22
Speaker 1: when I have newly changed my coat. We be of
1:32:26
Speaker 1: one blood, thou and I, Mowgli answered, I take my
1:32:30
Speaker 1: life from thee to night. My kill shall be thy kill.
1:32:34
Speaker 1: If ever thou art hungry, O Kaw, all, thanks, little brother,
1:32:39
Speaker 1: said Kaw, though his eyes twinkled. And what may so
1:32:43
Speaker 1: bold a hunter kill? I ask that I may follow
1:32:46
Speaker 1: when next he goes abroad. I kill nothing. I am
1:32:52
Speaker 1: too little, but I drive goats towards such as can
1:32:55
Speaker 1: use them. When thou art empty, come to me and
1:32:58
Speaker 1: see if I speak the truth. I have some skill
1:33:01
Speaker 1: in these. He held out his hands. And if ever
1:33:04
Speaker 1: thou art in a trap, I may pay the debt
1:33:06
Speaker 1: which I owe to Thee, to Bakhyra and to Ballou.
1:33:09
Speaker 1: Here good hunting to ye all my masters, well, said
1:33:14
Speaker 1: growled Blue. For Mowgli had returned thanks, very prettily. The
1:33:18
Speaker 1: python dropped his head lightly for a minute on Mowgli's shoulder.
1:33:22
Speaker 1: A brave heart and a courteous tongue, said he. They
1:33:26
Speaker 1: shall carry thee far through the jungle manling. But now
1:33:30
Speaker 1: go hence quickly with thy friends, go and sleep, for
1:33:33
Speaker 1: the moon sets and what follows. It is not well
1:33:36
Speaker 1: that thou shouldst see. The moon was sinking behind the hills,
1:33:40
Speaker 1: and the lines of trembling monkeys huddled together on the
1:33:43
Speaker 1: walls and battlements looked like ragged, shaky fringes of things.
1:33:48
Speaker 1: Balu went down to the tank for a drink, and
1:33:50
Speaker 1: Bakirra began to put his fur in order as Kaw
1:33:53
Speaker 1: glided out into the center of the terrace and brought
1:33:56
Speaker 1: his jaws together with a ringing snap that drew all
1:33:59
Speaker 1: the monkey's eyes upon him. The moon sets, he said,
1:34:04
Speaker 1: is there yet light enough to see? From the walls?
1:34:08
Speaker 1: Came a moan, like the wind in the tree tops.
1:34:11
Speaker 1: We see, O Kaw, good begins now the dance, the
1:34:18
Speaker 1: dance of the hunger of Kaw. Sit still and watch.
1:34:24
Speaker 1: He turned twice or thrice in a big circle, weaving
1:34:27
Speaker 1: his head from right to left. Then he began making
1:34:30
Speaker 1: loops and figures of eight with his body, and soft
1:34:33
Speaker 1: oozy triangles that melted into squares and five sided figures
1:34:38
Speaker 1: and coiled mounds, never resting, never hurrying, and never stopping
1:34:42
Speaker 1: his low humming song. It grew darker and darker, till
1:34:47
Speaker 1: at last the dragging, shifting coils disappeared, but they could
1:34:51
Speaker 1: hear the rustle of the scales. Blue and Bagheera stood
1:34:57
Speaker 1: still as stone, growling in their throats, neck hair bristling,
1:35:01
Speaker 1: and Mowgli watched and wondered. Bander Log said the voice
1:35:07
Speaker 1: of Kaw. At last, can ye stir foot or hand
1:35:10
Speaker 1: without my order? Speak? Without thy order? We cannot stir
1:35:15
Speaker 1: foot or hand? O Kaw good, Come all one pace
1:35:21
Speaker 1: nearer to me. The lines of the monkeys swayed forward helplessly,
1:35:26
Speaker 1: and Baloo and Bakhia took one stiff step forward with
1:35:30
Speaker 1: them nearer, hissed Kaw, and they all moved again. Mowgli
1:35:37
Speaker 1: laid his hands on Baloo and Bagheera to get them away,
1:35:40
Speaker 1: and the two great beasts started as though they had
1:35:43
Speaker 1: been waked from a dream. Keep thy hand on my shoulder,
1:35:47
Speaker 1: Bakhia whispered, keep it there, or I must go back,
1:35:51
Speaker 1: must go back to kaw ah. It is only old
1:35:57
Speaker 1: kaw making circles on the dust, said Mowgli. Let us go,
1:36:01
Speaker 1: and the three slipped off through a gap in the
1:36:03
Speaker 1: walls to the jungle. Whuff, said Bloo when he stood
1:36:08
Speaker 1: under the still trees again. Never more will I make
1:36:11
Speaker 1: an ally of kaw And he shook himself all over.
1:36:16
Speaker 1: He knows more than we, said Bakhira, trembling in a
1:36:20
Speaker 1: little time. Had I stayed, I should have walked down
1:36:23
Speaker 1: his throat. Many will walk by that road before the
1:36:28
Speaker 1: moon rises again, said Baloo. He will have good hunting
1:36:33
Speaker 1: after his own fashion. But what was the meaning of
1:36:37
Speaker 1: it all, said Mowgli, who did not know anything of
1:36:40
Speaker 1: a python's powers of fascination. I saw no more than
1:36:44
Speaker 1: a big snake making foolish circles till the dark came,
1:36:47
Speaker 1: and his nose was all sore. Ho ho, Mowgli, said
1:36:51
Speaker 1: Baghirra angrily. His nose was sore on thy account, as
1:36:56
Speaker 1: my ears and sides and paws, and Ballow's no and
1:37:00
Speaker 1: shoulders are bitten on thy account. Neither Balloo nor Pakhira
1:37:05
Speaker 1: will be able to hunt with pleasure. For many days.
1:37:10
Speaker 1: It is nothing, said Balloo. We have the man cub again. True,
1:37:16
Speaker 1: but he has cost us heavily in time which might
1:37:18
Speaker 1: have been spent in good hunting, in wounds, in hair,
1:37:23
Speaker 1: I am half plucked along my back, and last of all,
1:37:26
Speaker 1: in honor. For remember Mowgli, I who am the black panther,
1:37:33
Speaker 1: was forced to call upon Kaw for protection, and Balloo
1:37:37
Speaker 1: and I were both made stupid as little birds by
1:37:40
Speaker 1: the hunger dance. All this man cub came of thy
1:37:44
Speaker 1: playing with the banderlock. True, it is true, said Mowgli sorrowfully.
1:37:52
Speaker 1: I am an evil man cub, and my stomach is
1:37:54
Speaker 1: sad in me humph, what says the law of the
1:37:59
Speaker 1: jungle Ballu. Balu did not wish to bring Mowgli into
1:38:03
Speaker 1: any more trouble, but he could not tamper with the law,
1:38:07
Speaker 1: so he mumbled sorrow never stays punishment. But remember Bagheera,
1:38:12
Speaker 1: he is very little. I will remember, but he has
1:38:18
Speaker 1: done mischief and blows must be dealt. Now, Mowgli, hast
1:38:23
Speaker 1: thou anything to say nothing I did wrong, Balu, and
1:38:30
Speaker 1: thou art wounded. It is just Bagheera gave him half
1:38:35
Speaker 1: a dozen love taps. From a panther's point of view,
1:38:38
Speaker 1: they would hardly have waked one of his own cubs.
1:38:41
Speaker 1: But for a seven year old boy they amounted to
1:38:43
Speaker 1: as severe a beating as you could wish to avoid.
1:38:47
Speaker 1: When it was all over, Mowgli sneezed and picked himself
1:38:50
Speaker 1: up without a word. Now said Baghirra, Jump on my back,
1:38:55
Speaker 1: little brother, and we will go home. One of the
1:38:59
Speaker 1: beauties of the jungle law is that punishment settles all scores.
1:39:03
Speaker 1: There is no nagging. Afterwards, Mowgli laid his head down
1:39:08
Speaker 1: on Bakira's back and slept so deeply that he never
1:39:11
Speaker 1: waked when he was put down in the Home Cave
1:39:16
Speaker 1: Road song of the bander Log. Here we go in
1:39:21
Speaker 1: a flung festoon, half way up to the jealous moon.
1:39:25
Speaker 1: Don't you envy our pranceful bands? Don't you wish you
1:39:28
Speaker 1: had extra hands? Wouldn't you like it if your tails
1:39:31
Speaker 1: were so curved in the shape of a cupid's bow.
1:39:34
Speaker 1: Now you're angry, but never mind, brother, thy tail hangs
1:39:38
Speaker 1: down behind. Here we sit in a branchy row, thinking
1:39:41
Speaker 1: of beautiful things we know, dreaming of deeds that we
1:39:44
Speaker 1: mean to do all complete in a minute or two,
1:39:48
Speaker 1: something noble and wise and good done by merely wishing
1:39:51
Speaker 1: we could we forgotten. But never mind, brother, thy tail
1:39:55
Speaker 1: hangs down behind. All the talk we ever have heard,
1:39:59
Speaker 1: uttered by bat or beast or bird, hide or fin
1:40:02
Speaker 1: or scale or feather, jabber it quickly and all together, excellent, wonderful.
1:40:07
Speaker 1: Once again, now we are talking just like men. Let's
1:40:10
Speaker 1: pretend we are never mind. Brother, thy tail hangs down behind.
1:40:15
Speaker 1: This is the way of the monkey kind. Then join
1:40:18
Speaker 1: our leaping lines, that scumfish through the pines that rock
1:40:22
Speaker 1: it by, where light and high, the wild grape swings by,
1:40:25
Speaker 1: the rubbish in our wake, and the noble noise we make.
1:40:28
Speaker 1: Be sure, be sure, We're going to do some splendid things.
1:40:33
Speaker 1: End of Chapter two, Part two, Chapter three, Tiger Tiger.
1:40:41
Speaker 1: What if the hunting hunter bold brother? The watch was
1:40:45
Speaker 1: long and cold? What if the quarry ye went to
1:40:49
Speaker 1: kill brother? He crops in the jungle? Still, where is
1:40:54
Speaker 1: the power that made your pride? Brother? It ebbs from
1:40:59
Speaker 1: my flank? And where is the haste that ye hurry by? Brother?
1:41:06
Speaker 1: I go to my lair to die. When Mowgli left
1:41:11
Speaker 1: the wolf's cave after the fight with the pack at
1:41:13
Speaker 1: the council rock, he went down to the plowed lands
1:41:16
Speaker 1: where the villagers lived, but he would not stop there
1:41:19
Speaker 1: because it was too near to the jungle, and he
1:41:22
Speaker 1: knew that he had made at least one bad enemy
1:41:24
Speaker 1: at the council So he hurried on, keeping to the
1:41:28
Speaker 1: rough road that ran down the valley, and followed it
1:41:30
Speaker 1: of a steady jog trot for nearly twenty miles till
1:41:34
Speaker 1: he came to a country that he did not know.
1:41:37
Speaker 1: The valley opened out into a great plain, dotted over
1:41:40
Speaker 1: with rocks and cut up with ravines. At one end
1:41:43
Speaker 1: stood a little village, and at the other the thick
1:41:46
Speaker 1: jungle came down in a sweep to the grazing grounds
1:41:49
Speaker 1: and stopped there as though it had been cut off
1:41:51
Speaker 1: with a hoe. All over the plain, cattle and buffaloes
1:41:55
Speaker 1: were grazing, and when the little boys in charge of
1:41:58
Speaker 1: the herds saw Mowgli, they shouted and ran away, and
1:42:02
Speaker 1: the yellow pariah dogs that hang about every Indian village barked.
1:42:07
Speaker 1: Mowgli walked on for he was feeling hungry, and when
1:42:10
Speaker 1: he came to the village gate, he saw the big
1:42:12
Speaker 1: thorn bush that was drawn up before the gate at
1:42:14
Speaker 1: twilight pushed to one side. Humph, he said, for he
1:42:20
Speaker 1: had come across more than one such barricade, and his
1:42:22
Speaker 1: night rambles after things to eat. So man are afraid
1:42:26
Speaker 1: of the people of the jungle. Here also he sat
1:42:29
Speaker 1: down by the gate, and when a man came out,
1:42:32
Speaker 1: he stood up, opened his mouth and pointed down it
1:42:35
Speaker 1: to show that he wanted food. The man stared and
1:42:39
Speaker 1: ran back up the one street of the village, shouting
1:42:41
Speaker 1: for the priest, who was a big, fat man dressed
1:42:44
Speaker 1: in white with a red and yellow mark on his forehead.
1:42:48
Speaker 1: The priest came to the gate and with him at
1:42:51
Speaker 1: least a hundred people, who stared and talked and shouted
1:42:54
Speaker 1: and pointed at Mowgli. They have no manners, these men folk,
1:42:58
Speaker 1: said Mowgli to himself. Only the gray ape would behave
1:43:02
Speaker 1: as they do. So he threw back his long hair
1:43:06
Speaker 1: and frowned at the crowd. What is there to be
1:43:10
Speaker 1: afraid of, said the priest. Look at the marks on
1:43:12
Speaker 1: his arms and legs. They are the bites of wolves.
1:43:16
Speaker 1: He is but a wolf child run away from the jungle.
1:43:20
Speaker 1: Of course, in playing together the cubs had often nipped
1:43:23
Speaker 1: Mowgli harder than they intended, and there were white scars
1:43:26
Speaker 1: all over his arms and legs. But he would have
1:43:30
Speaker 1: been the last person in the world to call these bites,
1:43:33
Speaker 1: for he knew what real biting meant. Aarrey, aarrey said,
1:43:38
Speaker 1: two or three women together to be bitten by wolves.
1:43:41
Speaker 1: Poor child, he is a handsome boy. He has eyes
1:43:44
Speaker 1: like red fire. By my honor, monsieur, he is not
1:43:48
Speaker 1: unlike thy boy that was taken by the tiger. Let
1:43:52
Speaker 1: me look, said a woman with heavy copper rings on
1:43:55
Speaker 1: her wrists and ankles, and she peered at Mowgli under
1:43:58
Speaker 1: the palm of her hand. Indeed he is not. He
1:44:02
Speaker 1: is thinner, but he has the very look of my boy.
1:44:07
Speaker 1: The priest was a clever man, and he knew that
1:44:09
Speaker 1: Messua was wife to the richest villager in the place.
1:44:13
Speaker 1: So he looked up at the sky for a minute
1:44:15
Speaker 1: and said, solemnly, what the jungle has taken, the jungle
1:44:19
Speaker 1: has restored. Take the boy into thy house, my sister,
1:44:23
Speaker 1: and forget not to honor the priest who sees so
1:44:27
Speaker 1: far into the lives of men. Buy the bull that
1:44:31
Speaker 1: bought me, said Mowgli to himself. But all this talking
1:44:34
Speaker 1: is like another looking over by the pack. Well, if
1:44:38
Speaker 1: I am a man, a man, I must be. The
1:44:41
Speaker 1: crowd parted as the woman beckoned Mowgli to her hut,
1:44:45
Speaker 1: where there was a red lacquered bedstead, a great earthen
1:44:48
Speaker 1: grain chest with funny raised patterns on it, half a
1:44:51
Speaker 1: dozen copper cooking pots, an image of a Hindu god
1:44:54
Speaker 1: in a little alcove, and on the wall a real
1:44:57
Speaker 1: looking glass, such as they sell at the country fairs.
1:44:59
Speaker 1: For eight cents, she gave him a long drink of
1:45:03
Speaker 1: milk and some bread, and then she laid her hand
1:45:06
Speaker 1: on his head and looked into his eyes, for she
1:45:08
Speaker 1: thought perhaps that he might be her real son, come
1:45:11
Speaker 1: back from the jungle where the tiger had taken him.
1:45:15
Speaker 1: So she said, Natu, oh, natu. Mowgli did not show
1:45:20
Speaker 1: that he knew the name. Dost thou not remember the
1:45:23
Speaker 1: day when I gave thee thy new shoes? She touched
1:45:27
Speaker 1: his foot, and it was almost as hard as horn. No,
1:45:32
Speaker 1: she said, sorrowfully, these feet have never worn shoes. But
1:45:36
Speaker 1: thou art very like mine, na too, and thou shalt
1:45:39
Speaker 1: be my son Mowgli was uneasy because he had never
1:45:43
Speaker 1: been under a roof before. But as he looked at
1:45:46
Speaker 1: the thatch, he saw that he could tear it out
1:45:48
Speaker 1: at any time if you wanted to get away, and
1:45:51
Speaker 1: that the window had no fastenings. What is the good
1:45:55
Speaker 1: of a man, he said to himself at last, if
1:45:58
Speaker 1: he does not understand man's talk. Now, I am as
1:46:02
Speaker 1: silly and dumb as a man would be with us
1:46:04
Speaker 1: in the jungle. I must speak their talk. He had
1:46:09
Speaker 1: not learned while he was with the wolves to imitate
1:46:11
Speaker 1: the challenge of bucks in the jungle and the grunt
1:46:14
Speaker 1: of the little wild pig for fun. So as soon
1:46:18
Speaker 1: as Missua pronounced a word, Mowgli would imitate it almost perfectly,
1:46:22
Speaker 1: and before dark he had learned the name of many
1:46:24
Speaker 1: things in the hut. There was a difficulty at bedtime,
1:46:29
Speaker 1: because Mowgli would not sleep under anything that looked so
1:46:32
Speaker 1: like a panther trap as that hut. And when they
1:46:35
Speaker 1: shut the door, he went through the window. Give him
1:46:39
Speaker 1: his will, said missus husband. Remember he can never till
1:46:43
Speaker 1: now have slept on a bed. If he is indeed
1:46:45
Speaker 1: sent in the place of our son, he will not
1:46:48
Speaker 1: run away. So Mowgli stretched himself in some long, clean
1:46:53
Speaker 1: grass at the edge of the field. But before he
1:46:55
Speaker 1: had closed his eyes, a soft gray nose poked him
1:46:58
Speaker 1: under the chin. Phew, said Gray brother. He was the
1:47:03
Speaker 1: eldest of mother Wolf's cubs. This is a poor reward
1:47:06
Speaker 1: for following thee twenty miles. Thou smellest of wood, smoke
1:47:10
Speaker 1: and cattle altogether like a man. Already, wake, little brother,
1:47:15
Speaker 1: I bring news. Are all well in the jungle, said Mowgli,
1:47:20
Speaker 1: hugging him. All except the wolves that were burned with
1:47:24
Speaker 1: the red flower. Now listen. Sheer Khan has gone away
1:47:27
Speaker 1: to hunt far off till his coat grows again, for
1:47:30
Speaker 1: he is badly singed. When he returns, he swears that
1:47:33
Speaker 1: he will lay thy bones in the wing gunga. There
1:47:37
Speaker 1: are two words to that. I also have made a
1:47:40
Speaker 1: little promise. But news is always good. I am tired
1:47:44
Speaker 1: to night, very tired with new things, Gray brother. But
1:47:48
Speaker 1: bring me the news always. Thou wilt not forget that
1:47:52
Speaker 1: thou art a wolf. Men will not make THEE forget,
1:47:56
Speaker 1: said Gray Brother anxiously. Never, I will always remember that
1:48:01
Speaker 1: I love THEE and all in our cave. But also
1:48:04
Speaker 1: I will always remember that I have been cast out
1:48:06
Speaker 1: of the pack, and that thou mayest be cast out
1:48:11
Speaker 1: of another pack. Men are only men, little brother, and
1:48:16
Speaker 1: their talk is like the talk of frogs in a pond.
1:48:19
Speaker 1: When I come down here again, I will wait for
1:48:21
Speaker 1: thee in the bamboos at the edge of the grazing ground.
1:48:26
Speaker 1: For three months after that night, Mowgli hardly ever left
1:48:29
Speaker 1: the village gate. He was so busy learning the ways
1:48:31
Speaker 1: and customs of men. First he had to wear a
1:48:35
Speaker 1: cloth round him, which annoyed him horribly, and then he
1:48:38
Speaker 1: had to learn about money, which he did not in
1:48:40
Speaker 1: the least understand, and about plowing of which he did
1:48:44
Speaker 1: not see the use. Then the little children in the
1:48:47
Speaker 1: village made him very angry. Luckily, the law of the
1:48:51
Speaker 1: jungle had taught him to keep his temper, for in
1:48:53
Speaker 1: the jungle, life and food depend on keeping your temper.
1:48:58
Speaker 1: But when they made fun of him because he would
1:48:59
Speaker 1: not play games or fly kites, or because he mispronounced
1:49:03
Speaker 1: some word, only the knowledge that it was unsportsmanlike to
1:49:06
Speaker 1: kill little naked cubs kept him from picking them up
1:49:09
Speaker 1: and breaking them in two. He did not know his
1:49:12
Speaker 1: own strength in the least in the jungle, he knew
1:49:16
Speaker 1: he was weak compared with the beasts, but in the
1:49:18
Speaker 1: village people said that he was strong as a bull.
1:49:22
Speaker 1: He certainly had no notion of what fear was, for
1:49:25
Speaker 1: when the village priest told him that the god in
1:49:27
Speaker 1: the temple would be angry with him if he ate
1:49:29
Speaker 1: the priest's mangoes, he picked up the image, brought it
1:49:32
Speaker 1: over to the priest's house, and asked the priest to
1:49:34
Speaker 1: make the god angry and he would be happy to
1:49:37
Speaker 1: fight him. It was a horrible scandal, but the priest
1:49:41
Speaker 1: hushed it up, and Messu's husband paid much good silver
1:49:44
Speaker 1: to comfort the god. And Mowgli had not the faintest
1:49:47
Speaker 1: idea of the difference that cast makes between man and man.
1:49:51
Speaker 1: When the potter's donkey slipped in the clay pit, Mowgli
1:49:54
Speaker 1: hauled it out by the tail and helped to stack
1:49:57
Speaker 1: the pots for their journey to the market at Kanowara.
1:50:00
Speaker 1: That was very shocking too, for the potter is a
1:50:03
Speaker 1: low caste man, and his donkey is worse. When the
1:50:07
Speaker 1: priest scolded him, Mowgli threatened to put him on the
1:50:10
Speaker 1: donkey too, and the priest told missus husband that Mowgli
1:50:13
Speaker 1: had better be set to work as soon as possible,
1:50:16
Speaker 1: And the village headman told Mowgli that he would have
1:50:18
Speaker 1: to go out with the buffaloes the next day, and
1:50:21
Speaker 1: heard them while they grazed. No one was more pleased
1:50:25
Speaker 1: than Mowgli. And that night, because he had been appointed
1:50:28
Speaker 1: a servant of the village, as it were, he went
1:50:30
Speaker 1: off to a circle that met every evening on a
1:50:32
Speaker 1: masonry platform under a great fig tree. It was the
1:50:36
Speaker 1: village club, and the headman, and the watchman, and the
1:50:39
Speaker 1: barber who knew all the gossip of the village. An
1:50:42
Speaker 1: old Baldeo, the village hunter, who had a tower musket,
1:50:46
Speaker 1: met and smoked. The monkeys sat and talked in the
1:50:50
Speaker 1: upper branches. And there was a hole under the platform
1:50:52
Speaker 1: where a cobra lived, and he had his little platter
1:50:55
Speaker 1: of milk every night because he was sacred. And the
1:50:58
Speaker 1: old men sat around the tree and talked and pulled
1:51:01
Speaker 1: at the big hookahs the water pipes till far into
1:51:04
Speaker 1: the night. They told wonderful tales of gods and men
1:51:08
Speaker 1: and ghosts, and Buldeo told even more wonderful ones of
1:51:12
Speaker 1: the ways of beasts in the jungle till the eyes
1:51:14
Speaker 1: of the children sitting outside the circle bulged out of
1:51:17
Speaker 1: their heads. Most of the tales were about animals, for
1:51:21
Speaker 1: the jungle was always at their door. The deer and
1:51:25
Speaker 1: the wild pig grubbed up their crops, and now and
1:51:28
Speaker 1: again the tiger carried off a man at twilight within
1:51:31
Speaker 1: sight of the village gates. Mowgli, who naturally knew something
1:51:35
Speaker 1: about what they were talking of, had to cover his
1:51:38
Speaker 1: face not to show that he was laughing, while Buldeo,
1:51:41
Speaker 1: the tower musket across his knees, climbed on from one
1:51:44
Speaker 1: wonderful story to another, and Mowgli's shoulders shook. Buldeo was
1:51:49
Speaker 1: explaining how the tiger that had carried away Messua's son
1:51:53
Speaker 1: was a ghost tiger, and his body was inhabited by
1:51:55
Speaker 1: the ghost of a wicked old money lender who had
1:51:58
Speaker 1: died some years ago. And I know that this is true,
1:52:02
Speaker 1: he said, because poor Undas always limped from the blow
1:52:06
Speaker 1: that he got in a riot when his account books
1:52:08
Speaker 1: were burned. And the tiger that I speak of he
1:52:11
Speaker 1: limps too, for the tracks of his pads are unequal. True. True,
1:52:16
Speaker 1: that must be the truth, said the graybeards, nodding together.
1:52:21
Speaker 1: Are all these tales such cobwebs and moon talk? Said Mowgli.
1:52:25
Speaker 1: That tiger limps because he was born lame, as every
1:52:28
Speaker 1: one knows. To talk of the soul of a money
1:52:31
Speaker 1: lender in a beast that never had the courage of
1:52:33
Speaker 1: a jackal is child's talk. Bodeo was speechless with surprise
1:52:38
Speaker 1: for a moment, and the headman stared, Oho, it is
1:52:44
Speaker 1: the jungle, brat, is it? Said Budeo. If thou art
1:52:47
Speaker 1: so wise, better bring his hide to Caniwara, for the
1:52:50
Speaker 1: government has set a hundred rupees on his life. Better still,
1:52:54
Speaker 1: talk not when thy elder speak. Mowgli rose to go.
1:53:00
Speaker 1: All the evening I have lain here listening, he called
1:53:02
Speaker 1: back over his shoulder, And except once or twice, Baldeo
1:53:06
Speaker 1: has not said one word of truth concerning the jungle
1:53:09
Speaker 1: which is at his very doors. How then shall I
1:53:12
Speaker 1: believe the tales of ghosts and gods and goblins which
1:53:15
Speaker 1: he says he has seen. It is full time that
1:53:19
Speaker 1: boy went to herding, said the headman, while Buldeo puffed
1:53:22
Speaker 1: and snorted at Mowgli's impertinence. The custom of most Indian
1:53:27
Speaker 1: villages is for a few boys to take the cattle
1:53:30
Speaker 1: and buffaloes out to graze in the early morning and
1:53:32
Speaker 1: bring them back at night. And the very cattle that
1:53:35
Speaker 1: would trample a white man to death allow themselves to
1:53:38
Speaker 1: be banged and bullied and shouted at by children that
1:53:41
Speaker 1: hardly come up to their noses. So long as the
1:53:44
Speaker 1: boys keep with the herds, they are safe. For not
1:53:46
Speaker 1: even the tiger will charge a mob of cattle, but
1:53:50
Speaker 1: if they straggle to pick flowers or hunt lizards, they
1:53:53
Speaker 1: are sometimes carried off. Mowgli went through the village street
1:53:57
Speaker 1: in the dawn, sitting on the back of Rama, the
1:54:00
Speaker 1: great herd bull, and the slaty blue buffaloes with their long,
1:54:03
Speaker 1: backward sweeping horns and savage eyes, rose out of their
1:54:06
Speaker 1: buyers one by one and followed him, and Mowgli made
1:54:10
Speaker 1: it very clear to the children with him that he
1:54:12
Speaker 1: was the master. He beat the buffaloes with a long
1:54:15
Speaker 1: polished bamboo and told Kamya, one of the boys, to
1:54:19
Speaker 1: graze the cattle by themselves while he went on with
1:54:21
Speaker 1: the buffaloes, and to be very careful not to stray
1:54:24
Speaker 1: away from the herd. An Indian grazing ground is all
1:54:29
Speaker 1: rocks and scrubs and tussocks and little ravines, among which
1:54:33
Speaker 1: the herds scatter and disappear. The buffaloes generally keep to
1:54:36
Speaker 1: the pools and muddy places, where they lie wallowing or
1:54:40
Speaker 1: basking in the warm mud for hours. Mowgli drove them
1:54:43
Speaker 1: on to the edge of the plain where the wain
1:54:45
Speaker 1: Gunga came out of the jungle. And then he dropped
1:54:48
Speaker 1: from Rama's neck, trotted off to a bamboo clump and
1:54:51
Speaker 1: found Gray brother. Ah, said Gray brother, I have waited
1:54:56
Speaker 1: here very many days. What is the meaning of this
1:54:59
Speaker 1: cattle herding work? It is an order, said Mowgli. I
1:55:04
Speaker 1: am a village herder for a while. What news of
1:55:06
Speaker 1: sher Khan. He has come back to this country, and
1:55:11
Speaker 1: he has waited a long time for thee. Now he
1:55:14
Speaker 1: has gone off again, for the game is scarce. But
1:55:17
Speaker 1: he means to kill thee. Very good, said Mowgli. So
1:55:22
Speaker 1: long as he is away, do thou or one of
1:55:24
Speaker 1: the four brothers sit on that rock, so that I
1:55:27
Speaker 1: can see thee as I come out of the village.
1:55:29
Speaker 1: When he comes back, wait for me in the ravine
1:55:31
Speaker 1: by the dock tree in the center of the plain.
1:55:34
Speaker 1: We need not walk into sharr Khan's mouth. Then Mowgli
1:55:39
Speaker 1: picked out a shady place and lay down and slept
1:55:42
Speaker 1: while the buffaloes grazed round him. Herding in India is
1:55:46
Speaker 1: one of the laziest things in the world. The cattle
1:55:50
Speaker 1: move and crunch and lie down and move on again,
1:55:53
Speaker 1: and they do not even low. They only grunt, and
1:55:56
Speaker 1: the buffaloes very seldom say anything but get down into
1:55:59
Speaker 1: the muddy pools, one after another and work their way
1:56:02
Speaker 1: into the mud till only their noses and staring China
1:56:05
Speaker 1: blue eyes show above the surface. And then they lie
1:56:08
Speaker 1: like logs. The sun makes the rocks dance in the heat,
1:56:13
Speaker 1: and the herd children hear one kite never any more,
1:56:16
Speaker 1: whistling almost out of sight overhead, and they know that
1:56:20
Speaker 1: if they died, or a cow died, that kite would
1:56:23
Speaker 1: sweep down, and the next kite miles away would see
1:56:26
Speaker 1: him drop and follow, and the next and the next,
1:56:29
Speaker 1: and almost before they were dead, there would be a
1:56:32
Speaker 1: score of hungry kites come out of nowhere. Then they
1:56:36
Speaker 1: sleep and wake and sleep again, and weave little baskets
1:56:39
Speaker 1: of dried grass and put grasshoppers in them, or catch
1:56:42
Speaker 1: two praying mantises and make them fight, or string a
1:56:46
Speaker 1: necklace of red and black jungle nuts, or watch a
1:56:48
Speaker 1: lizard basking on a rock, or a snake hunting a
1:56:51
Speaker 1: frog near the wallows. Then they sing long, long songs,
1:56:56
Speaker 1: with odd native quavers at the end of them, and
1:56:59
Speaker 1: the day seems longer than most people's whole lives. And
1:57:03
Speaker 1: perhaps they make a mud castle with mud figures of
1:57:05
Speaker 1: men and horses and buffaloes, and put reeds into the
1:57:08
Speaker 1: men's hands, and pretend that they are kings and the
1:57:11
Speaker 1: figures are their armies, or that they are gods to
1:57:14
Speaker 1: be worshiped. Then evening comes, and the children call, and
1:57:18
Speaker 1: the buffaloes lumber up out of the sticky mud with
1:57:21
Speaker 1: noises like gunshots going off one after the other, and
1:57:25
Speaker 1: they all string across the gray plain back to the
1:57:27
Speaker 1: twinkling village lights. Day after day, Mowgli would lead the
1:57:32
Speaker 1: buffaloes out to their wallows, and day after day he
1:57:35
Speaker 1: would see gray brothers back a mile and a half
1:57:37
Speaker 1: away across the plain, so he knew that Shirrkan had
1:57:40
Speaker 1: not come back. And day after day he would lie
1:57:43
Speaker 1: on the grass listening to the noises round him, and
1:57:46
Speaker 1: dreaming of the old days in the jungle. If shirr
1:57:49
Speaker 1: Kan had made a false step with his lame paw
1:57:52
Speaker 1: up in the jungles by the wayne Gunga, Mowgli would
1:57:55
Speaker 1: have heard him. In those long still mornings. At last
1:57:59
Speaker 1: a day came when he did not see Gray Brother
1:58:01
Speaker 1: at the signal place, and he laughed and headed the
1:58:04
Speaker 1: buffaloes for the ravine by the dock tree, which was
1:58:07
Speaker 1: all covered with golden red flowers. There sat Gray Brother,
1:58:11
Speaker 1: every bristle on his back lifted. He has hidden for
1:58:16
Speaker 1: a month to throw thee off thy guard. He crossed
1:58:19
Speaker 1: the ranges last night with Tobaqui hot foot on thy trail,
1:58:22
Speaker 1: said the wolf, panting. Mowgli frowned. I am not afraid
1:58:27
Speaker 1: of Sharrkhan, but Tabakwe is very cunning. Have no fear,
1:58:32
Speaker 1: said Gray Brother, licking his lips a little. I met
1:58:36
Speaker 1: Tabakwei in the dawn. Now he is telling all his
1:58:39
Speaker 1: wisdom to the kites. But he told me everything before
1:58:42
Speaker 1: I broke his back. Sharrkhan's plan is to wait for
1:58:46
Speaker 1: thee at the village gate this evening. For thee and
1:58:48
Speaker 1: for no one else. He is lying up now in
1:58:52
Speaker 1: the big dry ravine of the Wayne Gunga. Has he
1:58:56
Speaker 1: eaten to day? Or does he hunt empty? Said Mowgli,
1:59:00
Speaker 1: For the answer meant life and death to him. He
1:59:03
Speaker 1: killed at dawn a pig, and he has drunk too,
1:59:07
Speaker 1: Remember sher Khan could never fast, even for the sake
1:59:10
Speaker 1: of revenge. Oh fool, fool, what a cub's cub? It
1:59:16
Speaker 1: is eaten and drunk too. And he thinks that I
1:59:18
Speaker 1: shall wait till he has slept. Now where does he
1:59:21
Speaker 1: lie up? If there were but ten of us, we
1:59:24
Speaker 1: might pull him down as he lies. These buffaloes will
1:59:27
Speaker 1: not charge unless they wind him, and I cannot speak
1:59:30
Speaker 1: their language. Can we get behind his track so that
1:59:33
Speaker 1: they may smell it? He swam far down the waing
1:59:36
Speaker 1: Gunga to cut that off, said gray brother. Tobaki told
1:59:40
Speaker 1: him that I know he would never have thought of
1:59:43
Speaker 1: it alone. Mowgli stood with his finger in his mouth, thinking,
1:59:48
Speaker 1: the big ravine of the Wayne Gunga that opens out
1:59:51
Speaker 1: on the plain not half a mile from here. I
1:59:54
Speaker 1: can take the herd round through the jungle to the
1:59:56
Speaker 1: head of the ravine and then sweep down. But he
1:59:59
Speaker 1: would slink out at the foot. We must block that end,
2:00:03
Speaker 1: Gray brother, canst thou cut the herd in two for me?
2:00:08
Speaker 1: Not I perhaps, But I have brought a wise helper.
2:00:12
Speaker 1: Gray brother trotted off and dropped into a hole. Then
2:00:15
Speaker 1: there lifted up a huge gray head that Mowgli knew well,
2:00:19
Speaker 1: and the hot air was filled with the most desolate
2:00:21
Speaker 1: cry of all the jungle, the hunting howl of a wolf.
2:00:25
Speaker 1: At midday, Aquila Akila, said Mowgli, clapping his hands. I
2:00:31
Speaker 1: might have known that thou wouldst not forget me. We
2:00:34
Speaker 1: have a big work in hand. Cut the herd in two, Akila.
2:00:37
Speaker 1: Keep the cows and calves together, and the bowls and
2:00:40
Speaker 1: the plow buffaloes by themselves. The two wolves ran Lady's
2:00:45
Speaker 1: chain fashion in and out of the herd, which snorted
2:00:48
Speaker 1: and threw up its head and separated into two clumps.
2:00:52
Speaker 1: In one, the cow buffaloes stood with their calves in
2:00:54
Speaker 1: the center and glared and pawed, ready if a wolf
2:00:57
Speaker 1: would only stay still to charge down and trample the
2:01:00
Speaker 1: life out of him. In the other, the bulls and
2:01:03
Speaker 1: the young bulls snorted and stamped, but though they looked
2:01:06
Speaker 1: more imposing they were much less dangerous, for they had
2:01:09
Speaker 1: no calves to protect. No six men could have divided
2:01:12
Speaker 1: the herd so neatly. What orders, panted Aquila. They are
2:01:17
Speaker 1: trying to join again. Mowgli slipped on to Rama's back.
2:01:22
Speaker 1: Drive the bulls away to the left, Aquila, gray Brother,
2:01:25
Speaker 1: when we are gone, hold the cows together and drive
2:01:27
Speaker 1: them into the foot of the ravine. How far, said
2:01:31
Speaker 1: Gray Brother, panting and snapping. Till the sides are higher
2:01:35
Speaker 1: than sher Khan can jump, shouted Mowgli. Keep them there
2:01:38
Speaker 1: till we come down. The bulls swept off as Aekila
2:01:42
Speaker 1: bade and Gray Brother stopped in front of the cows.
2:01:45
Speaker 1: They charged down on him, and he ran just before
2:01:48
Speaker 1: them to the foot of the ravine. As Aquila drove
2:01:50
Speaker 1: the bulls far to the left. Well done, another charge
2:01:55
Speaker 1: and they are fairly started. Careful now, careful, Aquila. A
2:01:59
Speaker 1: snap two much much and the bulls will charge. Hushah,
2:02:02
Speaker 1: this is wilder work than driving black buck? Didst thou
2:02:06
Speaker 1: think these creatures could move so swiftly? Mowgli called, I
2:02:11
Speaker 1: have have hunted these too in my time, gasped Tekila,
2:02:14
Speaker 1: and the dust Shall I turn them into the jungle.
2:02:18
Speaker 1: I turn swiftly turn them. Rama is mad with rage. Oh,
2:02:22
Speaker 1: if only I could tell him what I need of
2:02:24
Speaker 1: him to day. The bulls were turned to the right
2:02:28
Speaker 1: this time and crashed into the standing thicket. The other
2:02:31
Speaker 1: heard children watching with the cattle half a mile away,
2:02:34
Speaker 1: hurried to the village as fast as their legs could
2:02:36
Speaker 1: carry them, crying that the buffaloes had gone mad and
2:02:39
Speaker 1: run away. But Mowgli's plan was simple enough. All he
2:02:43
Speaker 1: wanted to do was to make a big circle up
2:02:46
Speaker 1: hill and get at the head of the ravine, and
2:02:48
Speaker 1: then take the bulls down it and catch sher Khan
2:02:50
Speaker 1: between the bulls and the cows, for he knew that
2:02:53
Speaker 1: after a meal and a full drink, shir Khan would
2:02:56
Speaker 1: not be in any condition to fight or to clamber
2:02:58
Speaker 1: up the sides of the ravine. He was soothing the
2:03:02
Speaker 1: buffaloes now by voice, and Akilah had dropped far to
2:03:05
Speaker 1: the rear, only whimpering once or twice to hurry the
2:03:08
Speaker 1: rear guard. It was a long, long circle, for they
2:03:12
Speaker 1: did not wish to get too near the ravine and
2:03:14
Speaker 1: give Shirrkan warning. At last, Mowgli rounded up the bewildered
2:03:18
Speaker 1: herd at the head of the ravine, on a grassy
2:03:20
Speaker 1: patch that sloped steeply down to the ravine itself. From
2:03:24
Speaker 1: that height you could see across the tops of the
2:03:26
Speaker 1: trees down to the plain below. But what Mowgli looked
2:03:29
Speaker 1: at was the sides of the ravine, and he saw
2:03:32
Speaker 1: with a great deal of satisfaction that they ran nearly
2:03:35
Speaker 1: straight up and down, while the vines and creepers that
2:03:38
Speaker 1: hung over them would give no foothold to a tiger
2:03:41
Speaker 1: who wanted to get out. Let them breathe, Akuila, he said,
2:03:45
Speaker 1: holding up his hand. They have not winded him yet.
2:03:48
Speaker 1: Let them breathe. I must tell Sharrkan, who comes We
2:03:53
Speaker 1: have him in the trap. End of Chapter three, Part one,
2:03:58
Speaker 1: Chapter three, part art too. He put his hands to
2:04:03
Speaker 1: his mouth and shouted down the ravine. It was almost
2:04:06
Speaker 1: like shouting down a tunnel, and the echoes jumped from
2:04:09
Speaker 1: rock to rock. After a long time, there came back
2:04:14
Speaker 1: the drawling, sleepy snarl of a full fed tiger just wakened.
2:04:19
Speaker 1: Who calls, said sheer Khan, And a splendid peacock fluttered
2:04:23
Speaker 1: up out of the ravines, screeching. I Mowgli cattle thief,
2:04:29
Speaker 1: it is time to come to the council. Rock down,
2:04:32
Speaker 1: hurry them down, Akila down, Rama down. The herd paused
2:04:37
Speaker 1: for an instant at the edge of the slope, but
2:04:39
Speaker 1: Akila gave tongue in the full hunting yell, and they
2:04:42
Speaker 1: pitched over, one after the other, just the steamers shoot rapids,
2:04:46
Speaker 1: the sand and stones spurting up round them. Once started,
2:04:50
Speaker 1: there was no chance of stopping, and before they were
2:04:53
Speaker 1: fairly in the bed of the ravine, Rama winded, shear
2:04:56
Speaker 1: Khan and bellowed. Ha Ha said Mowglia on his back,
2:05:00
Speaker 1: Now thou knowest, and the torrent of black horns, foaming muzzles,
2:05:05
Speaker 1: and staring eyes whirled down the ravine, just as boulders
2:05:09
Speaker 1: go down in flood time. The weaker buffaloes being shouldered
2:05:12
Speaker 1: out to the sides of the ravine, where they tore
2:05:14
Speaker 1: through the creepers, they knew what the business was before them.
2:05:18
Speaker 1: The terrible charge of the buffalo heard against which no
2:05:21
Speaker 1: tiger can hope to stand. Shir Kan heard the thunder
2:05:25
Speaker 1: of their hoofs, picked himself up and lumbered down the ravine,
2:05:28
Speaker 1: looking from side to side for some way of escape,
2:05:31
Speaker 1: but the walls of the ravine were straight, and he
2:05:34
Speaker 1: had to hold on heavy with his dinner and his drink.
2:05:37
Speaker 1: Willing to do anything rather than fight, The herd splashed
2:05:41
Speaker 1: through the pool he had just left, bellowing till the
2:05:43
Speaker 1: narrow cut rang. Mowgli heard an answering bellow from the
2:05:47
Speaker 1: foot of the ravine, saw sher Khan turn. The tiger
2:05:51
Speaker 1: knew if the worst came to the worst, it was
2:05:53
Speaker 1: better to meet the bulls than the cows with their calves.
2:05:56
Speaker 1: And then Rama tripped, stumbled, and went on again over
2:06:00
Speaker 1: something soft, and with the bulls at his heels, crashed
2:06:03
Speaker 1: full into the other herd, while the weaker buffaloes were
2:06:06
Speaker 1: lifted clean off their feet by the shock of the meeting.
2:06:09
Speaker 1: That charge carried both herds out into the plain, goring
2:06:13
Speaker 1: and stamping and snorting. Mowgli watched his time and slipped
2:06:17
Speaker 1: off Rama's neck, lying about him right and left with
2:06:20
Speaker 1: his stick. Quick, Aquila, break them up, scatter them, or
2:06:24
Speaker 1: they will be fighting one another. Drive them away. Aquila Hi, Rama, Hi, Hi, Hi,
2:06:29
Speaker 1: my children. Softly, now, softly, it is all over. Akila
2:06:35
Speaker 1: and gray brother ran to and fro nipping the buffalo's legs,
2:06:39
Speaker 1: and though the herd wheeled once to charge up the
2:06:41
Speaker 1: ravine again, Mowgli managed to turn Rama and the others
2:06:44
Speaker 1: followed him to the wallows. Sher Khan needed no more trampling.
2:06:50
Speaker 1: He was dead, and the kites were coming for him already. Brothers,
2:06:57
Speaker 1: that was a dog's death, said Mowgli, fling for the
2:07:00
Speaker 1: knife he always carried in a sheath round his neck,
2:07:02
Speaker 1: now that he lived with men. But he would never
2:07:05
Speaker 1: have shown fight. Waala. His hide will look well on
2:07:08
Speaker 1: the council rock. We must get to work swiftly. A
2:07:13
Speaker 1: boy trained among men would never have dreamed of skinning
2:07:16
Speaker 1: a ten foot tiger alone. But Mowgli knew better than
2:07:19
Speaker 1: any one else how an animal's skin is fitted on,
2:07:21
Speaker 1: and how it can be taken off. But it was
2:07:25
Speaker 1: hard work, and Mowgli slashed and tore and grunted for
2:07:28
Speaker 1: an hour, while the wolves lolled out their tongues or
2:07:31
Speaker 1: came forward and tugged as he ordered them. Presently a
2:07:34
Speaker 1: hand fell on his shoulder, and looking up, he saw
2:07:38
Speaker 1: Bulldeo with the tower musket. The children had told the
2:07:42
Speaker 1: village about the buffalo stampede. And Buldeo went out angrily,
2:07:45
Speaker 1: only too anxious to correct Mowgli for not taking better
2:07:48
Speaker 1: care of the herd. The wolves dropped out of sight
2:07:51
Speaker 1: as soon as they saw the man coming. What is
2:07:55
Speaker 1: this folly, said Buldeo angrily, to think that thou canst
2:07:59
Speaker 1: skin tiger? Where did the buffaloes kill him? It is
2:08:03
Speaker 1: the lame tiger too, and there is a hundred rupees
2:08:06
Speaker 1: on his head. Well, well, we will overlook thy letting
2:08:10
Speaker 1: the herd run off, and perhaps I will give thee
2:08:12
Speaker 1: one of the rupees of the reward when I have
2:08:14
Speaker 1: taken the skin to Conahuara. He fumbled in his waistcloth
2:08:19
Speaker 1: for flint and steel, and stooped down to sin sher
2:08:22
Speaker 1: Khan's whiskers. Most native hunters always sin to tiger's whiskers
2:08:26
Speaker 1: to prevent his ghost from haunting them. Hum said Mowgli
2:08:31
Speaker 1: half to himself, as he ripped back the skin of
2:08:33
Speaker 1: a forepaw. So thou wilt take the hide to Conahuara
2:08:37
Speaker 1: for the reward, and perhaps give me one rupee Now
2:08:40
Speaker 1: it is in my mind that I need the skin
2:08:42
Speaker 1: for my own use. Eh old man, take away that fire.
2:08:48
Speaker 1: What talk is this to the chief hunter of the village.
2:08:52
Speaker 1: Thy luck and the stupidity of thy buffaloes have helped
2:08:54
Speaker 1: thee to this kill. The tiger has just fed, or
2:08:57
Speaker 1: he would have gone twenty miles by this time. Thou
2:09:00
Speaker 1: canst not even skin him properly, little beggar brat, And
2:09:04
Speaker 1: forsooth I Buldeo must be told not to singe his whiskers. Mowgli,
2:09:09
Speaker 1: I will not give thee one anna of the reward,
2:09:11
Speaker 1: but only a very big beating. Leave the carcass, buy
2:09:17
Speaker 1: the bull that bought me, said Mowgli, who was trying
2:09:20
Speaker 1: to get at the shoulder. Must I stay babbling to
2:09:23
Speaker 1: an old ape all noon? Here, Aquila? This man plagues me. Budeo,
2:09:28
Speaker 1: who was still stooping over Sher Khan's head, found himself
2:09:31
Speaker 1: sprawling on the grass with a gray wolf standing over him,
2:09:34
Speaker 1: while Mowgli went on skinning as though he were alone
2:09:36
Speaker 1: in all India. Yes, he said between his teeth, thou
2:09:42
Speaker 1: art altogether right, Buldeo, Thou wilt never give me one
2:09:45
Speaker 1: anna of the reward. There is an old war between
2:09:49
Speaker 1: this lame tiger and myself, a very old war, and
2:09:53
Speaker 1: I have won to do Buldeo justice. If he had
2:09:58
Speaker 1: been ten years younger, he would have taken his chance
2:10:00
Speaker 1: with Aquila had he met the wolf in the woods.
2:10:03
Speaker 1: But a wolf who obeyed the orders of this boy,
2:10:05
Speaker 1: who had private wars with man eating tigers, was not
2:10:08
Speaker 1: a common animal. It was sorcery, magic of the worst kind,
2:10:13
Speaker 1: thought Buldeo, and he wondered whether the amulet round his
2:10:16
Speaker 1: neck would protect him. He lay as still less, still
2:10:20
Speaker 1: expecting every minute to see Mowgli turn into a tiger too. Maharaje,
2:10:26
Speaker 1: great king, he said at last, in a husky whisper. Yes,
2:10:32
Speaker 1: said Mowgli, without turning his head, chuckling a little. I
2:10:36
Speaker 1: am an old man. I did not know thou hast
2:10:40
Speaker 1: anything more than a herd's boy. May I rise up
2:10:43
Speaker 1: and go away? Or will thy servant tear me to pieces?
2:10:49
Speaker 1: Go and peace? Go with thee only another time. Do
2:10:53
Speaker 1: not meddle with my game. Let him go Aquila. Buldeo
2:10:58
Speaker 1: hobbled away to the village as fast as he could,
2:11:00
Speaker 1: looking back over his shoulder in case Mowgli should change
2:11:03
Speaker 1: into something terrible. When he got to the village, he
2:11:06
Speaker 1: told a tale of magic and enchantment and sorcery that
2:11:09
Speaker 1: made the priest look very grave. Mowgli went on with
2:11:14
Speaker 1: his work, but it was nearly twilight before he and
2:11:16
Speaker 1: the wolves had drawn the great gay skin clear of
2:11:19
Speaker 1: the body. Now we must hide this and take the
2:11:23
Speaker 1: buffaloes home. Help me to herd them Akilah. The herd
2:11:28
Speaker 1: rounded up in the misty twilight, and when they got
2:11:31
Speaker 1: near the village, Mowgli saw lights and heard the conscies
2:11:34
Speaker 1: and bells, and the temple blowing and banging. Half the
2:11:37
Speaker 1: village seemed to be waiting for him by the gate.
2:11:40
Speaker 1: That is because I have killed Sheer Khan, he said
2:11:43
Speaker 1: to himself. But a shower of stones whistled about his ears,
2:11:47
Speaker 1: and the villager shouted, sorcerer, wolf's brat, jungle demon, go away,
2:11:52
Speaker 1: get hens quickly, or the priest will turn thee into
2:11:54
Speaker 1: a wolf again. Shoot buldeo shoot the old tower musket
2:11:59
Speaker 1: went off. The bang, and a young buffalo bellowed in pain.
2:12:04
Speaker 1: More sorcery, shouted the villagers. He can turn bullets, bull
2:12:08
Speaker 1: day out. That was thy buffalo. Now what is this,
2:12:13
Speaker 1: said Mowgli, bewildered, as the stones flew thicker. They are
2:12:18
Speaker 1: not unlike the pack, these brothers of thine, said Aquila,
2:12:21
Speaker 1: sitting down composedly. It is in my head that if
2:12:25
Speaker 1: bullets mean anything, they would cast thee out wolf wolf's cub.
2:12:32
Speaker 1: Go away, shouted the priest, waving a sprig of the
2:12:35
Speaker 1: sacred Tulsi plant. Again. Last time it was because I
2:12:40
Speaker 1: was a man. This time it is because I am
2:12:43
Speaker 1: a wolf. Let us go, Aquila, a woman it was.
2:12:49
Speaker 1: Monsieur ran across to the herd and cried, oh, my son,
2:12:54
Speaker 1: my son. They say, thou art a sorcerer who can
2:12:57
Speaker 1: turn himself into a beast at will I do not believe.
2:13:00
Speaker 1: But go away, or they will kill thee. Baldeo says
2:13:04
Speaker 1: thou art a wizard. But I know thou hast avenge
2:13:07
Speaker 1: Nefheu's death. Come back, Mossuur, shouted the crowd. Come back,
2:13:13
Speaker 1: or we will stone thee. Mowgli laughed a little, short,
2:13:17
Speaker 1: ugly laugh, for a stone h hit him in the mouth.
2:13:22
Speaker 1: Run back, Monsieur, this is one of the foolish tales
2:13:25
Speaker 1: that they tell under the big tree at dusk. I
2:13:28
Speaker 1: have at least paid for thy son's life. Farewell and
2:13:32
Speaker 1: run quickly, for I shall send the herd in more
2:13:34
Speaker 1: swiftly than their brick baths. I am no wizard, monsieur.
2:13:38
Speaker 1: Farewell now once more, Akuila, he cried, bring the herd in.
2:13:45
Speaker 1: The buffaloes were anxious enough to get to the village.
2:13:48
Speaker 1: They hardly needed Akila's yell, but charged through the gate
2:13:51
Speaker 1: like a whirlwind, scattering the crowd right and left. Keep count,
2:13:56
Speaker 1: shouted Mowgli, scornfully. It may be that I have stolen
2:13:59
Speaker 1: one of them. Keep count, for I will do your
2:14:02
Speaker 1: hurting no more. Fare you well, children of men, and
2:14:06
Speaker 1: thank Missua that I did not come in with my
2:14:08
Speaker 1: wolves and hunt you up and down your street. He
2:14:12
Speaker 1: turned on his heel and walked away with the lone wolf,
2:14:15
Speaker 1: and as he looked up at the stars, he felt happy.
2:14:19
Speaker 1: No more sleeping in traps for me, Akilah, Let us
2:14:23
Speaker 1: get sher Khan's skin and go away. No, we will
2:14:26
Speaker 1: not hurt the village, for Missua was kind to me.
2:14:31
Speaker 1: When the moon rose over the plain, making it look
2:14:34
Speaker 1: all milky, the horrified villagers saw Mowgli with two wolves
2:14:38
Speaker 1: at his heels and a bundle on his head, trotting
2:14:41
Speaker 1: across at the steady wolf's trot that eats up the
2:14:43
Speaker 1: long miles like fire. Then they banged the temple's bells
2:14:48
Speaker 1: and blew the conscies louder than ever, and Massua cried,
2:14:52
Speaker 1: and Baldeo embroidered the story of his adventures in the
2:14:54
Speaker 1: jungle till he ended by saying that Akilah stood up
2:14:57
Speaker 1: on his hind legs and talked like a man. The
2:15:02
Speaker 1: moon was just going down when Mowgli and the two
2:15:05
Speaker 1: wolves came to the hill of the Council Rock, and
2:15:07
Speaker 1: they stopped at Mother Wulf's cave. They have cast me
2:15:12
Speaker 1: out from the man pack, mother shouted Mowgli. But I
2:15:15
Speaker 1: come with the hide of sheer Khan to keep my word.
2:15:19
Speaker 1: Mother Wulf walked stiffly from the cave with the cubs
2:15:22
Speaker 1: behind her, and her eyes glowed as she saw the skin.
2:15:27
Speaker 1: I told him on that day, when he crammed his
2:15:30
Speaker 1: head and shoulders into this cave, hunting for thy life,
2:15:33
Speaker 1: little frog, I told him that the hunter would be
2:15:36
Speaker 1: the hunted. It is well done, little brother, It is
2:15:43
Speaker 1: well done, said a deep voice in the thicket. We
2:15:47
Speaker 1: were lonely in the jungle without thee and Bagheera came
2:15:50
Speaker 1: running to Mowgli's bare feet. They clambered up the council
2:15:54
Speaker 1: Rock together, and Mowgli spread the skin out on the
2:15:56
Speaker 1: flat stone where Akila used to sit and pegged it
2:16:00
Speaker 1: down with four slivers of bamboo, and Aquila lay down
2:16:04
Speaker 1: upon it and called the old call to the council. Look,
2:16:08
Speaker 1: look well, o wolves, exactly as he had called it
2:16:11
Speaker 1: when Mowgli was first brought there. Ever since Aquila had
2:16:16
Speaker 1: been deposed, the pack had been without a leader, hunting
2:16:20
Speaker 1: and fighting at their own pleasure. But they answered the
2:16:23
Speaker 1: call from habit. And some of them were lame from
2:16:25
Speaker 1: the traps they had fallen into, and some limped from
2:16:28
Speaker 1: shot wounds, and some were mangy from eating bad food,
2:16:32
Speaker 1: and many were missing. But they came to the council
2:16:35
Speaker 1: Rock all that was left of them, and saw sheer
2:16:38
Speaker 1: khans striped hide on the rock and the huge claws
2:16:41
Speaker 1: dangling at the end of the empty dangling feet. Look well,
2:16:47
Speaker 1: o wolves, have I kept my word? Said Mowgli, and
2:16:51
Speaker 1: the wolves bade yes, and one tattered wolf howled, lead
2:16:56
Speaker 1: us again, oh, Aquila, Lead us again, o man cub,
2:16:59
Speaker 1: for we be sick of this lawlessness, and we would
2:17:02
Speaker 1: be the free people once more. Nay pried Bagheera that
2:17:07
Speaker 1: may not be. When ye are full fed, the madness
2:17:11
Speaker 1: may come upon you again. Not for nothing are ye
2:17:15
Speaker 1: called the free people. Ye fought for freedom, and it
2:17:18
Speaker 1: is yours. Eat it o wolves. Man pack and wolf
2:17:25
Speaker 1: pack have cast me out, said Mowgli. Now I will
2:17:28
Speaker 1: hunt alone in the jungle, and we will hunt with thee,
2:17:33
Speaker 1: said the four cubs. So Mowgli went away and hunted
2:17:37
Speaker 1: with the four cubs in the jungle from that day on.
2:17:40
Speaker 1: But he was not always alone, because years afterward he
2:17:44
Speaker 1: became a man and married. But that is a story
2:17:48
Speaker 1: for grown ups. Mowgli's song that he sang at the
2:17:55
Speaker 1: Council Rock when he danced on sher Khan's hide, the
2:18:00
Speaker 1: song of Mogli. I Mowgli am singing. Let the jungle
2:18:04
Speaker 1: listen to the things I have done. Shr Khan said
2:18:07
Speaker 1: he would kill, would kill at the gates in the twilight.
2:18:10
Speaker 1: He would kill Mogli. The frog he ate and drank
2:18:15
Speaker 1: drink deep, sher Khan. For when wilt thou drink again,
2:18:19
Speaker 1: sleep and dream of the kill. I am alone on
2:18:23
Speaker 1: the grazing grounds. Gray brother, Come to me, Come to me,
2:18:27
Speaker 1: lone wolf, for there is big game afoot. Bring up
2:18:31
Speaker 1: the great bull buffaloes and blue skinned herd bulls with
2:18:34
Speaker 1: the angry eyes, drive them to and fro as I order.
2:18:39
Speaker 1: Sleepest thou still, shar Khan, Wake o wake here come
2:18:44
Speaker 1: I and the bulls are behind Rama, the king of
2:18:47
Speaker 1: the buffaloes, stamped with his foot waters of the waing Gunga.
2:18:51
Speaker 1: Whither went shar Khan. He has not saw he to
2:18:56
Speaker 1: dig holes, nor more the peacock that he should fly.
2:18:59
Speaker 1: He is no mang the bat to hang in the branches,
2:19:02
Speaker 1: little bamboos that creak together. Tell me where he ran? Ah,
2:19:07
Speaker 1: he is there, Ahu, he is there. Under the feet
2:19:10
Speaker 1: of Rama lies the lame one. Up, sher Khan, up
2:19:14
Speaker 1: and kill. Here is meat. Break the necks of the bulls. Hush.
2:19:20
Speaker 1: He is asleep. We will not wake him, for his
2:19:23
Speaker 1: strength is very great. The kites have come down to
2:19:26
Speaker 1: see it. The black ants have come up to know it.
2:19:29
Speaker 1: There is a great assembly in his honor Allallah. I
2:19:34
Speaker 1: have no cloth to wrap me. The kites will see
2:19:37
Speaker 1: that I am naked. I am ashamed to meet all
2:19:39
Speaker 1: these people. Lend me thy coat, Sheer Khan, lend me
2:19:44
Speaker 1: thy gay striped coat, that I may go to the
2:19:47
Speaker 1: council rock by the bull that bought me. I made
2:19:50
Speaker 1: a promise, a little promise. Only thy coat is lacking.
2:19:54
Speaker 1: Before I keep my word with the knife, with the
2:19:58
Speaker 1: knife that men use, with the knife of the hunter,
2:20:00
Speaker 1: I will stoop down for my gift waters of the
2:20:04
Speaker 1: waine Gunga. Sheer Khan gives me his coat for the
2:20:07
Speaker 1: love that he bears me. Pole gray brother poll Aquila.
2:20:11
Speaker 1: Heavy is the hide of sheer Khan. The man pack
2:20:14
Speaker 1: are angry. They throw stones and talk child's talk. My
2:20:18
Speaker 1: mouth is bleeding. Let me run away through the night,
2:20:23
Speaker 1: through the hot night. Run swiftly with me, my brothers.
2:20:27
Speaker 1: We will leave the lights of the village and go
2:20:29
Speaker 1: to the low moon waters of the wain Gunga. The
2:20:33
Speaker 1: man pack have cast me out. I did them no harm,
2:20:36
Speaker 1: but they were afraid of me. Why wolf pack, ye
2:20:41
Speaker 1: have cast me out too. The jungle is shut to me,
2:20:44
Speaker 1: and the village gates are shut. Why as mang flies
2:20:50
Speaker 1: between the beasts and birds, so fly I between the
2:20:53
Speaker 1: village and the jungle. Why I dance on the hide
2:20:57
Speaker 1: of sheer Khan. But my heart is very heavy. My
2:21:00
Speaker 1: mouth is cut and wounded with the stones from the village.
2:21:03
Speaker 1: But my heart is very light because I have come
2:21:06
Speaker 1: back to the jungle. Why these two things fight together
2:21:11
Speaker 1: in me as the snakes fight in the spring. The
2:21:13
Speaker 1: water comes out of my eyes. Yet I laugh while
2:21:16
Speaker 1: it falls. Why I am two mowglis. But the hide
2:21:21
Speaker 1: of sher Khan is under my feet. All the jungle
2:21:24
Speaker 1: knows that I have killed sher Khan. Look look well,
2:21:28
Speaker 1: o wolves Ahi. My heart is heavy with the things
2:21:33
Speaker 1: that I do not understand. End of Chapter three, Part two,
2:21:40
Speaker 1: Chapter four, The White Seal, Part one. Oh hush thee,
2:21:47
Speaker 1: my baby. The night is behind us, and black are
2:21:51
Speaker 1: the waters that sparkled so green. The moon or the
2:21:54
Speaker 1: combers looks downward to find us at rest in the
2:21:57
Speaker 1: hollows that rustle between where billow meets billow. Then soft
2:22:02
Speaker 1: be thy pillow. Oh weary wee flipperling, curl at thy ease.
2:22:07
Speaker 1: The storm shall not wake thee, nor shark overtake thee
2:22:10
Speaker 1: asleep in the arms of the slow swinging seas seal lullaby.
2:22:18
Speaker 1: All these things happened several years ago at a place
2:22:21
Speaker 1: called Novastoshna, or Northeast Point, on the island of Saint Paul,
2:22:26
Speaker 1: Away and Away in the bering Sea. Lemershen the winter wren,
2:22:30
Speaker 1: told me the tale when he was blown on to
2:22:32
Speaker 1: the rigging of a steamer going to Japan, And I
2:22:35
Speaker 1: took him down into my cabin and warmed him and
2:22:37
Speaker 1: fed him for a couple of days till he was
2:22:39
Speaker 1: fit to fly back to Saint Paul again. Lmershin is
2:22:43
Speaker 1: a very quaint little bird, but he knows how to
2:22:45
Speaker 1: tell the truth. Nobody comes to Novastoshna except on business,
2:22:51
Speaker 1: and the only people who have regular business there are
2:22:53
Speaker 1: the seals. They come in the summer months by hundreds
2:22:56
Speaker 1: and hundreds of thousands out of the cold gray sea.
2:22:59
Speaker 1: For Novastoshna Beach has the finest accommodation for seals of
2:23:02
Speaker 1: any place in all the world. Sea Catch knew that,
2:23:06
Speaker 1: and every spring would swim from whatever place he happened
2:23:09
Speaker 1: to be in, would swim like a torpedo boat straight
2:23:12
Speaker 1: for Novastashna and spend a month fighting with his companions
2:23:15
Speaker 1: for a good place on the rocks as close to
2:23:17
Speaker 1: the sea as possible. Sea Catch was fifteen years old,
2:23:22
Speaker 1: a huge gray fur seal with almost a mane on
2:23:25
Speaker 1: his shoulders and long, wicked dog teeth. When he heaved
2:23:29
Speaker 1: himself up on his front flippers. He stood more than
2:23:32
Speaker 1: four feet clear of the ground, and his weight, if
2:23:35
Speaker 1: any one had been bold enough to weigh him, was
2:23:37
Speaker 1: nearly seven hundred pounds. He was scarred all over with
2:23:41
Speaker 1: the marks of savage fights, but he was always ready
2:23:44
Speaker 1: for just one fight more. He would put his head
2:23:47
Speaker 1: on one side, as though he were afraid to look
2:23:50
Speaker 1: his enemy in the face. Then he would shoot it
2:23:52
Speaker 1: out like lightning, And when the big teeth were firmly
2:23:55
Speaker 1: fixed on the other seal's neck, the other seal might
2:23:58
Speaker 1: get away if he could, but sea catch would not
2:24:01
Speaker 1: help him. Yet. Sea catch never chased a beaten seal,
2:24:05
Speaker 1: for that was against the rules of the beach. He
2:24:08
Speaker 1: only wanted room by the sea for his nursery. But
2:24:11
Speaker 1: as there were forty or fifty thousand other seals hunting
2:24:13
Speaker 1: for the same thing each spring, the whistling, bellowing, roaring
2:24:17
Speaker 1: and blowing on the beach was something frightful. From a
2:24:21
Speaker 1: little hill called Hutchinson's Hill, you could look over three
2:24:24
Speaker 1: and a half miles of ground covered with fighting seals,
2:24:27
Speaker 1: and the surf was dotted all over with the heads
2:24:29
Speaker 1: of seals hurrying to land and begin their share of fighting.
2:24:33
Speaker 1: They fought in the breakers, they fought in the sand,
2:24:36
Speaker 1: and they fought on the smooth worn basalt rocks of
2:24:39
Speaker 1: the nurseries. For they were just as stupid and unaccommodating
2:24:42
Speaker 1: as men. Their wives never came to the island until
2:24:45
Speaker 1: late in May or early in June, for they did
2:24:48
Speaker 1: not care to be torn to pieces. And the young two,
2:24:51
Speaker 1: three and four year old seals, who had not begun housekeeping,
2:24:55
Speaker 1: went inland about half a mile through the ranks of
2:24:57
Speaker 1: the fighters, and played about on the sand dune and
2:25:00
Speaker 1: droves and legions, and rubbed off every single green thing
2:25:03
Speaker 1: that grew. They were called the hollis Chickie the bachelors,
2:25:07
Speaker 1: and there were perhaps two or three hundred thousand of
2:25:10
Speaker 1: them at Novastoshna alone. Sea Ketch had just finished his
2:25:14
Speaker 1: forty fifth fight one spring when Matka, his soft, sleek,
2:25:19
Speaker 1: gentle eyed wife, came up out of the sea, and
2:25:21
Speaker 1: he caught her by the scruff of the neck and
2:25:23
Speaker 1: dumped her down on his reservation, saying, gruffly, late, as usual,
2:25:27
Speaker 1: where have you been. It was not the fashion for
2:25:31
Speaker 1: Sea Ketch to eat anything During the four months he
2:25:33
Speaker 1: stayed on the beeches, and so his temper was generally bad.
2:25:37
Speaker 1: Motka knew better than to answer back. She looked round
2:25:40
Speaker 1: and cooed, how thoughtful of you, you've taken the old
2:25:44
Speaker 1: place again. I should think, I had, said, Sea Ketch.
2:25:48
Speaker 1: Look at me. He was scratched and bleeding in twenty places,
2:25:52
Speaker 1: one eye was almost out, and his sides were torn
2:25:55
Speaker 1: to ribbons. Oh you men, you men, Matka said, fanning
2:26:01
Speaker 1: herself with her hind flipper. Why can't you be sensible
2:26:04
Speaker 1: and settle your places quietly? You look as though you
2:26:07
Speaker 1: had been fighting with a killer whale. I haven't been
2:26:11
Speaker 1: doing anything but fight since the middle of May. The
2:26:14
Speaker 1: beech is disgracefully crowded this season. I've met at least
2:26:17
Speaker 1: a hundred zeals from Lucannan Beach house hunting. Why can't
2:26:21
Speaker 1: people stay where they belong? I've often thought we should
2:26:25
Speaker 1: be much happier if we hauled out at Otter Island
2:26:28
Speaker 1: instead of this crowded place, said Maka Bah. Only the
2:26:32
Speaker 1: holliest chickie go to Otter Island. If we went there,
2:26:35
Speaker 1: they would say we were afraid. We must preserve appearances.
2:26:39
Speaker 1: My dear sea Ketch sank his head proudly between his
2:26:43
Speaker 1: fat shoulders and pretended to go to sleep for a
2:26:45
Speaker 1: few minutes, But all the time he was keeping a
2:26:48
Speaker 1: sharp lookout for a fight. Now that all the seals
2:26:51
Speaker 1: and their wives were on the land, you could hear
2:26:53
Speaker 1: their clamor miles out to sea, above the loudest gales
2:26:57
Speaker 1: and the lowest counting there were over a million seat
2:27:00
Speaker 1: on the beach, old seals, mother seals, tiny babies and
2:27:03
Speaker 1: hollis chickie fighting, scuffling, bleating, crawling and playing together, going
2:27:08
Speaker 1: down to the sea and coming up from it in
2:27:10
Speaker 1: gangs and regiments, lying over every foot of ground as
2:27:13
Speaker 1: far as the eye could reach, and skirmishing about in
2:27:16
Speaker 1: brigades through the fog. It is nearly always foggy at Novastoshna,
2:27:21
Speaker 1: except when the sun comes out and makes everything look
2:27:23
Speaker 1: all pearly and rainbow colored for a little while. Kodik
2:27:28
Speaker 1: Matka's baby was born in the middle of that confusion,
2:27:31
Speaker 1: and he was all head and shoulders, with pale, watery
2:27:34
Speaker 1: blue eyes, as tiny seals must be. But there was
2:27:37
Speaker 1: something about his coat that made his mother look at
2:27:39
Speaker 1: him very closely. Sea catch. She said, at last, are
2:27:45
Speaker 1: babies going to be white? Empty clan shells and dry
2:27:50
Speaker 1: seaweed snorted sea catch. There never has been such a
2:27:54
Speaker 1: thing in the world as a white seal. I can't
2:27:58
Speaker 1: help that, said Matka. There's going to be now, And
2:28:02
Speaker 1: she sang the low crooning seal song that all the
2:28:04
Speaker 1: mother seals sing to their babies. You mustn't swim till
2:28:08
Speaker 1: you're six weeks old, or your head will be sunk
2:28:11
Speaker 1: by your heels. And summer gales and killer whales are
2:28:14
Speaker 1: bad for baby seals, are bad for baby seals, dear rat,
2:28:18
Speaker 1: as bad as bad can be. But splash and grow strong,
2:28:21
Speaker 1: and you can't be wrong, child of the open sea.
2:28:26
Speaker 1: Of course, the little fellow did not understand the words
2:28:28
Speaker 1: at first. He paddled and scrambled about by his mother's side,
2:28:32
Speaker 1: and learned to scuffle out of the way when his
2:28:34
Speaker 1: father was fighting with another seal, and the two rolled
2:28:37
Speaker 1: and roared up and down the slippery rocks. Matka used
2:28:40
Speaker 1: to go to sea to get things to eat, and
2:28:42
Speaker 1: the baby was only fed once in two days. But
2:28:45
Speaker 1: then he ate all he could and throve upon it.
2:28:49
Speaker 1: The first thing he did was to crawl inland, and
2:28:52
Speaker 1: there he met tens of thousands of babies of his
2:28:55
Speaker 1: own age, and they played together like puppies, went to
2:28:57
Speaker 1: sleep on the clean sand, and played again. The old
2:29:01
Speaker 1: people in the nurseries took no notice of them, and
2:29:03
Speaker 1: the Hollis chickie kept to their own grounds, and the
2:29:06
Speaker 1: babies had a beautiful playtime. When Maka came back from
2:29:10
Speaker 1: her deep sea fishing, she would go straight to their
2:29:12
Speaker 1: playground and call as a sheep calls for a lamb,
2:29:15
Speaker 1: and wait until she heard Kodak bleat. Then she would
2:29:18
Speaker 1: take the straightest of straight lines in his direction, striking
2:29:21
Speaker 1: out with her fore flippers and knocking the youngsters head
2:29:24
Speaker 1: over heels, right and left. There were always a few
2:29:27
Speaker 1: hundred mothers hunting for their children through the playgrounds, and
2:29:30
Speaker 1: the babies were kept lively. But as Maka told Kodak,
2:29:35
Speaker 1: so long as you don't lie in muddy water and
2:29:37
Speaker 1: get mange, or rub the hard sand into a cutter scratch,
2:29:41
Speaker 1: and so long as you never go swimming when there
2:29:42
Speaker 1: is a heavy sea, nothing will hurt you. Here. Little
2:29:47
Speaker 1: seals can no more swim than little children. But they
2:29:50
Speaker 1: are unhappy till they learn the first time that Kodok
2:29:54
Speaker 1: went down to the sea, a wave carried him out
2:29:56
Speaker 1: beyond his depth, and his big head sank, and his
2:29:59
Speaker 1: little hind flippers flew up exactly as his mother told
2:30:01
Speaker 1: him in the song, and if the next wave had
2:30:03
Speaker 1: not thrown him back again, he would have drowned. After that,
2:30:07
Speaker 1: he learned to lie in a beech pool and let
2:30:09
Speaker 1: the wash of the waves just cover him and lift
2:30:12
Speaker 1: him up while he paddled, but he always kept his
2:30:14
Speaker 1: eye open for big waves that might hurt. He was
2:30:18
Speaker 1: two weeks learning to use his flippers and all that
2:30:21
Speaker 1: while he floundered in and out of the water, and
2:30:23
Speaker 1: coughed and grunted, and crawled up the beach and took
2:30:26
Speaker 1: cat naps on the sand and went back again, until
2:30:28
Speaker 1: at last he found that he truly belonged to the water.
2:30:32
Speaker 1: Then you can imagine the times that he had with
2:30:34
Speaker 1: his companions, ducking under the rollers, or coming in on
2:30:37
Speaker 1: top of a comber and landing with a swash in
2:30:39
Speaker 1: a splutter as the big wave went whirling far up
2:30:41
Speaker 1: the beach, or standing up on his tail and scratching
2:30:44
Speaker 1: his head as the old people did, or playing I'm
2:30:47
Speaker 1: the King of the Castle on slippery, weedy rocks that
2:30:50
Speaker 1: just stuck out of the wash now and then he
2:30:53
Speaker 1: would see a thin fin like a big shark's fin,
2:30:56
Speaker 1: drifting along close to the shore, and he knew that
2:30:59
Speaker 1: this was the killer whale, the grampus who eats young
2:31:02
Speaker 1: seals when he can get them. And Kodok would head
2:31:05
Speaker 1: for the beach like an arrow, and the fin would
2:31:07
Speaker 1: jig off slowly, as if it were looking for nothing
2:31:09
Speaker 1: at all. Late in October, the seals began to leave
2:31:13
Speaker 1: Saint Paul for the deep sea by families and tribes,
2:31:16
Speaker 1: and there was no more fighting over the nurseries, and
2:31:19
Speaker 1: the Hollis chickie played anywhere they liked. Next year, said
2:31:23
Speaker 1: Maka to Kodok, you will be a Hollis chicky, but
2:31:26
Speaker 1: this year you must learn how to catch fish. They
2:31:30
Speaker 1: set out together across the Pacific, and Maka showed Kodok
2:31:33
Speaker 1: how to sleep on his back, with his flippers tucked
2:31:35
Speaker 1: down by his side and his little nose just out
2:31:38
Speaker 1: of the water. No cradle is so comfortable as the long,
2:31:42
Speaker 1: rocking swell of the Pacific. When Kodok felt his skin
2:31:45
Speaker 1: tingle all over, Matka told him he was learning the
2:31:48
Speaker 1: feel of the water, and that tingly, prickly feelings meant
2:31:51
Speaker 1: bad weather coming, and he must swim hard and get
2:31:54
Speaker 1: away in a little time. She said, you'll know where
2:31:57
Speaker 1: to swim to. But just now we'll fall sea pig,
2:32:01
Speaker 1: for he is very wise. A school of porpoises was
2:32:05
Speaker 1: ducking and tearing through the water, and little Kodok followed
2:32:07
Speaker 1: them as fast as he could. How do you know
2:32:11
Speaker 1: where to go? He panted. The leader of the school
2:32:14
Speaker 1: rolled his white eye and ducked under my tail tingles, youngster,
2:32:19
Speaker 1: He said, that means there's a gale behind me. Come along.
2:32:23
Speaker 1: When you're south of the sticky water. He meant the
2:32:25
Speaker 1: equator and your tail tingles. That means there's a gale
2:32:28
Speaker 1: in front of you, and you must head north. Come along.
2:32:31
Speaker 1: The water feels bad here. This was one of very
2:32:36
Speaker 1: many things that Kodok learned, and he was always learning.
2:32:40
Speaker 1: Maka taught him to follow the cod and the halibut
2:32:42
Speaker 1: along the under sea banks and wrench the rockling out
2:32:45
Speaker 1: of his hole among the weeds. How to skirt the
2:32:47
Speaker 1: racks lying a hundred fathoms below water, and dart like
2:32:50
Speaker 1: a rifle bullet in at one porthole and out at
2:32:53
Speaker 1: another as the fishes ran. How to dance on top
2:32:56
Speaker 1: of the waves when the lightning was racing all over
2:32:58
Speaker 1: the sky, and wave his flipper politely to the stumpy
2:33:00
Speaker 1: tailed albatross and the man of war hawk as they
2:33:03
Speaker 1: went down the wind. How to jump three or four
2:33:06
Speaker 1: feet clear of the water like a dolphin, flippers close
2:33:09
Speaker 1: to the side and tail curved to leave the flying
2:33:12
Speaker 1: fish alone because they were all bony. To take the
2:33:14
Speaker 1: shoulder piece out of a cod at full speed ten
2:33:17
Speaker 1: fathoms deep. And never to stop to look at a
2:33:19
Speaker 1: boat or a ship, but particularly a row boat. At
2:33:23
Speaker 1: the end of six months, what Kodak did not know
2:33:26
Speaker 1: about deep sea fishing was not worth knowing, And all
2:33:29
Speaker 1: that time he never set flipper on dry ground. One day, however,
2:33:34
Speaker 1: as he was lying half asleep in the warm water
2:33:37
Speaker 1: somewhere off the island of Juan Fernandez, he felt faint
2:33:40
Speaker 1: and lazy all over, just as human people do when
2:33:42
Speaker 1: the spring is in their legs, and he remembered the good,
2:33:45
Speaker 1: firm beaches of Novastoshna, seven thousand miles away, the games
2:33:50
Speaker 1: his companions played, and the smell of the seaweed, the
2:33:53
Speaker 1: seal roar, and the fighting. That very minute he turned north,
2:33:57
Speaker 1: swimming steadily and as he went on, I met scores
2:34:00
Speaker 1: of his mates, all bound for the same place, and
2:34:03
Speaker 1: they said, greeting, Kodok. This year we are all Hollis
2:34:05
Speaker 1: Chicky and we can dance the fire dance and the
2:34:07
Speaker 1: breakers off Lucanan and play on the new grass. But
2:34:11
Speaker 1: where did you get that coat? Kodak's fur was almost
2:34:16
Speaker 1: pure white now, and though he felt very proud of it,
2:34:19
Speaker 1: he only said, swim quickly. My bones are aching for
2:34:22
Speaker 1: the land. And so they all came to the beaches
2:34:25
Speaker 1: where they had been born and heard the old seals
2:34:27
Speaker 1: their fathers fighting in the rolling mist. That night, Kodak
2:34:32
Speaker 1: danced the fire dance with the yearling seals. The sea
2:34:36
Speaker 1: is full of fire on summer nights, all the way
2:34:38
Speaker 1: down from Novastoshna to Lucanan, and each seal leaves awake
2:34:41
Speaker 1: like burning oil behind him, and a flaming flash where
2:34:44
Speaker 1: he jumps, and the waves break in great phosphorescent streaks
2:34:48
Speaker 1: and swirls. Then they went inland to the Hollis Chickie
2:34:51
Speaker 1: grounds and rolled up and down in the new wild
2:34:54
Speaker 1: wheat and told stories of what they had done while
2:34:56
Speaker 1: they had been at sea. They talked about the Pacific
2:35:00
Speaker 1: as boys would talk about a wood that they had
2:35:01
Speaker 1: been nutting in, and if any one had understood them,
2:35:04
Speaker 1: he could have gone away and made such a chart
2:35:06
Speaker 1: of that ocean as never was. The three and four
2:35:09
Speaker 1: year old Hollischickie romped down from Hutchinson's Hill, crying, out
2:35:13
Speaker 1: of the way, youngsters, the sea is deep and you
2:35:15
Speaker 1: don't know all that's in it yet, wait till you've
2:35:17
Speaker 1: rounded the horn. Hi, you yearling, where did you get
2:35:20
Speaker 1: that white coat? I didn't get it, said Kodok. It
2:35:25
Speaker 1: grew and just as he was going to roll the
2:35:28
Speaker 1: speaker over, a couple of black haired men with flat
2:35:31
Speaker 1: red faces came from behind a sand dune, and Kodok,
2:35:34
Speaker 1: who had never seen a man before, coughed and lowered
2:35:37
Speaker 1: his head. The Hollischickie just bundled off a few yards
2:35:41
Speaker 1: and sat staring stupidly. The men were no less than
2:35:45
Speaker 1: Kerrik bouderin chief of the seal hunters on the island,
2:35:48
Speaker 1: and pad Lemmon, his son. They came from the little
2:35:51
Speaker 1: village not half a mile from the seal nurseries, and
2:35:54
Speaker 1: they were deciding what seals they would drive up to
2:35:56
Speaker 1: the killing pens. For the seals were driven just like
2:35:59
Speaker 1: sheep to be turned into seal skin jackets. Later on, Oh,
2:36:04
Speaker 1: said Poddalammon. Look, there's a white seal Kaok Bhutan turned
2:36:10
Speaker 1: nearly white under his oil and smoke, for he was
2:36:13
Speaker 1: an alute and alutes are not clean people. Then he
2:36:17
Speaker 1: began to mutter a prayer. Don't touch him, paddle Leammon,
2:36:21
Speaker 1: there has never been a white seal since since I
2:36:24
Speaker 1: was born. Perhaps it is Old Zaharov's ghost. He was
2:36:27
Speaker 1: lost last year in the Big Gale. I'm not going
2:36:31
Speaker 1: near him, said paddal Leyman, he's unlucky. Do you really
2:36:35
Speaker 1: think he is Old Zaharov? Come back? I owe him
2:36:38
Speaker 1: for some gulls eggs. Don't look at him, said kaock
2:36:42
Speaker 1: head off. That drove of four year olds. The men
2:36:45
Speaker 1: ought to skin two hundred to day, but at the
2:36:47
Speaker 1: beginning of the season and they are new to the work,
2:36:49
Speaker 1: a hundred will do quick. Paddle Leammon rattled a pair
2:36:53
Speaker 1: of seals shoulder bones in front of a herd of
2:36:55
Speaker 1: hollows chicky, and they stopped dead, puffing and blowing. Then
2:36:59
Speaker 1: he's up near and the seals began to move and
2:37:02
Speaker 1: Kak headed them inland. And they never tried to get
2:37:05
Speaker 1: back to their companions. Hundreds and hundreds of thousands of
2:37:09
Speaker 1: seals watched them being driven, but they went on playing
2:37:12
Speaker 1: just the same. Kodok was the only one who asked questions,
2:37:16
Speaker 1: and none of his companions could tell him anything except
2:37:19
Speaker 1: that the men always drove seals in that way for
2:37:21
Speaker 1: six weeks or two months of every year. I am
2:37:25
Speaker 1: going to follow, he said, and his eyes nearly popped
2:37:28
Speaker 1: out of his head as he shuffled along in the
2:37:29
Speaker 1: wake of the herd. The white seal is coming after us,
2:37:34
Speaker 1: cried Padalaman. That's the first time a seal has ever
2:37:37
Speaker 1: come to the killing grounds alone. Hush, don't look behind you,
2:37:41
Speaker 1: said Kak. It is Aharaf's ghost. I must speak to
2:37:45
Speaker 1: the priest about this. The distance to the killing ground
2:37:50
Speaker 1: was only half a mile, but it took an hour
2:37:52
Speaker 1: to cover because if the seals went too fast, Kak
2:37:54
Speaker 1: knew they would get heated and then their fur would
2:37:56
Speaker 1: come off in patches when they were skinned. So they
2:37:59
Speaker 1: went on very slowly, passed Sea Lion's Neck, past Webster House,
2:38:03
Speaker 1: till they came to the salt house, just beyond the
2:38:06
Speaker 1: sight of the seals on the beach. Kodok followed, panting
2:38:10
Speaker 1: and wondering. He thought that he was at the world's end,
2:38:14
Speaker 1: but the roar of the seal nurseries behind him sounded
2:38:16
Speaker 1: as loud as the roar of a train in a tunnel.
2:38:19
Speaker 1: Then Kak sat down on the moss and pulled out
2:38:22
Speaker 1: a heavy pewter watch and let the drove cool off
2:38:25
Speaker 1: for thirty minutes, and Kodok could hear the fog de
2:38:28
Speaker 1: dripping off the brim of his cap. Then ten or
2:38:32
Speaker 1: twelve men, each with an iron bound club three or
2:38:34
Speaker 1: four feet long, came up, and Kaak pointed out one
2:38:38
Speaker 1: or two of the drove that were bitten by their
2:38:39
Speaker 1: companions are too hot, and the men kicked those aside
2:38:42
Speaker 1: with their heavy boots made of the skin of a
2:38:44
Speaker 1: walrus's throat. And then Kaak said let go, and then
2:38:50
Speaker 1: the men clubbed the seals on the head as fast
2:38:52
Speaker 1: as they could. Ten minutes later, little Kodok did not
2:38:56
Speaker 1: recognize his friends anymore, for their skins were ripped off
2:38:59
Speaker 1: from the nose to the hind, flippers whipped off and
2:39:02
Speaker 1: thrown down on the ground in a pile. That was
2:39:06
Speaker 1: enough for Kodok. He turned and galloped a seal can
2:39:10
Speaker 1: gallop very swiftly for a short time back to see
2:39:13
Speaker 1: his little new mustache bristling with horror at sea lion's neck,
2:39:18
Speaker 1: where the great sea lions sit on the edge of
2:39:20
Speaker 1: the surf. He flung himself flipper overhead into the cool
2:39:24
Speaker 1: water and rocked there, gasping miserably. What's here, said a
2:39:29
Speaker 1: sea lion gruffly. For as a rule, the sea lions
2:39:32
Speaker 1: keep themselves to themselves. Scoochny oughn skuchne. I'm lonesome, very lonesome,
2:39:39
Speaker 1: said Kodok. They're killing all the hollis chickie on all
2:39:42
Speaker 1: the beeches. The sea lion turned his head in shore nonsense,
2:39:48
Speaker 1: he said, your friends are making just as much noise
2:39:51
Speaker 1: as ever. You must have seen old Karok polishing off
2:39:54
Speaker 1: a drove. He's done that for thirty years. It's horrible,
2:40:00
Speaker 1: said Kodok, backing water as a wave went over him,
2:40:03
Speaker 1: and steadying himself with a screw stroke of his flippers
2:40:05
Speaker 1: that brought him all standing within three inches of a
2:40:08
Speaker 1: jagged edge of rock. Well done for a yearling, said
2:40:12
Speaker 1: the sea lion, who could appreciate good swimming. I suppose
2:40:16
Speaker 1: it is rather awful from your way of looking at it.
2:40:19
Speaker 1: But if you seals will come here year after year,
2:40:21
Speaker 1: of course the men get to know of it. And
2:40:24
Speaker 1: unless you can find an island where no men ever come,
2:40:26
Speaker 1: you will always be driven. Isn't there any such island?
2:40:31
Speaker 1: Began Kodok. I've followed the Poltoos the Halibut for twenty years,
2:40:37
Speaker 1: and I can't say I've found it yet. But look here,
2:40:40
Speaker 1: you seem to have a fondness for talking to your betters.
2:40:43
Speaker 1: Supposing you go to Walrus Islet and talk to Sievitch,
2:40:46
Speaker 1: he may know something. Don't flounce off like that. It's
2:40:50
Speaker 1: a six mile swim, and if I were you, I
2:40:52
Speaker 1: should haul out and take a nap first. Little one
2:40:56
Speaker 1: Kodok thought that was good advice, so he swam round
2:40:59
Speaker 1: to his own beach, hauled out, and slept for half
2:41:01
Speaker 1: an hour, twitching all over as seal's will. Then he
2:41:04
Speaker 1: headed straight for wall or Silt, a little low sheet
2:41:07
Speaker 1: of rocky island almost due northeast from Novastoshna, all ledges
2:41:11
Speaker 1: of rock and gull's nests where the walrus herded by themselves.
2:41:16
Speaker 1: He landed close to old Sievitch, the big, ugly, bloated,
2:41:20
Speaker 1: pimpled fat necked, long tusked walrus of the North Pacific,
2:41:23
Speaker 1: who has no manners except when he is asleep, as
2:41:26
Speaker 1: he was then with his hind flippers half in and
2:41:28
Speaker 1: half out of the surf. Wake up, barked Kodok, for
2:41:33
Speaker 1: the gulls were making a great noise. Ha ho, humph,
2:41:38
Speaker 1: what's that? Said Sievitch, And he struck the next walrus
2:41:41
Speaker 1: a blow with his tusks and waked him up, and
2:41:43
Speaker 1: the next struck the next, and so on till they
2:41:45
Speaker 1: were all awake and staring in every direction but the
2:41:48
Speaker 1: right one. Hi, it's me, said Kodok, bobbing in the
2:41:53
Speaker 1: surf and looking like a little white slug. Well may
2:41:57
Speaker 1: I be skinned? Said Sievitch, and they all looked at
2:42:01
Speaker 1: Kodok as you can fancy a club full of drowsy
2:42:03
Speaker 1: old gentlemen would look at a little boy. Kodok did
2:42:06
Speaker 1: not care to hear any more about skinning. Just then
2:42:09
Speaker 1: he had seen enough of it, so he called out,
2:42:11
Speaker 1: isn't there any place for seals to go where men
2:42:13
Speaker 1: don't ever come? Go and find out, said Sievitch, shutting
2:42:18
Speaker 1: his eyes. Run away, We're busy here. Kodok made his
2:42:23
Speaker 1: dolphin jump in the air and shouted as loud as
2:42:25
Speaker 1: he could, clam eater, clam eater. He knew that Sievitch
2:42:29
Speaker 1: never caught a fish in his life, but always rooted
2:42:31
Speaker 1: for clams and seaweeds, though he pretended to be a
2:42:34
Speaker 1: very terrible person. Naturally, the chickies and the Guveruskis and
2:42:38
Speaker 1: the apatkas, the burgomaster gulls, and the kidawakes and the puffins,
2:42:42
Speaker 1: who were always looking for a chance to be rude,
2:42:44
Speaker 1: took up the cry, and so Limershen told me, for
2:42:48
Speaker 1: nearly five minutes you could not have heard a gun
2:42:50
Speaker 1: fired on Waler silid. All the population was yelling and
2:42:53
Speaker 1: screaming clam eater, starr eek old man, while Sievitch rolled
2:42:58
Speaker 1: from side to side, grunting him coughing. Now will you tell,
2:43:03
Speaker 1: said Kodok, all out of breath, Go and ask sea Cow,
2:43:07
Speaker 1: said Sievitch. If he is living still, he'll be able
2:43:10
Speaker 1: to tell you. How Shall I know Sea Cow when
2:43:13
Speaker 1: I meet him? Said Kodok, cheering off. He is the
2:43:17
Speaker 1: only thing in the sea uglier than Sievitch, screamed a
2:43:20
Speaker 1: Burgomaster gill, wheeling under Sievitch's nose, uglier and with worse
2:43:25
Speaker 1: manners streak. Kodok swam back to Novastoshna, leaving the gulls
2:43:30
Speaker 1: to scream. There, he found that no one sympathized with
2:43:34
Speaker 1: him in his little attempt to discover a quiet place
2:43:36
Speaker 1: for the seals. They told him that Ben had always
2:43:39
Speaker 1: driven the hollis Chickie, it was part of the day's work,
2:43:42
Speaker 1: and that if he did not like to see ugly things,
2:43:44
Speaker 1: he should not have gone to the killing grounds. But
2:43:47
Speaker 1: none of the other seals had seen the killing, and
2:43:49
Speaker 1: that made the difference between him and his friends. Besides,
2:43:53
Speaker 1: Kodok was a white seal. What you must do, said
2:43:58
Speaker 1: old Sea Ketch after he had heard his son's adventures,
2:44:01
Speaker 1: is to grow up and be a big seal like
2:44:03
Speaker 1: your father, and have a nursery on the beach, and
2:44:05
Speaker 1: then they will leave you alone in another five years.
2:44:08
Speaker 1: You ought to be able to fight for yourself, Even
2:44:12
Speaker 1: gentle Natka, his mother, said, you will never be able
2:44:15
Speaker 1: to stop the killing. Go and play in the sea.
2:44:17
Speaker 1: Kodek and Kodak went off and danced the fire dance
2:44:22
Speaker 1: with a very heavy little heart. End of Chapter four,
2:44:28
Speaker 1: Part one, Chapter four, part two. That autumn, he left
2:44:34
Speaker 1: the beach as soon as he could and set off
2:44:36
Speaker 1: alone because of a notion in his bullet head. He
2:44:39
Speaker 1: was going to find sea Cow, if there was such
2:44:42
Speaker 1: a person in the sea, And he was going to
2:44:44
Speaker 1: find a quiet island with a good, firm beach for
2:44:47
Speaker 1: seals to live on, where men could not get at them.
2:44:50
Speaker 1: So he explored, and explored by himself, from the North
2:44:53
Speaker 1: to the South Pacific, swimming as much as three hundred
2:44:56
Speaker 1: miles in a day and a night. He met with
2:44:59
Speaker 1: more adventures than can be told, and narrowly escaped being
2:45:03
Speaker 1: caught by the basking shark and the spotted shark and
2:45:05
Speaker 1: the hammer head. And he met all the untrustworthy ruffians
2:45:09
Speaker 1: that loaf up and down the seas, and the heavy
2:45:12
Speaker 1: polite fish and the scarlet spotted scallops that are moored
2:45:15
Speaker 1: in one place for hundreds of years and grow very
2:45:18
Speaker 1: proud of it. But he never met sea Cow, and
2:45:21
Speaker 1: he never found an island that he could fancy. If
2:45:24
Speaker 1: the beach was good and hard, with a slope behind
2:45:26
Speaker 1: it for seals to play on. There was always the
2:45:29
Speaker 1: smoke of a whaler on the horizon, boiling down blubber,
2:45:32
Speaker 1: and Kodok knew what that meant or else. He could
2:45:36
Speaker 1: see that seals had once visited the island and had
2:45:38
Speaker 1: been killed off, and Kodok knew that where men had
2:45:41
Speaker 1: come once, they would come again. He picked up with
2:45:44
Speaker 1: an old, stumpy tailed albatross who told him that Kirkwaln
2:45:48
Speaker 1: Island was the very place for peace and quiet. And
2:45:51
Speaker 1: when Kodak went down there, he was all but smashed
2:45:53
Speaker 1: to pieces against some wicked black cliffs in a heavy
2:45:56
Speaker 1: sleet storm with lightning and thunder. Yet as he pulled
2:46:00
Speaker 1: out against the gale, he could see even there had
2:46:02
Speaker 1: once been a seal nursery. And it was so in
2:46:05
Speaker 1: all the other islands that he visited. Limersham gave a
2:46:09
Speaker 1: long list of them, for he said that Kodak spent
2:46:12
Speaker 1: five seasons exploring, with a four month's rest each year
2:46:15
Speaker 1: at Novastoshna, when the Hollischickie used to make fun of
2:46:18
Speaker 1: him in his imaginary islands. He went to the Galapagos,
2:46:22
Speaker 1: a horrid dry place on the equator, where he was
2:46:25
Speaker 1: nearly baked to death. He went to the Georgia Islands,
2:46:28
Speaker 1: the Orkneys, Emerald Island, Little Nightingale Island, Gough Island, Bouvet Island,
2:46:34
Speaker 1: the crozees, and even to a little speck of an
2:46:36
Speaker 1: island south of the Cape of Good Hope. But everywhere
2:46:40
Speaker 1: the people of the sea told him the same things.
2:46:43
Speaker 1: Seals had come to those islands once upon a time,
2:46:46
Speaker 1: but men had killed them all off. Even when he
2:46:50
Speaker 1: swam thousands of miles out of the Pacific and got
2:46:53
Speaker 1: to a place called Cape Corientes, that was when he
2:46:56
Speaker 1: was coming back from Gough Island. He found a few
2:46:59
Speaker 1: hundred main seals on a rock, and they told him
2:47:02
Speaker 1: that men came there too. That nearly broke his heart,
2:47:06
Speaker 1: and he headed round the horn back to his own beeches.
2:47:09
Speaker 1: And on his way north he hauled out on an
2:47:11
Speaker 1: island full of green trees, where he found an old
2:47:15
Speaker 1: old seal who was dying, and Kodok caught fish for
2:47:18
Speaker 1: him and told him all his failures. Now, said Kodok,
2:47:23
Speaker 1: I am going back to Novastoshna, and if I am
2:47:26
Speaker 1: driven to the killing pens with the hollis chickie, I
2:47:28
Speaker 1: shall not care. The old seal said, try once more.
2:47:35
Speaker 1: I am the last of the lost rookery of mass Afuera.
2:47:39
Speaker 1: And in the days when men killed us by the
2:47:41
Speaker 1: hundred thousand, there was a story on the beeches, that
2:47:45
Speaker 1: some day a white seal would come out of the
2:47:47
Speaker 1: north and lead the seal people to a quiet place.
2:47:51
Speaker 1: I am old, and I shall never live to see
2:47:54
Speaker 1: that day, but others will try once more. And Kodok
2:48:00
Speaker 1: curled up his mustache. It was a beauty, and said,
2:48:04
Speaker 1: I am the only white seal that has ever been
2:48:06
Speaker 1: born on the beeches, and I am the only seal,
2:48:09
Speaker 1: black or white, who has ever thought of looking for
2:48:12
Speaker 1: new islands. This cheered him immensely, and when he came
2:48:16
Speaker 1: back to Novastoshna that summer Matka, his mother begged him
2:48:19
Speaker 1: to marry and settle down, for he was no longer
2:48:22
Speaker 1: a hollischick, but a full grown sea catch, with a
2:48:25
Speaker 1: curly white mane on his shoulders, as heavy as big
2:48:28
Speaker 1: and as fierce as his father. Give me another season,
2:48:33
Speaker 1: he said, Remember, mother, it is always the seventh wave
2:48:36
Speaker 1: that goes farthest up the beach. Curiously enough, there was
2:48:41
Speaker 1: another seal who thought that she would put off marrying
2:48:43
Speaker 1: till the next year, and Kodok danced the fire dance
2:48:46
Speaker 1: with her all down Lucannan Beach the night before he
2:48:49
Speaker 1: set off on his last exploration. This time he went
2:48:53
Speaker 1: westwards because he had fallen on the trail of a
2:48:56
Speaker 1: great shoal of Halibut, and he needed at least one
2:48:58
Speaker 1: hundred pounds of fish day to keep him in good condition.
2:49:02
Speaker 1: He chased them till he was tired, and then he
2:49:04
Speaker 1: curled himself up and went to sleep on the hollows
2:49:07
Speaker 1: of a ground swell that sets into Copper Island. He
2:49:10
Speaker 1: knew the coast perfectly well, so about midnight, when he
2:49:13
Speaker 1: felt himself gently bumped on a weed bed, he said, hm,
2:49:17
Speaker 1: tides running strong tonight and turning over under water. Opened
2:49:21
Speaker 1: his eyes slowly and stretched. Then he jumped like a cat,
2:49:26
Speaker 1: for he saw huge things nosing about in the shoal
2:49:28
Speaker 1: water and browsing on the heavy fringes of the weeds
2:49:33
Speaker 1: by the great combers of Magellan, he said, beneath his mustache,
2:49:37
Speaker 1: Who in the deep sea are these people? They were
2:49:41
Speaker 1: like no walrus, sea lion, seal, bear, whale, shark, fish,
2:49:46
Speaker 1: squid or scallop that Kodak had ever seen before. They
2:49:50
Speaker 1: were between twenty and thirty feet long, and they had
2:49:53
Speaker 1: no hind flippers, but a shovel like tail that looked
2:49:56
Speaker 1: as if it had been whittled out of wet leather.
2:49:59
Speaker 1: Their heads were the most foolish looking things you ever saw,
2:50:02
Speaker 1: and they balanced on the ends of their tails in
2:50:04
Speaker 1: deep water when they weren't grazing, bowing solemnly to each
2:50:08
Speaker 1: other and waving their front flippers as a fat man
2:50:10
Speaker 1: waves his arm. Ahem, said Kodok, A good sport, gentlemen.
2:50:17
Speaker 1: The big things answered by bowing and waving their flippers
2:50:20
Speaker 1: like the frog footman. When they began feeding again, Kodok
2:50:24
Speaker 1: saw that their upper lip was split into two pieces
2:50:26
Speaker 1: that they could twitch apart about a foot and bring
2:50:28
Speaker 1: together again. With a whole bushel of seaweed between the splits,
2:50:32
Speaker 1: they tucked the stuff into their mouths and chumped solemnly.
2:50:38
Speaker 1: Messy style of feeding, that, said Kodok. They bowed again,
2:50:42
Speaker 1: and Kodok began to lose his temper. Very good, he said,
2:50:46
Speaker 1: if you do happen to have an extra joint in
2:50:48
Speaker 1: your front flipper, you needn't show off. So I see
2:50:52
Speaker 1: you bow gracefully, but I should like to know your names.
2:50:56
Speaker 1: The split lips moved and twitched, and the glassy green
2:50:59
Speaker 1: eyes stayed, but they did not speak well, said Kodok.
2:51:05
Speaker 1: You're the only people I've ever met uglier than Sievitch,
2:51:08
Speaker 1: and with worse manners. Then he remembered in a flash
2:51:12
Speaker 1: what the burgomaster Gull had screamed to him when he
2:51:15
Speaker 1: was a little yearling at waller silet, and he tumbled
2:51:17
Speaker 1: backwards in the water, for he knew that he had
2:51:20
Speaker 1: found sea cow. At last, the sea cows went on
2:51:23
Speaker 1: slooping and grazing and chumping in the weed, and Kodok
2:51:26
Speaker 1: asked them questions in every language he had picked up
2:51:29
Speaker 1: in his travels, and the sea people talk nearly as
2:51:31
Speaker 1: many languages as human beings. But the sea cows did
2:51:35
Speaker 1: not answer, because sea cow cannot talk. He has only
2:51:39
Speaker 1: six bones in his neck, where he ought to have seven,
2:51:42
Speaker 1: and they say under the sea that that prevents him
2:51:44
Speaker 1: from speaking even to his companions. But as you know,
2:51:48
Speaker 1: he has an extra joint in his foreflipper, and by
2:51:51
Speaker 1: waving it up and down and about, he makes what
2:51:53
Speaker 1: answers to a sort of clumsy telegraphic code. By daylight,
2:51:58
Speaker 1: Kodok's man was standing up on end, and his temper
2:52:01
Speaker 1: was gone where the dead crabs go. Then the sea
2:52:04
Speaker 1: cows began to travel northwards, very slowly, stopping to hold
2:52:08
Speaker 1: absurd bowing councils from time to time, and Kodok followed them,
2:52:12
Speaker 1: saying to himself, people who were such idiots as these
2:52:16
Speaker 1: are would have been killed long ago if they hadn't
2:52:18
Speaker 1: found out some safe island. And what is good enough
2:52:21
Speaker 1: for the sea cow is good enough for the sea
2:52:23
Speaker 1: catch all the same. I'd wish they'd hurry. It was
2:52:28
Speaker 1: weary work for Kodok. The sea cows heard never went
2:52:32
Speaker 1: more than forty or fifty miles a day, and stopped
2:52:34
Speaker 1: to feed at night, and kept close to the shore
2:52:37
Speaker 1: all the time, while Kodak swam round them and over
2:52:40
Speaker 1: them and under them. But he could not hurry them
2:52:42
Speaker 1: up one mile. As they went farther north, they held
2:52:46
Speaker 1: a bowing council every few hours, and Kodak nearly bit
2:52:49
Speaker 1: off his mustache with impatience till he saw that they
2:52:52
Speaker 1: were following up a warm current of water, and then
2:52:55
Speaker 1: he respected them more. One night, they sank through the
2:53:00
Speaker 1: shiny water, sank like stones, and for the first time
2:53:04
Speaker 1: since he had known them, began to swim quickly. Kodok followed,
2:53:09
Speaker 1: and the pace astonished him, for he never dreamed that
2:53:11
Speaker 1: sea cow was anything of a swimmer. They headed for
2:53:15
Speaker 1: a cliff by the shore, a cliff that ran down
2:53:17
Speaker 1: into deep water and plunged into a dark hole at
2:53:20
Speaker 1: the foot of it, twenty fathoms under the sea. It
2:53:24
Speaker 1: was a long, long swim, and Kodak badly wanted fresh air.
2:53:28
Speaker 1: Before he was out of the dark tunnel, they led
2:53:30
Speaker 1: him through my wig, he said, when he rose, gasping
2:53:35
Speaker 1: and puffing, into the open water at the farther end.
2:53:38
Speaker 1: It was a long dive, but it was worth it.
2:53:42
Speaker 1: The sea cows had separated and were browsing lazily along
2:53:46
Speaker 1: the edges of the finest beaches that Kodok had ever seen.
2:53:50
Speaker 1: There were long stretches of smooth, worn rock running for miles,
2:53:53
Speaker 1: exactly fitted to make seal nurseries. And there were playgrounds
2:53:57
Speaker 1: of hard sand sloping inland behind them. And there were
2:54:00
Speaker 1: rollers for seals to dance in, and long grass to
2:54:03
Speaker 1: roll in, and sand dunes to climb up and down.
2:54:06
Speaker 1: And best of all, Kodok knew, by the feel of
2:54:08
Speaker 1: the water, which never deceives a sea catch, that no
2:54:12
Speaker 1: men had ever come there. The first thing he did
2:54:16
Speaker 1: was to assure himself that the fishing was good, and
2:54:18
Speaker 1: then he swam along the beaches and counted up the
2:54:21
Speaker 1: delightful low sandy islands, half hidden in the beautiful rolling fog.
2:54:26
Speaker 1: Away to the northward, out to sea ran a line
2:54:28
Speaker 1: of bars and shoals and rocks that would never let
2:54:31
Speaker 1: a ship come within six miles of the beach. And
2:54:34
Speaker 1: between the islands and the mainland was a stretch of
2:54:36
Speaker 1: deep water that ran up to the perpendicular cliffs, And
2:54:39
Speaker 1: somewhere below the cliffs was the mouth of the tunnel.
2:54:43
Speaker 1: It's no Vastoshna over again, but ten times better, said Kodok.
2:54:48
Speaker 1: Sea cow must be wiser than I thought. Men can't
2:54:51
Speaker 1: come down the cliffs even if there were any men,
2:54:54
Speaker 1: and the shoals to seaward would knock a ship to splinters.
2:54:58
Speaker 1: If any place in the sea is safe, this is it.
2:55:02
Speaker 1: He began to think of the seal he had left
2:55:03
Speaker 1: behind him. But though he was in a hurry to
2:55:06
Speaker 1: go back to Novastoshna, he thoroughly explored the new country
2:55:10
Speaker 1: so that he would be able to answer all questions.
2:55:13
Speaker 1: Then he dived and made sure of the mouth of
2:55:16
Speaker 1: the tunnel, and raced through to the southward. No one
2:55:20
Speaker 1: but a sea cow or a seal would have dreamed
2:55:22
Speaker 1: of there being such a place, and when he looked
2:55:24
Speaker 1: back at the cliffs, even Kodak could hardly believe that
2:55:27
Speaker 1: he had been there. He was ten days going home,
2:55:31
Speaker 1: though he was not swimming slowly, and when he hauled
2:55:34
Speaker 1: out just above Sea Lion's Neck, the first person he
2:55:37
Speaker 1: met was the seal who had been waiting for him,
2:55:40
Speaker 1: and she saw by the look in his eyes that
2:55:41
Speaker 1: he had found his island at last. But the hollis
2:55:46
Speaker 1: Chickie and sea catch, his father and all the other
2:55:48
Speaker 1: seals laughed at him when he told them what he
2:55:50
Speaker 1: had discovered, and a young seal about his own age said,
2:55:54
Speaker 1: this is all very well, Kodk, but you can't come
2:55:56
Speaker 1: from no one knows where and order us off like this.
2:55:59
Speaker 1: Remember we've been fighting for our nurseries, and that's a
2:56:02
Speaker 1: thing you never did. You preferred prowling about in the sea.
2:56:06
Speaker 1: The other seals laughed at this, and the young seal
2:56:09
Speaker 1: began twisting his head from side to side. He had
2:56:12
Speaker 1: just married that year and was making a great fuss
2:56:15
Speaker 1: about it. I've no nursery to fight for, said Kodok.
2:56:19
Speaker 1: I only want to show you all a place where
2:56:21
Speaker 1: you'll be safe. What's the use of fighting? Oh, if
2:56:25
Speaker 1: you're trying to back out, of course, I've no more
2:56:27
Speaker 1: to say, said the young seal with an ugly chuckle.
2:56:31
Speaker 1: Will you come with me if I win, said Kodok,
2:56:34
Speaker 1: and a green light came into his eye, for he
2:56:36
Speaker 1: was very angry at having to fight at all. Very good,
2:56:40
Speaker 1: said the young seal carelessly. If you win, I'll come.
2:56:45
Speaker 1: He had no time to change his mind, for Kodok's
2:56:48
Speaker 1: head was out and his teeth sank in the blubber
2:56:50
Speaker 1: of the young seal's neck. Then he threw himself back
2:56:53
Speaker 1: on his haunches and hauled his enemy down the beach,
2:56:55
Speaker 1: shook him and knocked him over. Then Kodok roared to
2:56:58
Speaker 1: the seals, I've done my best for you, these five
2:57:01
Speaker 1: seasons passed. I've found you the island where you'll be safe.
2:57:04
Speaker 1: But unless your heads are dragged off your silly necks,
2:57:07
Speaker 1: you won't believe I'm going to teach you. Now, look
2:57:10
Speaker 1: out for yourselves. Limershen told me that never in his life,
2:57:15
Speaker 1: and Limershen seized ten thousand big seals fighting every year,
2:57:19
Speaker 1: never in his life did he see anything like Kotok's
2:57:22
Speaker 1: charge into the nurseries. He flung himself at the biggest
2:57:26
Speaker 1: sea catch he could find, caught him by the throat,
2:57:29
Speaker 1: choked him and bumped him and banged him till he
2:57:31
Speaker 1: grunted for mercy, and then threw him aside and attacked
2:57:34
Speaker 1: the next You see, Kotok had never fasted for four months,
2:57:38
Speaker 1: as the big seals did every year, and his deep
2:57:40
Speaker 1: sea swimming trips kept him in perfect condition. And best
2:57:44
Speaker 1: of all, he had never fought before. His curly white
2:57:48
Speaker 1: mane stood up with rage, and his eyes flamed, and
2:57:51
Speaker 1: his big dog teeth glistened, and he was splendid to
2:57:54
Speaker 1: look at old sea catch. His father saw him tearing past,
2:57:58
Speaker 1: hauling the grizzled old seal about as though they had
2:58:00
Speaker 1: been halibut, and upsetting the young bachelors in all directions,
2:58:04
Speaker 1: and Sea Ketch gave a roar and shouted, he may
2:58:07
Speaker 1: be a fool, but he is the best fighter on
2:58:09
Speaker 1: the beaches. Don't tackle your father, my son, he's with you.
2:58:13
Speaker 1: Kodak roared in answer, and old Sea Ketch waddled in
2:58:16
Speaker 1: with his mustache on end, blowing like a locomotive, while
2:58:19
Speaker 1: Motka and the seal that was going to marry Kodak
2:58:21
Speaker 1: cowered down and admired their men folk. It was a
2:58:25
Speaker 1: gorgeous fight, for the two fought as long as there
2:58:27
Speaker 1: was a seal that dared lift up his head, and
2:58:30
Speaker 1: when there were none, they paraded grandly up and down
2:58:32
Speaker 1: the beach, side by side, bellowing. At night, Just as
2:58:37
Speaker 1: the northern lights were winking and flashing through the fog,
2:58:40
Speaker 1: Kodak climbed a bare rock and looked down on the
2:58:42
Speaker 1: scattered nurseries and the torn and bleeding seals. Now he said,
2:58:47
Speaker 1: I've taught you your lesson, my wig, said old sea Ketch,
2:58:52
Speaker 1: boosting himself up stiffly, for he was fearfully mauled. The
2:58:56
Speaker 1: killer whale himself could not have cut them up worse, son,
2:59:00
Speaker 1: I'm proud of you, And what's more, I'll come with
2:59:02
Speaker 1: you to your island if there is such a place.
2:59:06
Speaker 1: Hear you, fat pigs of the sea, who comes with
2:59:09
Speaker 1: me to see Cow's tunnel? Answer? Or I shall teach
2:59:12
Speaker 1: you again, roared Kodok. There was a murmur like the
2:59:16
Speaker 1: ripple of the tide, all up and down the beaches.
2:59:20
Speaker 1: We will come, said thousands of tired voices. We will
2:59:24
Speaker 1: follow Kodik. The white seal. Then Kodok dropped his head
2:59:29
Speaker 1: between his shoulders and shut his eyes proudly. He was
2:59:33
Speaker 1: not a white seal any more, but red from head
2:59:36
Speaker 1: to tail all the same. He would have scorned to
2:59:39
Speaker 1: look at or touch one of his wounds. A week later,
2:59:43
Speaker 1: he and his army, nearly ten thousand hollis chicky and
2:59:46
Speaker 1: old seals, went away north to see Cow's Tunnel, Kodik
2:59:50
Speaker 1: leading them, and the seals that stayed at Novastoshna called
2:59:53
Speaker 1: them idiots. But the next spring, when they all met
2:59:56
Speaker 1: off the fishing banks of the Pacific, Kodak's seals told
3:00:00
Speaker 1: such tales of the new beaches beyond sea Cow's Tunnel
3:00:03
Speaker 1: that more and more seals left Novastoshna. Of course, it
3:00:07
Speaker 1: was not all done at once, for the seals are
3:00:09
Speaker 1: not very clever, and they need a long time to
3:00:12
Speaker 1: turn things over in their minds. But year after year
3:00:15
Speaker 1: more seals went away from Novastoshna and Leucanan and the
3:00:19
Speaker 1: other nurseries to the quiet, sheltered beaches where Kodik sits
3:00:23
Speaker 1: all the summer through, getting bigger and fatter and stronger
3:00:26
Speaker 1: each year, while the Hollischickie play round him in that
3:00:30
Speaker 1: sea where no man comes Lucanan. This is a sort
3:00:38
Speaker 1: of sad seal national anthem. I met my mates in
3:00:43
Speaker 1: the morning, and oh but I am old. Where roaring
3:00:46
Speaker 1: on the ledges and summer groundswell rolled, I heard them
3:00:49
Speaker 1: lift the chorus that drowned, the breaker's song, the beaches
3:00:53
Speaker 1: of Lucanan, two million voices strong, The song of pleasant
3:00:57
Speaker 1: stations beside the salt lagoons, The song of blowing squadrons
3:01:01
Speaker 1: that shuffled down the dunes, The song of midnight dances
3:01:05
Speaker 1: that churned the swells of flame, the beaches of Lucanan.
3:01:08
Speaker 1: Before the sealers came. I met my mates in the morning,
3:01:13
Speaker 1: I'll never meet the more. They came and went in
3:01:15
Speaker 1: legions that darkened all the shore, and o'er the foam
3:01:19
Speaker 1: flecked offing as far as voice could reach. We hailed
3:01:22
Speaker 1: the landing parties, and we sang them up the beach,
3:01:25
Speaker 1: the beaches of Lucanan, the winter wheat so tall, the
3:01:29
Speaker 1: dripping crinkled lichens, and the sea fog drenching all the
3:01:32
Speaker 1: platforms of our playground, all shining, smooth and worn. The
3:01:36
Speaker 1: beaches of Lucanan, the home where we were born. I
3:01:40
Speaker 1: met my mates in the morning, a broken scattered band.
3:01:43
Speaker 1: Men shoot us in the water and club us on
3:01:46
Speaker 1: the land. Men drive us to the salt house like
3:01:49
Speaker 1: silly sheep, and tame and still we sing Lucanan before
3:01:53
Speaker 1: the sealers came, Wheel down, wheel down to southward. Oh guvaruska,
3:01:58
Speaker 1: go and tell the deep sea viceroys the story of
3:02:01
Speaker 1: our woe. Ere empty as the shark's egg. The tempest
3:02:05
Speaker 1: flings ashore. The beeches of Lucannon shall know their sons
3:02:09
Speaker 1: no more. End of chapter four, Chapter five. Ricki Tiki
3:02:16
Speaker 1: Tavi at the hole where he went in red Eye
3:02:21
Speaker 1: called to Wrinkleskin. Hear what little red eye saith nag
3:02:26
Speaker 1: Come up and dance with death, eye to eye and
3:02:29
Speaker 1: head to head. Keep the measure nag. This shall end
3:02:33
Speaker 1: when one is dead at thy pleasure nag. Turn for
3:02:37
Speaker 1: turn and twist for twist. Run and hide thee nag Ha,
3:02:41
Speaker 1: the hooded death has missed. Woe betide thee nag. This
3:02:47
Speaker 1: is the story of the great war that Riki Tiki
3:02:50
Speaker 1: Tavi fought single handed through the bathrooms of the big
3:02:53
Speaker 1: Bungalow and Sagowley Cantonment. Darzy the tailor bird helped him,
3:02:58
Speaker 1: and Chuchundra, the muskrat who never comes out in the
3:03:01
Speaker 1: middle of the floor but always creeps round by the wall,
3:03:03
Speaker 1: gave him advice, but Rickie Tiki did the real fighting.
3:03:08
Speaker 1: He was a mongoose, rather like a little cat in
3:03:11
Speaker 1: his fur and his tail, but quite like a weasel
3:03:13
Speaker 1: in his head, in his habits. His eyes and the
3:03:16
Speaker 1: end of his restless nose were pink. He could scratch
3:03:19
Speaker 1: himself anywhere he pleased, with any leg, front or back
3:03:22
Speaker 1: that he chose to use. He could fluff up his
3:03:24
Speaker 1: tail till it looked like a bottle brush, and his
3:03:27
Speaker 1: war cry as he scuttled through the long grass was
3:03:30
Speaker 1: Ricki tik Tiki tik tak. One day, a high summer
3:03:34
Speaker 1: flood washed him out of the burrow where he lived
3:03:36
Speaker 1: with his father and mother, and carried him, kicking and clucking,
3:03:40
Speaker 1: down a roadside ditch. He found a little wisp of
3:03:43
Speaker 1: grass floating there and clung to it till he lost
3:03:46
Speaker 1: his senses. When he revived, he was lying in the
3:03:49
Speaker 1: hot sun on the middle of a garden path, very
3:03:51
Speaker 1: draggled indeed, and a small boy was saying, here's a
3:03:55
Speaker 1: dead mongoose. Let's have a funeral, No, said his mother.
3:04:00
Speaker 1: Let's take him in and dry him. Perhaps he isn't
3:04:03
Speaker 1: really dead. They took him into the house and a
3:04:07
Speaker 1: big man picked him up between his finger and thumb
3:04:09
Speaker 1: and said he was not dead, but half choked. So
3:04:13
Speaker 1: they wrapped him in cotton wool and warmed him over
3:04:15
Speaker 1: a little fire, and he opened his eyes and sneezed. Now,
3:04:20
Speaker 1: said the big man. He was an Englishman who had
3:04:22
Speaker 1: just moved into the bungalow. Don't frighten him, and we'll
3:04:26
Speaker 1: see what he'll do. It is the hardest thing in
3:04:30
Speaker 1: the world to frighten a mongoose, because he is eaten
3:04:33
Speaker 1: up from nose to tail with curiosity. The motto of
3:04:36
Speaker 1: the mongoose family is run and find out. And Rikki
3:04:40
Speaker 1: Tiki was a true mongoose. He looked at the cotton wool,
3:04:44
Speaker 1: decided that it was not good to eat, ran all
3:04:46
Speaker 1: round the table, sat up and put his fur in order,
3:04:49
Speaker 1: scratched himself, and jumped on the small boy's shoulder. Don't
3:04:54
Speaker 1: be frightened, Teddy, said his father. That's his way of
3:04:56
Speaker 1: making friends. Ouch, he's tickl under my chin, said Teddy.
3:05:02
Speaker 1: Rinkitinky looked down between the boy's collar and neck, snuffed
3:05:05
Speaker 1: at his ear, and climbed down to the floor where
3:05:08
Speaker 1: he sat rubbing his nose. Good gracious, said Teddy's mother.
3:05:13
Speaker 1: And that's a wild creature. I suppose he's so tame
3:05:16
Speaker 1: because we've been kind to him. All mongooses are like that,
3:05:21
Speaker 1: said her husband. If Teddy doesn't pick him up by
3:05:23
Speaker 1: the tail or, try to put him in a cage,
3:05:25
Speaker 1: he'll run in and out of the house all day long.
3:05:28
Speaker 1: Let's give him something to eat. They gave him a
3:05:31
Speaker 1: little piece of raw meat. Rikitiky liked it immensely, and
3:05:35
Speaker 1: when it was finished, he went out into the verandah
3:05:38
Speaker 1: and sat in the sunshine and fluffed up his fur
3:05:40
Speaker 1: to make it dry to the roots. Then he felt better.
3:05:44
Speaker 1: There are more things to find out about in this house,
3:05:47
Speaker 1: he said to himself, than all my family could find
3:05:50
Speaker 1: out in all their lives. I shall certainly stay and
3:05:53
Speaker 1: find out. He spent all that day roaming over the house.
3:05:58
Speaker 1: He nearly drowned himself in the bath tubs, put his
3:06:01
Speaker 1: nose into the ink on a writing table, and burnt
3:06:03
Speaker 1: it on the end of a big man's cigar. For
3:06:05
Speaker 1: he climbed up in the big man's lap to see
3:06:07
Speaker 1: how writing was done. At nightfall, he ran into Teddy's
3:06:11
Speaker 1: nursery to watch how kerosene lamps were lighted. And when
3:06:14
Speaker 1: Teddy went to bed, Rickie Ticky climbed up too. But
3:06:17
Speaker 1: he was a restless companion because he had to get
3:06:20
Speaker 1: up and attend to every noise all through the night
3:06:22
Speaker 1: and find out what made it. Teddy's mother and father
3:06:26
Speaker 1: came in the last thing to look at their boy,
3:06:28
Speaker 1: and Rickie Ticky was awake on the pillow. I don't
3:06:32
Speaker 1: like that, said Teddy's mother. He may bite the child.
3:06:37
Speaker 1: He'll do no such things, said the father. Teddy's safer
3:06:40
Speaker 1: with that little beast than if he had a bloodhound
3:06:42
Speaker 1: to watch him if a snake came into the nursery now.
3:06:46
Speaker 1: But Teddy's mother wouldn't think of anything so awful. Early
3:06:50
Speaker 1: in the morning, Riki Ticky came to early breakfast in
3:06:53
Speaker 1: the veranda, riding on Teddy's shoulder, and they gave him
3:06:56
Speaker 1: banana and some boiled egg, and he sat on all
3:06:58
Speaker 1: their laps, one after the other. Because every well brought
3:07:01
Speaker 1: up mongoose always hopes to be a house mongoose some
3:07:04
Speaker 1: day and have rooms to run about him and Rikiitinky's mother,
3:07:08
Speaker 1: she used to live in the general's house at Segali,
3:07:11
Speaker 1: had carefully told Rickie what to do if he ever
3:07:13
Speaker 1: came across white men. Then Rikiitiky went out into the
3:07:17
Speaker 1: garden to see what was to be seen. It was
3:07:20
Speaker 1: a large garden, only half cultivated, with bushes as big
3:07:23
Speaker 1: as summer houses of marshall neil roses, lime and orange trees,
3:07:27
Speaker 1: clumps of bamboos, and thickets of high grass. Rikiitiky licked
3:07:32
Speaker 1: his lips. This is a splendid hunting ground, he said,
3:07:36
Speaker 1: And his tail grew bottle brushy at the thought of it.
3:07:39
Speaker 1: And he scuttled up and down the garden, snuffling here
3:07:41
Speaker 1: and there, till he heard very sorrowful voices in a
3:07:44
Speaker 1: thorn bush. It was Darzy, the tailor bird, and his wife.
3:07:48
Speaker 1: They had made a beautiful nest by pulling two big
3:07:51
Speaker 1: leaves together and stitching them up at the edges with fibers,
3:07:54
Speaker 1: and had filled the hollow with cotton and downy fluff.
3:07:57
Speaker 1: The nest swayed to and fro as they sat on
3:07:59
Speaker 1: the rim and cried. What is the matter, asked Rikie. Ticky,
3:08:05
Speaker 1: we are very miserable, said Darzy. One of our babies
3:08:09
Speaker 1: fell out of the nest yesterday and Nag ate him. Hum,
3:08:14
Speaker 1: said Riki Ticky, that is very sad, but I am
3:08:18
Speaker 1: a stranger here? Who is Nag? Darzy and his wife
3:08:22
Speaker 1: only cowered down in the nest without answering, for from
3:08:25
Speaker 1: the thick grass at the foot of the bush there
3:08:27
Speaker 1: came a low hiss, a horrid cold sound that made
3:08:31
Speaker 1: Rikki Tiki jump back two clear feet. Then, inch by inch,
3:08:35
Speaker 1: out of the grass, rose up the head and spread
3:08:38
Speaker 1: hood of Nag, the big black cobra, and he was
3:08:42
Speaker 1: five feet long from tongue to tail. When he had
3:08:45
Speaker 1: lifted one third of himself clear of the ground, he
3:08:48
Speaker 1: stayed balancing to and fro, exactly as a dandelion toughed
3:08:51
Speaker 1: balances in the wind. And he looked at Rikie Ticky
3:08:54
Speaker 1: with the wicked snake's eyes that never changed their expression whatever.
3:08:58
Speaker 1: The snake baby, thinking of who is Nag, said he
3:09:04
Speaker 1: I am Nag. The great god Brahm put his mark
3:09:08
Speaker 1: upon all our people. When the first cobra spread his
3:09:11
Speaker 1: hood to keep the son off Brahm. As he slept
3:09:14
Speaker 1: look and be afraid, he spread out his hood more
3:09:19
Speaker 1: than ever, and Rikiitinky saw the spectacle mark on the
3:09:21
Speaker 1: back of it that looks exactly like the eye part
3:09:24
Speaker 1: of a hook and eye fastening. He was afraid for
3:09:27
Speaker 1: the minute, but it is impossible for a mongoose to
3:09:30
Speaker 1: stay frightened for any length of time. And though Rikitiky
3:09:33
Speaker 1: had never met alive cobra before, his mother had fed
3:09:36
Speaker 1: him on dead ones, and he knew that all a
3:09:38
Speaker 1: grown mongoose's business in life was to fight and eat snakes.
3:09:43
Speaker 1: Nag knew this too, and at the bottom of his
3:09:46
Speaker 1: cold heart, he was afraid, well, said Rikitiki, and his
3:09:51
Speaker 1: tail began to fluff up again. Marks or no marks?
3:09:54
Speaker 1: Do you think it is right for you to eat
3:09:56
Speaker 1: fledglings out of a nest? Nag was thinking to himself
3:10:01
Speaker 1: and watching the least little movement in the grass behind
3:10:03
Speaker 1: Rickie Ticky. He knew that mongoose is in the garden
3:10:07
Speaker 1: meant death sooner or later for him and his family.
3:10:09
Speaker 1: But he wanted to get Rikki Tiky off his guard,
3:10:13
Speaker 1: so he dropped his head a little and put it
3:10:14
Speaker 1: on one side. Let us talk, He said, you eat eggs,
3:10:19
Speaker 1: why should not I eat birds? Behind? You look behind you,
3:10:24
Speaker 1: sang Darzy. Rikki Tiky knew better than to waste time
3:10:28
Speaker 1: in staring. He jumped up in the air as high
3:10:31
Speaker 1: as he could go, and just under him whizzed by
3:10:33
Speaker 1: the head of Nagina, Nag's wicked wife. She had crept
3:10:37
Speaker 1: up behind him as he was talking to make an
3:10:39
Speaker 1: end of him, and he heard her savage hiss as
3:10:41
Speaker 1: the stroke missed. He came down almost across her back,
3:10:46
Speaker 1: and if he had been an old mongoose, he would
3:10:48
Speaker 1: have known that then was the time to break her
3:10:49
Speaker 1: back with one bite, but he was afraid of the
3:10:52
Speaker 1: terrible lashing return stroke of the cobra. He bit indeed,
3:10:57
Speaker 1: but did not bite long enough, and he jumped clear
3:11:00
Speaker 1: of the whisking tail, leaving Nagina torn and angry. Wicked
3:11:05
Speaker 1: wicked Darzy said nag lashing up as high as he
3:11:08
Speaker 1: could reach toward the nest in the thorn bush, but
3:11:11
Speaker 1: Darsy had built it out of reach of snakes, and
3:11:13
Speaker 1: it only swayed to and fro. Rik Tiky felt his
3:11:17
Speaker 1: eyes growing red and hot. When a mongoose's eyes grow red,
3:11:20
Speaker 1: he is angry, and he sat back on his tail
3:11:22
Speaker 1: and hind legs like a little kangaroo, and looked all
3:11:25
Speaker 1: round him and chattered with rage. But Nag and Negina
3:11:29
Speaker 1: had disappeared into the grass. When a snake misses its stroke,
3:11:33
Speaker 1: it never says anything or gives any sign of what
3:11:35
Speaker 1: it means to do next. Riki Tiky did not care
3:11:39
Speaker 1: to follow them, for he did not feel sure that
3:11:41
Speaker 1: he could manage two snakes at once, So he trotted
3:11:45
Speaker 1: off to the gravel path near the house and sat
3:11:47
Speaker 1: down to think. It was a serious matter for him.
3:11:51
Speaker 1: If you read the old books of natural history, you
3:11:54
Speaker 1: will find that they say that when the mongoose fights
3:11:56
Speaker 1: the snake and happens to get bitten, he runs off
3:11:59
Speaker 1: and eats some herb that cures him. That is not true.
3:12:03
Speaker 1: The victory is only a matter of quickness of eye
3:12:05
Speaker 1: and quickness of foot. Snakes blow against mongoose's jump, and
3:12:09
Speaker 1: as no eye can follow the motion of a snake's
3:12:11
Speaker 1: head when it strikes, this makes things much more wonderful
3:12:14
Speaker 1: than any magic. Herb Rikitiky knew he was a young mongoose,
3:12:19
Speaker 1: and it made him all the more pleased to think
3:12:20
Speaker 1: that he had managed to escape a blow from behind.
3:12:24
Speaker 1: It gave him confidence in himself, and when Teddy came
3:12:27
Speaker 1: running down the path, Rikitiky was ready to be petted.
3:12:30
Speaker 1: But just as Teddy was stooping, something wriggled a little
3:12:33
Speaker 1: in the dust, and a tiny voice said, be careful,
3:12:37
Speaker 1: I am death. It was Karaate, the dusty brown snakeling
3:12:42
Speaker 1: that lies for choice on the dusty earth, and his
3:12:44
Speaker 1: bite is as dangerous as the cobras, but he is
3:12:47
Speaker 1: so small that nobody thinks of him, and so he
3:12:50
Speaker 1: does the more harm to people. Rikitiky's eyes grew red again,
3:12:54
Speaker 1: and he danced up to Kyrie with the peculiar rocking
3:12:57
Speaker 1: swaying motion that he had inherited from his family. It
3:13:01
Speaker 1: looks very funny, but it is so perfectly balanced a
3:13:04
Speaker 1: gait that you can fly off from it at any
3:13:06
Speaker 1: angle you please, And in dealing with snakes, this is
3:13:08
Speaker 1: an advantage. If Rinkitinky had only known, he was doing
3:13:12
Speaker 1: a much more dangerous thing than fighting nag For karait
3:13:16
Speaker 1: is so small and can turn so quickly that unless
3:13:19
Speaker 1: Ricky bit him close to the back of his head,
3:13:21
Speaker 1: he would get the return stroke in his eye or
3:13:23
Speaker 1: his lip. But Ricky did not know. His eyes were
3:13:27
Speaker 1: all red and he rocked back and forth, looking for
3:13:29
Speaker 1: a good place to hold Karait struck out. Ricky jumped
3:13:33
Speaker 1: sideways and tried to run in, but the wicked, little
3:13:35
Speaker 1: dusty gray head lashed within a fraction of his shoulder
3:13:38
Speaker 1: and he had to jump over the body, and the
3:13:40
Speaker 1: head followed his heels close. Teddy shouted to the house, Oh,
3:13:45
Speaker 1: look here, our mongoose is killing a snake, and Rinkitinky
3:13:49
Speaker 1: heard a scream from Teddy's mother. His father ran out
3:13:52
Speaker 1: with a stick, but by the time he came up,
3:13:54
Speaker 1: Karait had lunged out once too far, and Rikitinky had
3:13:57
Speaker 1: sprung jumped on the snake's back, his head far between
3:14:01
Speaker 1: his fore legs, bitten as high up the back as
3:14:03
Speaker 1: he could get hold, and rolled away. That bite paralyzed
3:14:07
Speaker 1: kari and Riki. Ticky was just going to eat him
3:14:10
Speaker 1: up from the tail after the custom of his family
3:14:13
Speaker 1: at dinner, when he remembered that a full meal makes
3:14:15
Speaker 1: a slow mongoose, and if he wanted all his strength
3:14:18
Speaker 1: and quickness ready, he must keep himself thin. He went
3:14:22
Speaker 1: away for a dust bath under the castor oil bushes
3:14:25
Speaker 1: while Teddy's father beat the dead kara eat what is
3:14:29
Speaker 1: the use of that thought, rik Tiky, I have settled
3:14:32
Speaker 1: it all. And then Teddy's mother picked him up from
3:14:36
Speaker 1: the dust and hugged him, crying that he had saved
3:14:38
Speaker 1: Teddy from death, and Teddy's father said that he was
3:14:41
Speaker 1: a providence, and Teddy looked on with big scared eyes.
3:14:45
Speaker 1: Rikiitiky was rather amused at all this fuss, which, of
3:14:48
Speaker 1: course he did not understand. Teddy's mother might just as
3:14:52
Speaker 1: well have petted Teddy for playing in the dust. Ricky
3:14:55
Speaker 1: was thoroughly enjoying himself that night at dinner, walking to
3:14:59
Speaker 1: and fro among the wine glasses on the table. He
3:15:01
Speaker 1: might have stuffed himself three times over with nice things,
3:15:05
Speaker 1: but he remembered nag and nagaina. And though it was
3:15:08
Speaker 1: very pleasant to be patted and petted by Teddy's mother
3:15:11
Speaker 1: and to sit on Teddy's shoulder, his eyes would get
3:15:14
Speaker 1: red from time to time, and he would go off
3:15:16
Speaker 1: into his long war cry of rik tik tiki tiki ti.
3:15:21
Speaker 1: Teddy carried him off to bed and insisted on Rikiitinky
3:15:23
Speaker 1: sleeping under his chin. Rikiitiky was too well bred to
3:15:27
Speaker 1: bite or scratch. But as soon as Teddy was asleep.
3:15:30
Speaker 1: He went off for his nightly walk round the house,
3:15:32
Speaker 1: and in the dark he ran up against Chuchundra, the
3:15:35
Speaker 1: muskrat creeping round by the wall. Chichundra is a broken
3:15:39
Speaker 1: hearted little beast. He whimpers and cheaps all the night,
3:15:43
Speaker 1: trying to make up his mind to run into the
3:15:45
Speaker 1: middle of the room, but he never gets there. Don't
3:15:49
Speaker 1: kill me, said Chuchundra, almost weeping. Rikiitiky, don't kill me.
3:15:55
Speaker 1: D'ye think a snake killer kills muskrats, said Rinkitinky scornfully.
3:16:00
Speaker 1: Those who kill snakes get killed by snakes, said Chichindra,
3:16:04
Speaker 1: more sorrowfully than ever. And how am I to be
3:16:07
Speaker 1: sure that Nag won't mistake me for you some dark night.
3:16:11
Speaker 1: There's not the least danger, said Rikitiky. But Nag is
3:16:14
Speaker 1: in the garden, and I know you don't go there.
3:16:19
Speaker 1: My cousin, Chewa the rat, told me, said Chichindra, and
3:16:22
Speaker 1: then he stopped. Told you what hush Nag is everywhere,
3:16:28
Speaker 1: rik Tiky, you should have talked to Chewa in the garden.
3:16:33
Speaker 1: I didn't. So you must tell me quick, Chichindra, or
3:16:36
Speaker 1: I'll bite you. Chichindra sat down and cried till the
3:16:40
Speaker 1: tears rolled off his whiskers. I am a very poor man,
3:16:44
Speaker 1: he sobbed. I never had spirit enough to run out
3:16:46
Speaker 1: into the middle of the room. Hush, I mustn't tell
3:16:49
Speaker 1: you anything, can't you hear? Rikki Tiky Rikitiky listened. The
3:16:55
Speaker 1: house was as still as still, but he thought he
3:16:58
Speaker 1: could just hear the faintest scratch scratch in the world,
3:17:02
Speaker 1: a noise just as faint as that of a wasp
3:17:04
Speaker 1: walking on a window pane, the dry scratch of a
3:17:07
Speaker 1: snake's scales on brickwork. That's nag or Nagina, he said
3:17:12
Speaker 1: to himself, and he is crawling into the bathroom sluice.
3:17:16
Speaker 1: You're right, Chuchundra. I should have talked to Chiua. He
3:17:20
Speaker 1: stole off to Teddy's bathroom, but there was nothing there,
3:17:23
Speaker 1: and then to Teddy's mother's bathroom. At the bottom of
3:17:26
Speaker 1: the smooth plaster wall, there was a brick pulled out
3:17:29
Speaker 1: to make a sluice for the bath water, and as
3:17:31
Speaker 1: Riki Tiki stole in by the masonry curb where the
3:17:34
Speaker 1: bath is put, he heard nag and Nagina whispering together
3:17:37
Speaker 1: outside in the moonlight. When the house is emptied of people,
3:17:42
Speaker 1: said Nagina to her husband. He will have to go away,
3:17:46
Speaker 1: and then the garden will be our own again. Go
3:17:48
Speaker 1: in quietly, and remember that the big man who killed
3:17:51
Speaker 1: Karaiat is the first one to bite. Then come out
3:17:55
Speaker 1: and tell me, and we will hunt for Rickie Tiki together.
3:18:00
Speaker 1: But are you sure there is anything to be gained
3:18:02
Speaker 1: by killing the people, said nag Everything when there were
3:18:07
Speaker 1: no people in the bungalow, did we have any mongoose
3:18:09
Speaker 1: in the garden. So long as the bungalow is empty,
3:18:12
Speaker 1: we are king and queen of the garden. And remember
3:18:16
Speaker 1: that as soon as our eggs in the melon bed hatch,
3:18:18
Speaker 1: as they may tomorrow, our children will need room and quiet.
3:18:23
Speaker 1: I had not thought of that, said nag I will go,
3:18:26
Speaker 1: but there is no need that we should hunt for Rinkitinky. Afterwards,
3:18:30
Speaker 1: I will kill the big man and his wife and
3:18:32
Speaker 1: the child if I can, and come away quietly. Then
3:18:36
Speaker 1: the bungalow will be empty, and Rikitiki will go. Rikitiky
3:18:41
Speaker 1: tingled all over with rage and hatred at this, and
3:18:44
Speaker 1: then Nag's head came through the sluice, and his five
3:18:47
Speaker 1: feet of cold body followed it. Angry as he was,
3:18:51
Speaker 1: Rikitiky was very frightened as he saw the sighs of
3:18:54
Speaker 1: the big cobra. Nag coiled himself up, raised his head
3:18:59
Speaker 1: and looked into the back through in the dark, and
3:19:01
Speaker 1: Riki could see his eyes glitter. Now, if I kill
3:19:06
Speaker 1: him here, Naggina will know. And if I fight him
3:19:08
Speaker 1: on the open floor, the otter in his favor. What
3:19:12
Speaker 1: am I to do, said Rikki Tiky Tavy Nag waved
3:19:16
Speaker 1: to and fro, and then Rinkitinky heard him drinking from
3:19:20
Speaker 1: the biggest water jar that was used to fill the bath.
3:19:23
Speaker 1: That is good, said the snake. Now, when Kari was killed,
3:19:28
Speaker 1: the big man had a stick. He may have that
3:19:31
Speaker 1: stick still, but when he comes in to bathe in
3:19:33
Speaker 1: the morning, he will not have a stick. I shall
3:19:36
Speaker 1: wait here till he comes, Nagina, do you hear me?
3:19:40
Speaker 1: I shall wait here in the cool till daytime. There
3:19:44
Speaker 1: was no answer from outside, so Rikitiky knew Nakina had
3:19:47
Speaker 1: gone away. Nag coiled himself down, coil by coil round
3:19:52
Speaker 1: the bulge at the bottom of the water jar, and
3:19:55
Speaker 1: Rikiitiky stayed still as death. After an hour, he began
3:19:59
Speaker 1: to move muscle by muscle towards the jar. Nag was asleep,
3:20:04
Speaker 1: and Rikkiitinki looked at his big back, wondering which would
3:20:08
Speaker 1: be the best place for a good hold. If I
3:20:11
Speaker 1: don't break his back at the first jump, said Rickie,
3:20:14
Speaker 1: he can still fight. And if he fights, oh Rickie.
3:20:18
Speaker 1: He looked at the thickness of the neck below the hood,
3:20:21
Speaker 1: but that was too much for him, and a bite
3:20:23
Speaker 1: near the tail would only make Nag savage. It must
3:20:27
Speaker 1: be the head, he said, at last, the head above
3:20:30
Speaker 1: the hood, and when I am once there, I must
3:20:33
Speaker 1: not let go. Then he jumped. The head was lying
3:20:38
Speaker 1: a little clear of the water jar, under the curve
3:20:40
Speaker 1: of it, and as his teeth met, Rickie braced his
3:20:44
Speaker 1: back against the bulge of the red earthenware to hold
3:20:46
Speaker 1: down the head. This gave him just one second's purchase,
3:20:50
Speaker 1: and he made the most of it. Then he was
3:20:52
Speaker 1: battered to and fro as a rat is shaken by
3:20:55
Speaker 1: a dog, to and fro on the floor, up and
3:20:57
Speaker 1: down and round in great circles. But his eyes were
3:21:00
Speaker 1: red and he held on as the body cart whipped
3:21:02
Speaker 1: over the floor, upsetting the tin dipper and the soap dish.
3:21:05
Speaker 1: In the fleshbrush and banged against the tin side of
3:21:08
Speaker 1: the bath. As he held he closed his jaws tighter
3:21:11
Speaker 1: and tighter, for he made sure he would be banged
3:21:14
Speaker 1: to death, and for the honor of his family, he
3:21:16
Speaker 1: preferred to be found with his teeth locked. He was dizzy,
3:21:20
Speaker 1: aching and felt shaken to pieces when something went off
3:21:23
Speaker 1: like a thunderclap just behind him. A hot wind knocked
3:21:26
Speaker 1: him senseless, and red fire singed his fur. The big
3:21:30
Speaker 1: Man had been wakened by the noise and had fired
3:21:32
Speaker 1: both barrels of a shotgun into Nag just behind the hood.
3:21:37
Speaker 1: Rikitiky held on with his eyes shut. For now he
3:21:40
Speaker 1: was quite sure he was dead, but the head did
3:21:42
Speaker 1: not move, and the Big Man picked him up and said,
3:21:45
Speaker 1: it's the mongoose again, Alice, the little chap has saved
3:21:48
Speaker 1: our lives now. Then Teddy's mother came in with a
3:21:53
Speaker 1: very white face and saw what was left of Nag,
3:21:56
Speaker 1: and Rikitiky dragged himself to Teddy's bedroom and spent half
3:21:59
Speaker 1: the rest the knight shaking himself tenderly to find out
3:22:02
Speaker 1: whether he really was broken into forty pieces as he fancied.
3:22:07
Speaker 1: When morning came, he was very stiff but well pleased
3:22:09
Speaker 1: with his doings. Now I have Nigina to settle with,
3:22:14
Speaker 1: and she will be worse than five nags. And there's
3:22:16
Speaker 1: no knowing when those eggs she spoke of will hatch. Goodness,
3:22:20
Speaker 1: I must go and see Darcy, he said, without waiting
3:22:24
Speaker 1: for breakfast. Rikitiki ran to the thorn bush, where Darzy
3:22:27
Speaker 1: was singing a song of triumph at the top of
3:22:29
Speaker 1: his voice. The news of Nag's death was all over
3:22:33
Speaker 1: the garden, for the sweeper had thrown the body on
3:22:35
Speaker 1: the rubbish heap. Oh, you stupid tuft of feathers, said
3:22:40
Speaker 1: Rikitiky angrily. Is this the time to sing? Nag is dead?
3:22:45
Speaker 1: Is dead? Is dead? Sang Darzy. The valiant Rikitiki caught
3:22:49
Speaker 1: him by the head and held fast. The big man
3:22:52
Speaker 1: brought the bangs stick, and Nag fell in two pieces.
3:22:55
Speaker 1: He will never eat my babies again. All that's true enough,
3:23:00
Speaker 1: But where's Nigina, said rikki Tiky, looking carefully round him.
3:23:04
Speaker 1: Nagina came to the bathroom sluice and called for Nag.
3:23:07
Speaker 1: Darzy went on and Nag came out of the end
3:23:10
Speaker 1: of a stick. The sweeper picked him up on the
3:23:12
Speaker 1: end of a stick and threw him upon the rubbish heap.
3:23:15
Speaker 1: Let us sing about the grate the red eyed rik Tiki,
3:23:18
Speaker 1: and Darzy filled his throat and sang. If I could
3:23:22
Speaker 1: get up to your nest, i'd roll your babies out,
3:23:24
Speaker 1: said Rikki Tiky. You don't know when to do the
3:23:27
Speaker 1: right thing at the right time. You're safe enough in
3:23:30
Speaker 1: your nest there, but it's war for me down here.
3:23:33
Speaker 1: Stop singing a minute, Darzy, for the great, the beautiful
3:23:37
Speaker 1: rik Tiky's sake, I will stop, said Darzy. What is it, oak,
3:23:41
Speaker 1: killer of the terrible Nag? Where is Nigina for the
3:23:46
Speaker 1: third time on the rubbish heap by the stables, mourning
3:23:50
Speaker 1: for Nag? Great is Ricky Ticky with the white teeth?
3:23:55
Speaker 1: Bother my white teeth? Have you ever heard where she
3:23:58
Speaker 1: keeps her eggs in the melon bed on the end
3:24:01
Speaker 1: nearest the wall where the sun strikes nearly all day.
3:24:04
Speaker 1: She hit them there weeks ago, and you never thought
3:24:08
Speaker 1: it worth while to tell me the end nearest the wall,
3:24:11
Speaker 1: you said, Ricky Ticky, You are not going to eat
3:24:14
Speaker 1: her eggs. Not eat exactly now, Darcy. If you have
3:24:20
Speaker 1: a grain of sense, you will fly off to the
3:24:21
Speaker 1: stables and pretend that your wing is broken, and let
3:24:24
Speaker 1: Neagina chase you away to this bush. I must get
3:24:27
Speaker 1: to the melon bed, and if I went there now,
3:24:29
Speaker 1: she'd see me. Darcy was a feather brained little fellow
3:24:34
Speaker 1: who could never hold more than one idea at a
3:24:36
Speaker 1: time in his head. And just because he knew that
3:24:38
Speaker 1: Neaggina's children were born in eggs like his own, he
3:24:41
Speaker 1: didn't think at first that it was fair to kill them.
3:24:44
Speaker 1: But his wife was a sensible bird, and she knew
3:24:47
Speaker 1: that the cobra's eggs meant young cobras laid her on.
3:24:50
Speaker 1: So she flew off from the nest and left Darzy
3:24:53
Speaker 1: to keep the babies warm and continue his song about
3:24:55
Speaker 1: the death of nag Darzy was very like a man
3:24:58
Speaker 1: in some ways. She fluttered in front of Nigina by
3:25:02
Speaker 1: the rubbish heap and cried out, oh, my wing is broken.
3:25:05
Speaker 1: The boy in the house threw a stone at me
3:25:07
Speaker 1: and broke it. Then she fluttered more desperately than ever.
3:25:12
Speaker 1: Nigkina lift up her head and hissed, You warned Rickie Tiki,
3:25:16
Speaker 1: when I would have killed him. Indeed, and truly you've
3:25:19
Speaker 1: chosen a bad place to be lame in, and she
3:25:23
Speaker 1: moved towards Darzy's wife, slipping along over the dust. The
3:25:29
Speaker 1: boy broke it with a stone, shrieked Darcy's wife. Well,
3:25:33
Speaker 1: it may be some consolation to you when you are dead,
3:25:36
Speaker 1: to know that I shall settle accounts with the boy.
3:25:39
Speaker 1: My husband lies on the rubbish heap this morning, but
3:25:42
Speaker 1: before night the boy in the house will lie very still.
3:25:46
Speaker 1: What is the use of running away? I am sure
3:25:47
Speaker 1: to catch you, little fool. Look at me. Darcy's wife
3:25:52
Speaker 1: knew better than to do that, For a bird who
3:25:54
Speaker 1: looks at a snake's eyes gets so frightened that she
3:25:56
Speaker 1: cannot move. Darcy's wife fluttered on, piping sorrowfully and never
3:26:02
Speaker 1: leaving the ground, and Nagina quickened her pace. Rikitiki heard
3:26:06
Speaker 1: them going up the path from the stables, and he
3:26:09
Speaker 1: raced for the end of the melon patch near the wall. There,
3:26:12
Speaker 1: in the warm litter above the melons, very cunningly hidden,
3:26:16
Speaker 1: he found twenty five eggs, about the size of a
3:26:18
Speaker 1: bantam's eggs, but with whitish skins instead of shells. I
3:26:24
Speaker 1: was not a day too soon, he said, for he
3:26:26
Speaker 1: could see the baby cobras curled up inside the skin,
3:26:29
Speaker 1: and he knew that the minute they were hatched, they
3:26:31
Speaker 1: could each kill a man or a mongoose. He bit
3:26:35
Speaker 1: off the tops of the eggs as fast as he could,
3:26:37
Speaker 1: taking care to crush the young cobras, and turned over
3:26:40
Speaker 1: the litter from time to time to see whether he
3:26:43
Speaker 1: had missed any. At last, there were only three eggs left,
3:26:47
Speaker 1: and Rikkitiki began to chuckle to himself when he heard
3:26:50
Speaker 1: Darcy's wife screaming, Rikitiky, I let Niakina toward the house,
3:26:55
Speaker 1: and she has gone into the verandah, and oh, come quickly,
3:26:57
Speaker 1: she means killing. Rikiticky smashed two eggs and tumbled backwards
3:27:02
Speaker 1: down the melon bed with the third egg in his mouth,
3:27:04
Speaker 1: and scuttled to the veranda as hard as he could
3:27:06
Speaker 1: put foot to the ground. Teddy and his mother and
3:27:09
Speaker 1: father were there at early breakfast, but Rikitiki saw that
3:27:12
Speaker 1: they were not eating anything. They sat stone still and
3:27:16
Speaker 1: their faces were white. Niggina was coiled up on the
3:27:20
Speaker 1: matting by Teddy's chair, with an easy striking distance of
3:27:23
Speaker 1: Teddy's bare leg, and she was swaying to and fro
3:27:26
Speaker 1: singing a song of triumph, son of the Big Man,
3:27:31
Speaker 1: that killed nag She hissed, stay still, I am not
3:27:35
Speaker 1: ready yet. Wait a little, keep very still, all you three.
3:27:40
Speaker 1: If you move, I strike, and if you do not move,
3:27:43
Speaker 1: I strike. Oh, foolish people who killed my nag Teddy's
3:27:48
Speaker 1: eyes were fixed on his father, and all his father
3:27:51
Speaker 1: could do was whisper, Sit still, Teddy, you mustn't move, Teddy.
3:27:55
Speaker 1: Keep still. Then Rikitiky came up and cried, turn round, Nagina,
3:28:00
Speaker 1: turn and fight all in good time, said she, without
3:28:05
Speaker 1: moving her eyes. I will settle my account with you presently.
3:28:10
Speaker 1: Look at your friends, Rikitinky. They are still and white.
3:28:14
Speaker 1: They are afraid. They dare not move, And if you
3:28:17
Speaker 1: come a step nearer, I strike. Look at your eggs,
3:28:23
Speaker 1: said rik Tiky in the melon bed near the wall.
3:28:26
Speaker 1: Go and look, Nagina. The big snake turned half round
3:28:30
Speaker 1: and saw the egg on the veranda. Ah, give it
3:28:33
Speaker 1: to me, she said. Rikkitinky put his paws, one on
3:28:37
Speaker 1: each side of the egg, and his eyes were blood red.
3:28:41
Speaker 1: What price for a snake's egg? For a young cobra,
3:28:45
Speaker 1: for a young king cobra, For the last, the very
3:28:49
Speaker 1: last of the brood. The ants are eating all the others.
3:28:52
Speaker 1: Down by the melon bed Nikina spun clear round forgetting
3:28:57
Speaker 1: everything for the sake of the one egg, and Rikiitinky
3:28:59
Speaker 1: saw Teddy's father shoot out a big hand, catch Teddy
3:29:02
Speaker 1: by the shoulder and drag him across the little table
3:29:04
Speaker 1: with the teacups, safe and out of reach of Nagina. Tricked, tricked, tricked,
3:29:11
Speaker 1: rick tick tick chuckled, Ricky Ticky, the boy is safe.
3:29:15
Speaker 1: And it was I aye, I that caught nag by
3:29:17
Speaker 1: the hood last night in the bathroom. Then he began
3:29:20
Speaker 1: to jump up and down, all four feet together, his
3:29:22
Speaker 1: head close to the floor. He threw me to and fro,
3:29:25
Speaker 1: but he could not shake me off. He was dead
3:29:27
Speaker 1: before a big man blew him in two. I did it,
3:29:30
Speaker 1: Ricky Ticky tick Tick, Come then, Nagina, come and fight
3:29:33
Speaker 1: with me. You shall not be a widow long. Nagina
3:29:38
Speaker 1: saw that she had lost her chances of killing Teddy,
3:29:40
Speaker 1: and the egg lay between Ricky Ticky's paws. Give me
3:29:44
Speaker 1: the egg, Ricky Ticky, give me the last of my eggs,
3:29:47
Speaker 1: and I will go away and never come back, she said,
3:29:50
Speaker 1: lowering her hood. Yes, you will go away and you
3:29:54
Speaker 1: will never come back, for you will go to the
3:29:57
Speaker 1: rubbish heap with nag fight widow. The big man has
3:30:01
Speaker 1: gone for his gun fight. Rinkitinky was bounding all round Niagina,
3:30:06
Speaker 1: keeping just out of reach of her stroke, his little
3:30:09
Speaker 1: eyes like hot coals. Egguina gathered herself together and flung
3:30:13
Speaker 1: out at him. Rinkitinky jumped up and backwards. Again and
3:30:17
Speaker 1: again she struck, and each time her head came with
3:30:20
Speaker 1: a whack on the matting of the veranda, and she
3:30:22
Speaker 1: gathered herself together like a watch spring. Then Rinkitinky danced
3:30:26
Speaker 1: in a circle to get behind her, and Nigina spun
3:30:29
Speaker 1: round to keep her head to his head, so that
3:30:31
Speaker 1: the rustle of her tail on the matting sounded like
3:30:33
Speaker 1: dry leaves blown along by the wind. He had forgotten
3:30:37
Speaker 1: the egg. It still lay on the veranda, and Nigina
3:30:41
Speaker 1: came nearer and nearer to it, till at last, while
3:30:44
Speaker 1: Rinkitinky was drawing breath, she caught it in her mouth,
3:30:47
Speaker 1: turned to the veranda steps, and flew like an arrow
3:30:50
Speaker 1: down the path, with Rikitiky behind her. When the cobra
3:30:53
Speaker 1: runs for her life, she goes like a whiplash flicked
3:30:56
Speaker 1: across a horse's neck. Rinkitinky knew that he must ketch,
3:31:00
Speaker 1: or all the trouble would begin again. She headed straight
3:31:03
Speaker 1: for the long Grasp by the Thorn bush, and as
3:31:06
Speaker 1: he was running, Rikiticky heard Darcy still singing his foolish
3:31:09
Speaker 1: little song of triumph. But Darzy's wife was wiser. She
3:31:14
Speaker 1: flew off her nest as Nigina came along and flapped
3:31:16
Speaker 1: her wings about Nikina's head. If Darcy had helped, they
3:31:20
Speaker 1: might have turned her, but Nagina only lowered her hood
3:31:23
Speaker 1: and went on still. The instant's delay brought Rikitiki up
3:31:27
Speaker 1: to her, and as she plunged into the rat hole
3:31:29
Speaker 1: where she and nag used to live, his little white
3:31:31
Speaker 1: teeth were clenched on her tail, and he went down
3:31:34
Speaker 1: with her. And very few mongooses, however wise and old
3:31:37
Speaker 1: they may be, care to follow a cobra into its hole.
3:31:41
Speaker 1: It was dark in the hole, and Rikki Tiki never
3:31:43
Speaker 1: knew when it might open out and give Nagina a
3:31:45
Speaker 1: room to turn and strike at him. He held on
3:31:48
Speaker 1: savagely and stuck out his feet to act as brakes
3:31:50
Speaker 1: on the dark slope of the hot, moist earth. Then
3:31:54
Speaker 1: the grasp by the mouth of the hole stopped waving
3:31:57
Speaker 1: and Darcy said, it is all over with Ricky Ticky.
3:32:00
Speaker 1: We must sing his death song. Valiant rik Tiky is dead,
3:32:05
Speaker 1: for Nikina will surely kill him underground. So he sang
3:32:09
Speaker 1: a very mournful song that he made up on the
3:32:11
Speaker 1: spur of the minute. And just as he got to
3:32:13
Speaker 1: the most touching part, the grass quivered again, and Riki Ticky,
3:32:17
Speaker 1: covered with dirt, dragged himself out of the hole, legged
3:32:21
Speaker 1: by leg, licking his whiskers. Darcy stopped to a little shout.
3:32:26
Speaker 1: Riki Tikey shook some of the dust out of his
3:32:28
Speaker 1: fur and sneezed. It is all over, he said. The
3:32:32
Speaker 1: widow will never come out again. And the red ants
3:32:35
Speaker 1: that lived between the grass stems heard him and began
3:32:38
Speaker 1: to troop down one after another to see if he
3:32:40
Speaker 1: had spoken the truth. Ricky Ticky curled himself up in
3:32:44
Speaker 1: the grass and slept where he was slept and slept
3:32:47
Speaker 1: till it was late in the afternoon, for he had
3:32:49
Speaker 1: done a hard day's work. Now, he said, when he awoke,
3:32:54
Speaker 1: I will go back to the house. Tell the coppersmith Darzy,
3:32:58
Speaker 1: and he will tell the garden that Nick Guina is dead.
3:33:02
Speaker 1: The coppersmith is a bird who makes a noise exactly
3:33:05
Speaker 1: like the beating of a little hammer on a copper pot.
3:33:07
Speaker 1: And the reason he is always making it is because
3:33:09
Speaker 1: he is the town crier to every Indian garden and
3:33:12
Speaker 1: tells all the news to everybody who cares to listen.
3:33:15
Speaker 1: As Rickie Ticky went up the path, he heard his
3:33:18
Speaker 1: attention notes like a tiny dinner gong, and then the
3:33:21
Speaker 1: steady ding dong talk, Nag is dead dong, Neggina is
3:33:26
Speaker 1: dead ding dong talk. That said, all the birds in
3:33:30
Speaker 1: the garden singing and the frog's croaking, for Nag and
3:33:33
Speaker 1: Neigina used to eat frogs as well as little birds.
3:33:37
Speaker 1: When Rickie got to the house Teddy and Teddy's mother,
3:33:40
Speaker 1: she looked very white still, for she had been fainting,
3:33:42
Speaker 1: And Teddy's father came out and almost cried over him.
3:33:46
Speaker 1: And that night he ate all that was given him
3:33:48
Speaker 1: till he could eat no more and went to bed
3:33:50
Speaker 1: on Teddy's shoulder, where Teddy's mother saw him. When she
3:33:52
Speaker 1: came to look late at night. He saved our lives
3:33:57
Speaker 1: and Teddy's life, she said to her husband. Just think
3:34:01
Speaker 1: he saved all our lives. Rinkitinky woke up with a jump,
3:34:06
Speaker 1: for mongooses are light sleepers. Oh it's you, said, he,
3:34:12
Speaker 1: What are you bothering? For all the cobras are dead,
3:34:15
Speaker 1: and if they weren't, I'm here. Rinkitinky had a right
3:34:19
Speaker 1: to be proud of himself, but he did not grow
3:34:22
Speaker 1: too proud, and he kept that garden as a mongoose
3:34:24
Speaker 1: should keep it with tooth and jump and spring and
3:34:27
Speaker 1: bite till never a cobra dared show its head inside
3:34:31
Speaker 1: the walls. Darcy's chant sung in honor of Rikitiki Tavi,
3:34:39
Speaker 1: singer and tailor. Am I doubled the joys that I know,
3:34:43
Speaker 1: Proud of my lilt to the sky, proud of the
3:34:46
Speaker 1: house that I sow over and under. So weviy my music,
3:34:50
Speaker 1: So we viy the house that I sow. Sing to
3:34:54
Speaker 1: your fledglings again, mother, Oh lift up your head. Evil
3:34:58
Speaker 1: that plagued us is slain. Death in the garden lies dead,
3:35:03
Speaker 1: Terror that hid in the roses is impotent, flung on
3:35:06
Speaker 1: the dunghill and dead? Who has delivered us? Who tell
3:35:10
Speaker 1: me his nest and his name? Rickie the Valiant, the
3:35:13
Speaker 1: true Tickie with eyeballs of flame, Rikitiki Tiki the Ivory
3:35:18
Speaker 1: fanged the hunter with the eyeballs of flame, give him
3:35:22
Speaker 1: the thanks of the birds, bowing with tail feathers spread,
3:35:26
Speaker 1: praise him with nightingale words. Nay, I will praise him instead.
3:35:31
Speaker 1: Here I will sing you the praise of the bottle
3:35:33
Speaker 1: tailed Rickie with eyeballs of red. Here Rikitiki interrupted, so
3:35:38
Speaker 1: the rest of the song is lost. End of chapter five,
3:35:45
Speaker 1: Chapter six. To my of the elephants, I will remember
3:35:52
Speaker 1: what I was. I am sick of rope and chain.
3:35:55
Speaker 1: I will remember my old strength and all my forest affairs.
3:36:00
Speaker 1: I will not sell my back to man for a
3:36:02
Speaker 1: bundle of sugar cane. I will go out to my
3:36:05
Speaker 1: own kind and the wood folk in their lairs. I
3:36:09
Speaker 1: will go out until the day, until the morning, break
3:36:12
Speaker 1: out to the wind's untainted kiss, the water's clean caress.
3:36:17
Speaker 1: I will forget my ankle ring and snap my picket stake.
3:36:21
Speaker 1: I will revisit my lost loves and playmates. Masterless Kala Nag,
3:36:29
Speaker 1: which means black snake had served the Indian government in
3:36:32
Speaker 1: every way that an elephant could serve it for forty
3:36:34
Speaker 1: seven years, and as he was fully twenty years old
3:36:37
Speaker 1: when he was caught, that makes him nearly seventy a
3:36:41
Speaker 1: ripe age for an elephant. He remembered pushing with a
3:36:45
Speaker 1: big leather pad on his forehead at a gun stuck
3:36:48
Speaker 1: deep in mud. And that was before the Afghan War
3:36:51
Speaker 1: of eighteen forty two, and he had not then come
3:36:54
Speaker 1: to his full strength. His mother, Rata Pyari Rada, the
3:36:59
Speaker 1: darling who had been caught in the same drive with Kalinag,
3:37:02
Speaker 1: told him before his little milk tusks had dropped out,
3:37:06
Speaker 1: that elephants who were afraid always got hurt, and klinagg
3:37:11
Speaker 1: knew that that advice was good. For the first time
3:37:14
Speaker 1: that he saw a shell burst, he backed screaming into
3:37:16
Speaker 1: a stand of piled rifles, and the bayonets pricked him
3:37:19
Speaker 1: in all his softest places. So before he was twenty five,
3:37:24
Speaker 1: he gave up being afraid, and so he was the
3:37:26
Speaker 1: best loved and the best looked after elephant in the
3:37:29
Speaker 1: service of the Government of India. He had carried tents
3:37:33
Speaker 1: twelve hundred pounds weight of tents on the march in
3:37:36
Speaker 1: Upper India. He had been hoisted into a ship at
3:37:39
Speaker 1: the end of a steam crane and taken for days
3:37:42
Speaker 1: across the water, and made to carry a mortar on
3:37:44
Speaker 1: his back in a strange and rocky country very far
3:37:47
Speaker 1: from India, and had seen the Emperor Theodore lying dead
3:37:51
Speaker 1: in Magdala, and had come back again, and the steamer entitled.
3:37:54
Speaker 1: So the soldier said to the Abyssinian war medal. He
3:37:59
Speaker 1: had seen his fellow elephants die of cold and epilepsy
3:38:02
Speaker 1: and starvation and sunstroke up at a place called Ali
3:38:05
Speaker 1: Masjid ten years later, and afterwards he had been sent
3:38:09
Speaker 1: down thousands of miles south to haul and pile big
3:38:12
Speaker 1: balks of teak in the timber yards at Moulmain. There
3:38:17
Speaker 1: he had half killed an insubordinate young elephant who was
3:38:20
Speaker 1: shirking his fair share of work. After that he was
3:38:23
Speaker 1: taken off timberhauling and employed with a few score other
3:38:27
Speaker 1: elephants who were trained to the business in helping to
3:38:29
Speaker 1: catch wild elephants among the Garrow hills. Elephants are very
3:38:34
Speaker 1: strictly preserved by the Indian government. There is one whole
3:38:38
Speaker 1: department which does nothing else but hunt them and catch
3:38:41
Speaker 1: them and break them in and send them up and
3:38:43
Speaker 1: down the country as they are needed for work. Kala
3:38:47
Speaker 1: Nag stood ten fair feet at the shoulders, and his
3:38:50
Speaker 1: tusks had been cut off short at five feet and
3:38:52
Speaker 1: bound round the ends to prevent them splitting with bands
3:38:55
Speaker 1: of copper. But he could do more with those stumps
3:38:58
Speaker 1: than any untrained elephant could do with the real sharpened ones.
3:39:02
Speaker 1: When after weeks and weeks of cautious driving of scattered
3:39:05
Speaker 1: elephants across the hills, the forty or fifty wild monsters
3:39:08
Speaker 1: were driven into the last stockade, and the big drop
3:39:11
Speaker 1: gate made of tree trunks lashed together, jarred down behind them,
3:39:15
Speaker 1: Kala nag At, the word of command, would go into
3:39:18
Speaker 1: that flaring, trumpeting pandemonium, generally at night, when the flickering
3:39:22
Speaker 1: of the torches made it difficult to judge distances, and
3:39:26
Speaker 1: picking out the biggest and wildest tusker of the mob,
3:39:28
Speaker 1: would hammer him and hustle him into quiet, while the
3:39:31
Speaker 1: men on the backs of the other elephants roped and
3:39:33
Speaker 1: tied the smaller ones. There was nothing in the way
3:39:37
Speaker 1: of fighting that Colin nag the old wise black snake
3:39:40
Speaker 1: did not know, for he had stood up more than
3:39:43
Speaker 1: once in his time to the charge of the wounded tiger,
3:39:46
Speaker 1: and curling up his soft trunk to be out of
3:39:49
Speaker 1: harm's way, had knocked the springing brute sideways in mid
3:39:52
Speaker 1: air with a quick sickle cut of his head that
3:39:54
Speaker 1: he had invented all by himself, had knocked him over
3:39:57
Speaker 1: and kneeled upon him with his huge knees till the
3:40:00
Speaker 1: life went out with a gasp and a howl, and
3:40:02
Speaker 1: there was only a fluffy striped thing on the ground
3:40:05
Speaker 1: for Kalinagg to pull by the tail. Yes, said big
3:40:10
Speaker 1: to May, his driver, the son of Black Tomi, who
3:40:13
Speaker 1: had taken him to Abyssinia, and grandson of tou May
3:40:15
Speaker 1: of the elephants, who had seen him caught. There is
3:40:18
Speaker 1: nothing that the black snake fears except me. He has
3:40:22
Speaker 1: seen three generations of us feed him and groom him,
3:40:25
Speaker 1: and he will live to see four. He's afraid of me,
3:40:29
Speaker 1: also said little to May, standing up to his full
3:40:32
Speaker 1: height of four feet with only one rag upon him.
3:40:36
Speaker 1: He was ten years old, the eldest son of big
3:40:38
Speaker 1: to Mae, and according to custom, he would take his
3:40:41
Speaker 1: father's place on Kalinag's neck when he grew up, and
3:40:44
Speaker 1: would handle the heavy iron uncus, the elephant goad that
3:40:47
Speaker 1: had been worn smooth by his father and his grandfather
3:40:50
Speaker 1: and his great grandfather. He knew what he was talking of.
3:40:54
Speaker 1: For he had been born under Kalinagg's shadow, had played
3:40:58
Speaker 1: with the end of his trunk before he could walk,
3:41:00
Speaker 1: had taken him down to water as soon as he
3:41:02
Speaker 1: could walk, And Colinagg would no more have dreamed of
3:41:05
Speaker 1: disobeying his shrill little orders than he would have dreamed
3:41:08
Speaker 1: of killing him. On that day when big to My
3:41:10
Speaker 1: carried the little brown baby under Kalinagg's tusks and told
3:41:14
Speaker 1: him to salute his master, that was to be Yes,
3:41:17
Speaker 1: said little to May, he is afraid of me, and
3:41:21
Speaker 1: he took long strides up to Colinagg, called him a
3:41:24
Speaker 1: fat old pig, and made him lift up his feet
3:41:26
Speaker 1: one after the other. Hua said, little to May, thou
3:41:30
Speaker 1: art a big elephant, and he wagged his fluffy head,
3:41:34
Speaker 1: quoting his father. The government may pay for elephants, but
3:41:38
Speaker 1: they belong to us, my hoots. When thou art old Kalinag,
3:41:42
Speaker 1: there will come some rich rajah, and he will buy
3:41:44
Speaker 1: thee from the government on account of thy size and
3:41:46
Speaker 1: thy manners. And then thou wilt have nothing to do
3:41:49
Speaker 1: but to carry gold ear rings in thy ears, and
3:41:52
Speaker 1: a gold how to on thy back, and a red
3:41:54
Speaker 1: cloth covered with gold on thy sides, and walk at
3:41:57
Speaker 1: the head of the processions of the king. Then I
3:42:00
Speaker 1: shall sit on thy neck o Kalanag with a silver uncus,
3:42:03
Speaker 1: and men will run before us with golden sticks, crying
3:42:06
Speaker 1: room for the king's elephant. That will be good, Kalinagg.
3:42:10
Speaker 1: But not so good as this hunting in the jungles,
3:42:14
Speaker 1: Humph said big to my thou art a boy and
3:42:17
Speaker 1: as wild as a buffalo calf. This running up and
3:42:21
Speaker 1: down among the hills is not the best government service.
3:42:24
Speaker 1: I am getting old, and I do not love wild elephants.
3:42:28
Speaker 1: Give me brick elephant lines, one to stall each elephant,
3:42:31
Speaker 1: and big stumps to tie them safely, and flat broad
3:42:34
Speaker 1: roads to exercise upon. Instead of this, come and go camping. Aha.
3:42:39
Speaker 1: The cawnpoor barracks were good. There was a bazaar close by,
3:42:43
Speaker 1: and only three hours work a day. Little to My
3:42:47
Speaker 1: remembered the conpoor elephant lines and said nothing. He very
3:42:51
Speaker 1: much preferred the camp life, and hated those broad, flat roads,
3:42:55
Speaker 1: with the daily grubbing for grass and the forage reserve,
3:42:58
Speaker 1: and the long hours when there was nothing to do
3:43:00
Speaker 1: except watch Colin Nag fidgeting in his pickets. What Little
3:43:04
Speaker 1: Toom I liked was to scramble up bridle paths that
3:43:06
Speaker 1: only an elephant could take, the dip into the valley below,
3:43:10
Speaker 1: the glimpses of the wild elephants browsing miles away, The
3:43:14
Speaker 1: rush of the frightened pig and peacock under Kalinagg's feet,
3:43:17
Speaker 1: The blinding warm rains when all the hills and valleys smoked,
3:43:21
Speaker 1: the beautiful misty mornings when nobody knew where he would
3:43:24
Speaker 1: camp that night, The steady, cautious drive of the wild elephants,
3:43:28
Speaker 1: and the mad rush and blaze and hullabaloo of the
3:43:30
Speaker 1: last night's drive, when the elephants poured into the stockade
3:43:34
Speaker 1: like boulders in a landslide, found that they could not
3:43:36
Speaker 1: get out, and flung themselves at the heavy posts, only
3:43:39
Speaker 1: to be driven back by yells and flaring torches and
3:43:42
Speaker 1: volleys of blank cartridge. Even a little boy could be
3:43:46
Speaker 1: of use there, and to my was as useful as
3:43:48
Speaker 1: three boys. He would get his torch and wave it
3:43:51
Speaker 1: and yell with the best. But the really good time
3:43:54
Speaker 1: came when the driving out began, and the ketta, that
3:43:57
Speaker 1: is the stockade looked like a picture of the end
3:44:00
Speaker 1: of the world, and men had to make signs to
3:44:03
Speaker 1: one another because they could not hear themselves speak. Then
3:44:07
Speaker 1: little to My would climb up to the top of
3:44:09
Speaker 1: one of the quivering stockade posts, his sun bleached brown
3:44:12
Speaker 1: hair flying loose all over his shoulders, and he looking
3:44:15
Speaker 1: like a goblin in the torchlight. And as soon as
3:44:19
Speaker 1: there was a lull, you could hear his high pitched
3:44:21
Speaker 1: yells of encouragement to Colin A. Nagg above the trumpeting
3:44:24
Speaker 1: and crashing and snapping of ropes and groans of the
3:44:27
Speaker 1: tethered elephants. Maye, maye, kalinagg, go on, go on, black snake,
3:44:34
Speaker 1: dan't do, give him the tusk. Somallo, somallow, careful, careful
3:44:40
Speaker 1: morrow mar hit him, hit him mind the post or
3:44:44
Speaker 1: ey aorry hi yay kia a ah, he would shout,
3:44:48
Speaker 1: and the big fight between Colinagg and the wild elephant
3:44:51
Speaker 1: would sway to and fro across the ketdah, and the
3:44:53
Speaker 1: old elephant catchers would wipe the sweat out of their
3:44:55
Speaker 1: eyes and find time to nods a little to my,
3:44:58
Speaker 1: wriggling with joy on the top of the post hosts,
3:45:01
Speaker 1: he did more than wriggle. One night, he slid down
3:45:04
Speaker 1: from the post and slipped in between the elephants, and
3:45:07
Speaker 1: threw up the loose end of a rope which had
3:45:09
Speaker 1: dropped to a driver who was trying to get a
3:45:11
Speaker 1: purchase on the leg of the kicking Young calf calves
3:45:14
Speaker 1: always give more trouble than full grown animals. Kalinagg saw him,
3:45:20
Speaker 1: caught him in his trunk and handed him up to
3:45:21
Speaker 1: Big to Mye, who slapped him then and there and
3:45:24
Speaker 1: put him back on the post. Next morning he gave
3:45:27
Speaker 1: him a scolding and said, are not good brick elephant
3:45:30
Speaker 1: lines and a little tent carrying enough that thou must
3:45:33
Speaker 1: needs go elephant catching on thy own account? Little worthless?
3:45:37
Speaker 1: Now those foolish hunters whose pay is less than my
3:45:39
Speaker 1: pay have spoken to Peterson Sahib of the matter. Little
3:45:44
Speaker 1: to my was frightened. He did not know much of
3:45:46
Speaker 1: white men. But Peterson Sahib was the greatest white man
3:45:50
Speaker 1: in the world. To him, he was the head of
3:45:52
Speaker 1: all the Keddah operations, the man who caught all the
3:45:55
Speaker 1: elephants for the government of India, and who knew more
3:45:59
Speaker 1: about the ways of wild elephants than any living man.
3:46:03
Speaker 1: What what will happen? Said little to my happen the
3:46:08
Speaker 1: worst that can happen peters, and Sahib is a madman.
3:46:12
Speaker 1: Else why should he go hunting these wild devils. He
3:46:15
Speaker 1: may even require thee to be an elephant catcher, to
3:46:18
Speaker 1: sleep anywhere in these fever filled jungles, and at last
3:46:21
Speaker 1: to be trampled to death on the ketta. It is
3:46:23
Speaker 1: well with his nonsense ends safely. Next week the catching
3:46:27
Speaker 1: is over and we of the plains are sent back
3:46:29
Speaker 1: to our stations. Then we will march on smooth roads
3:46:33
Speaker 1: and forget all this hunting. But Son, I am angry
3:46:37
Speaker 1: that thou shouldst meddle in the business that belongs to
3:46:39
Speaker 1: these dirty Assamese jungle folk. Kala Nag will obey none
3:46:43
Speaker 1: but me, so I must go with him into the ketta.
3:46:46
Speaker 1: But he is only a fighting elephant, and he does
3:46:48
Speaker 1: not help to rope them. So I set at my
3:46:51
Speaker 1: ease as befits. I'm a hoot, not a mere hunter.
3:46:55
Speaker 1: I'm a hoot, I say. And a man who gets
3:46:57
Speaker 1: a pension at the end of his service is the
3:46:59
Speaker 1: thing family of to my of the elephants to be
3:47:01
Speaker 1: trodden under foot in the dirt of a ketta, bad one, wicked,
3:47:05
Speaker 1: one worthless. Son, go and wash kllannagg and attend to
3:47:09
Speaker 1: his ears and see that there are no thorns in
3:47:11
Speaker 1: his feet, or else Peterson's a heap will surely catch
3:47:14
Speaker 1: thee and make thee a wild hunter, a follower of
3:47:16
Speaker 1: elephant's foot tracks, a jungle bear. Bah shame go. Little
3:47:23
Speaker 1: Tomye went off without saying a word, but he told
3:47:26
Speaker 1: Kalinagg all his grievances while he was examining his feet.
3:47:30
Speaker 1: No matter said little to my turning up the fringe
3:47:32
Speaker 1: of Kalinagg's huge right ear. They have said my name
3:47:36
Speaker 1: to Peterson's a heap, And perhaps, and perhaps and perhaps
3:47:42
Speaker 1: who knows hi, that is a big thorn that I
3:47:45
Speaker 1: have pulled out. The next few days were spent in
3:47:48
Speaker 1: getting the elephants together, in walking the newly caught wild
3:47:51
Speaker 1: elephants up and down between a couple of tame ones
3:47:53
Speaker 1: to prevent them giving too much trouble on the downward
3:47:56
Speaker 1: march to the plains, and in taking stock of the
3:47:58
Speaker 1: blankets and ropes and things that had been worn out
3:48:01
Speaker 1: or lost in the forest. Peterson Saheb came in on
3:48:04
Speaker 1: his clever she elephant Pudmini. He had been paying off
3:48:08
Speaker 1: other camps among the hills for the season, was coming
3:48:10
Speaker 1: to an end, and there was a native clerk sitting
3:48:12
Speaker 1: at a table under a tree to pay the drivers
3:48:14
Speaker 1: their wages. As each man was paid, he went back
3:48:18
Speaker 1: to his elephant and joined the line that stood ready
3:48:20
Speaker 1: to start. The catchers and hunters and beaters. The men
3:48:24
Speaker 1: of the regular ketda who stayed in the jungle year
3:48:27
Speaker 1: in and year out, sat on the backs of the
3:48:29
Speaker 1: elephants that belonged to Peterson Sahib's permanent force, or leaned
3:48:33
Speaker 1: against the trees with their guns across their arms, and
3:48:36
Speaker 1: made fun of the drivers who were going away, and
3:48:38
Speaker 1: laughed when the newly caught elephants broke the line and
3:48:41
Speaker 1: ran about. Big to Ma went up to the clerk
3:48:44
Speaker 1: with little to Maie behind him, and Matua Appa, the
3:48:47
Speaker 1: head tracker said, in an undertone to a friend of his,
3:48:51
Speaker 1: there goes one piece of good elephant stuff. At least
3:48:54
Speaker 1: tis a pity to send that young jungle cock to
3:48:57
Speaker 1: mount in the plains. Now Peterson Sahib had ears all
3:49:01
Speaker 1: over him, as a man must have who listened to
3:49:03
Speaker 1: the most silent of all living things, the wild elephant.
3:49:07
Speaker 1: He turned where he was lying all along on Pudnini's back,
3:49:11
Speaker 1: and said, what is that I did not know of
3:49:14
Speaker 1: a man among the plains drivers who had wit enough
3:49:16
Speaker 1: to rope even a dead elephant. This is not a man,
3:49:21
Speaker 1: but a boy. He went into the keddah the last
3:49:23
Speaker 1: drive and threw our mouth there the rope. When we
3:49:26
Speaker 1: were trying to get that young calf with the blotch
3:49:28
Speaker 1: on his shoulder away from his mother, matua Appa pointed
3:49:31
Speaker 1: at Little to May, and Peterson Sahib looked, and Little
3:49:34
Speaker 1: to My bowed to the earth. He throw a rope.
3:49:39
Speaker 1: He is smaller than a picket pin, little one, What
3:49:42
Speaker 1: is thy name? Said Peterson Sahib. Little to mye was
3:49:46
Speaker 1: too frightened to speak. But Kalinagg was behind him, and
3:49:49
Speaker 1: to my made a sign with his hand, and the
3:49:51
Speaker 1: elephant caught him up in his trunk and held him
3:49:53
Speaker 1: level with Pudmini's forehead in front of the great Peterson Sahib.
3:49:58
Speaker 1: Then Little to My covered his face with his hands,
3:50:01
Speaker 1: for he was only a child, and except where elephants
3:50:04
Speaker 1: were concerned, he was just as bashful as a child
3:50:06
Speaker 1: could be. Oh, said Peterson Sahib, smiling under his mustache.
3:50:12
Speaker 1: And why Didst thou teach thy elephant that trick? Was
3:50:16
Speaker 1: it to help thee steel green corn from the roofs
3:50:18
Speaker 1: of the houses, when the ears are put out to dry,
3:50:22
Speaker 1: not green corn, protector of the poor melons, said little
3:50:26
Speaker 1: to May, and all the men sitting about broke into
3:50:29
Speaker 1: a roar of laughter. Most of them had taught their
3:50:32
Speaker 1: elephants that trick when they were boys. Little to My
3:50:35
Speaker 1: was hanging eight feet up in the air, and he
3:50:37
Speaker 1: wished very much that he were eight feet under ground.
3:50:41
Speaker 1: He is to my my son, Sahib said, big to myye, scowling.
3:50:45
Speaker 1: He's a very bad boy, and he will end in jail. Sahib,
3:50:50
Speaker 1: of that I have my doubts, said Peterson Sahib. A
3:50:53
Speaker 1: boy who can face a full keddah at his age
3:50:56
Speaker 1: does not end in jails. See little one here for
3:51:00
Speaker 1: Anna's to spend on sweetmeats, because thou hast a little
3:51:03
Speaker 1: head under that great thatch of hair. In time thou
3:51:06
Speaker 1: mayst become a hunter too big to my scowled more
3:51:10
Speaker 1: than ever, Remember though, that kettas are not good for
3:51:13
Speaker 1: children to play, And Peterson Sahib went on, Must I
3:51:17
Speaker 1: never go there, Sahib asked Little to My with a
3:51:20
Speaker 1: big gasp. Yes, Peterson Sahib smiled, again when thou hast
3:51:26
Speaker 1: seen the elephants dance. That is the proper time. Come
3:51:30
Speaker 1: to me, when thou hast seen the elephants dance, And
3:51:33
Speaker 1: then I will let thee go into all the kettahs.
3:51:37
Speaker 1: There is another roar of laughter, for that is an
3:51:39
Speaker 1: old joke among elephant catchers, and it means just never.
3:51:43
Speaker 1: There are great cleared flat places hidden away in the
3:51:46
Speaker 1: forests that are called elephant's ball rooms, But even these
3:51:49
Speaker 1: are only found by accident, and no man has ever
3:51:51
Speaker 1: seen the elephants dance. When a driver boasts of his
3:51:55
Speaker 1: skill and bravery, the other drivers say, and when didst
3:51:58
Speaker 1: thou see the elephants dance? Colin Egg put little to
3:52:03
Speaker 1: mye down, and he bowed to the earth again, and
3:52:05
Speaker 1: went away with his father, and gave the silver for
3:52:08
Speaker 1: anepiece to his mother, who was nursing his baby brother.
3:52:11
Speaker 1: And they all were put up on Colinagg's back, and
3:52:14
Speaker 1: the line of grunting, squealing elephants rolled down the hill
3:52:17
Speaker 1: path to the plains. It was a very lively march
3:52:20
Speaker 1: on account of the new elephants, who gave trouble at
3:52:22
Speaker 1: every ford and needed coaxing or beating every other minute,
3:52:26
Speaker 1: Big to My prodded Colin egg spitefully, for he was
3:52:29
Speaker 1: very angry, but Little to My was too happy to speak.
3:52:33
Speaker 1: Peterson Sahib had noticed him and given him money, so
3:52:37
Speaker 1: he felt as a private soldier would feel if he
3:52:39
Speaker 1: had been called out of the ranks and praised by
3:52:41
Speaker 1: his commander in chief. What did Peterson Sahib mean by
3:52:46
Speaker 1: the elephant dance, he said at last, softly to his mother.
3:52:50
Speaker 1: Big to My heard him and grunted that thou shouldst
3:52:54
Speaker 1: never be one of these hill buffaloes of trackers. That
3:52:57
Speaker 1: was what he meant. Oh, you in front, what is
3:53:00
Speaker 1: blocking the way? An Assamese driver two or three elephants ahead,
3:53:05
Speaker 1: turned round angrily, crying, bring up Kalinagg and knock this
3:53:08
Speaker 1: youngster of mine into good behavior. Why should Peterson Saheb
3:53:11
Speaker 1: have chosen me to go down with you donkeys of
3:53:14
Speaker 1: the rice field. Lay your beast alongside to my and
3:53:17
Speaker 1: let him prod with his tusks. By all the gods
3:53:20
Speaker 1: of the hills, these new elephants are possessed, or else
3:53:22
Speaker 1: they can smell their companions in the jungle. Klinagg hit
3:53:27
Speaker 1: the new elephant in the ribs and knocked the wind
3:53:29
Speaker 1: out of him, as Big to my said, we have
3:53:31
Speaker 1: swept the hills of wild elephants at the last catch.
3:53:34
Speaker 1: It is only your carelessness in driving. Must I keep
3:53:37
Speaker 1: order along the whole line? Hear him, said the other driver,
3:53:42
Speaker 1: We have swept the hills. Ho Ho, you are very wise,
3:53:45
Speaker 1: you plains people. Any one but a mudhead who never
3:53:48
Speaker 1: saw the jungle would know that. They know that the
3:53:51
Speaker 1: drives are ended for the season. Therefore all the wild
3:53:54
Speaker 1: elephants tonight will But why should I waste wisdom on
3:53:57
Speaker 1: a river turtle? What will they do? Little to Maye
3:54:00
Speaker 1: called out, Oh, hey, little one, art thou there? Well,
3:54:05
Speaker 1: I will tell thee, for thou hast a cool head.
3:54:08
Speaker 1: They will dance. And it behooves thy father, who has
3:54:11
Speaker 1: swept all the hills of all the elephants, to double
3:54:14
Speaker 1: chain his pickets to night. What talk is this, said
3:54:18
Speaker 1: Big to my. For forty years, father and son, we
3:54:21
Speaker 1: have tended elephants, and we have never heard such moonshine
3:54:24
Speaker 1: about dances. Yes, but a plain man who lives in
3:54:29
Speaker 1: a hut only knows the four walls of his hut. Well,
3:54:33
Speaker 1: leave thy elephants unshackled tonight and see what comes as
3:54:36
Speaker 1: for the dancing, I have seen the place where, but
3:54:39
Speaker 1: pre bap how many windings has the deehang river? Here's
3:54:43
Speaker 1: another ford, and we must swim the calves. Stop still
3:54:46
Speaker 1: you behind there? And in this way, talking and wrangling
3:54:50
Speaker 1: and splashing through the rivers, they made their first march
3:54:52
Speaker 1: to a sort of receiving camp for the new elephants,
3:54:55
Speaker 1: but they lost their tempers long before they got there.
3:54:59
Speaker 1: Then the elephants were chained by their hind legs. The
3:55:01
Speaker 1: big stumps of pickets and extra ropes were fitted to
3:55:04
Speaker 1: the new elephants, and the fodder was piled before them,
3:55:07
Speaker 1: and the hill drivers went back to Peterson. Saheb through
3:55:09
Speaker 1: the afternoon light, telling the plains drivers to be extra
3:55:12
Speaker 1: careful that night, and laughing when the planes drivers asked
3:55:15
Speaker 1: the reason. Little to Maye attended to Kalanag's supper, and
3:55:19
Speaker 1: as evening fell, wandered through the camp unspeakably happy, in
3:55:23
Speaker 1: search of a tom tom. When an Indian child's heart
3:55:27
Speaker 1: is full, he does not run about and make noise
3:55:29
Speaker 1: in an irregular fashion. He sits down to a sort
3:55:32
Speaker 1: of revel all by himself. And Little to My had
3:55:35
Speaker 1: been spoken to by Peterson saheb. If he had not
3:55:39
Speaker 1: found what he wanted, I believe he would have been ill.
3:55:41
Speaker 1: But the sweetmeat cellar in the camp lent him a
3:55:43
Speaker 1: little tom tom, a drum beaten with the flat of
3:55:46
Speaker 1: the hand, and he sat down cross legged before Colin
3:55:49
Speaker 1: Nag as the stars began to come out, the tom
3:55:52
Speaker 1: tom in his lap, and he thumped, and he thumped,
3:55:54
Speaker 1: and he thumped. And the more he thought of the
3:55:57
Speaker 1: great honor that had been done to him, the more
3:55:59
Speaker 1: he thumped. All alone among the elephant fodder. There was
3:56:03
Speaker 1: no tune and no words, but the thumping made him happy.
3:56:07
Speaker 1: The new elephants strained at their ropes and squealed and
3:56:10
Speaker 1: trumpeted from time to time, And he could hear his
3:56:12
Speaker 1: mother in the camp, and he could hear his mother
3:56:16
Speaker 1: in the camp hut, putting his small brother to sleep
3:56:18
Speaker 1: with an old old song about the great god Shiv,
3:56:21
Speaker 1: who once told all the animals what they should eat.
3:56:24
Speaker 1: It is a very soothing lullaby, and the first verse
3:56:27
Speaker 1: says Shiv, who poured the harvest and made the winds
3:56:30
Speaker 1: to blow, sitting at the doorways of a day of
3:56:33
Speaker 1: long ago, gave to each his portion food and toil.
3:56:37
Speaker 1: And fate. From the king upon the guddy to the
3:56:40
Speaker 1: beggar at the gate. All things made he shive the preserver, mahadeo, mahadeo.
3:56:47
Speaker 1: He made them all thorn for the camel, fodder for
3:56:50
Speaker 1: the kine, and mother's heart for sleepy head. O, little
3:56:53
Speaker 1: son of mine, Little to My came in with a
3:56:56
Speaker 1: joyous tunk, a tunk at the end of each verse,
3:56:59
Speaker 1: till he felt and stretched himself on the fodder at
3:57:01
Speaker 1: Colinagg's side. At last, the elephants began to lie down,
3:57:05
Speaker 1: one after another, as is their custom, till only call
3:57:09
Speaker 1: a Nagg at the right of the line was left
3:57:10
Speaker 1: standing up, and he rocked slowly from side to side,
3:57:14
Speaker 1: his ears put forward to listen to the night wind
3:57:16
Speaker 1: as it blew very softly across the hills. The air
3:57:20
Speaker 1: was full of all the night noises that, taken together,
3:57:23
Speaker 1: make one big silence. The click of one bamboo stem
3:57:27
Speaker 1: against the other, the rustle of something alive in the undergrowth,
3:57:31
Speaker 1: the scratch and squawk of a half waked bird. Birds
3:57:34
Speaker 1: are awake in the night much more often than we imagine,
3:57:37
Speaker 1: and the fall of water, ever so far away. Little
3:57:41
Speaker 1: to My slept for some time and when he waked,
3:57:44
Speaker 1: it was brilliant moonlight, and Colin n Egg was still
3:57:47
Speaker 1: standing up with his ears cocked Little to my turned
3:57:50
Speaker 1: rustling in the fodder, and watched the curve of his
3:57:53
Speaker 1: big back against half the stars in heaven. And while
3:57:56
Speaker 1: he watched, he heard so far away that it sounded
3:57:59
Speaker 1: no more than a pit hole of noise pricked through
3:58:01
Speaker 1: the stillness, the hoot toot of a wild elephant. All
3:58:06
Speaker 1: the elephants in the line jumped up as if they
3:58:08
Speaker 1: had been shot, and their grunts at last waked the
3:58:11
Speaker 1: sleeping mahoots, and they came out and drove the picket
3:58:13
Speaker 1: pegs with big mallets, and tightened this rope and knotted
3:58:17
Speaker 1: back till all was quiet. One new elephant had nearly
3:58:21
Speaker 1: grubbed up his picket, and Big to My took off
3:58:23
Speaker 1: Kalenagg's leg chain and shackled that elephant four foot to
3:58:26
Speaker 1: hind foot. But slipped a loop of grass string round
3:58:29
Speaker 1: Kallenagg's leg and told him to remember that he was
3:58:32
Speaker 1: tied fast. He knew that he and his father and
3:58:36
Speaker 1: his grandfather had done the very same thing hundreds of
3:58:39
Speaker 1: times before. Kullenagg did not answer to this order by
3:58:42
Speaker 1: gurgling as he usually did. He stood still, looking out
3:58:47
Speaker 1: across the moonlight, his head a little raised, and his
3:58:50
Speaker 1: ears spread like fans up to the great folds of
3:58:53
Speaker 1: the garrow hills. Tend to him if he grows restless
3:58:57
Speaker 1: in the night, said Big to miye, to Little to
3:58:59
Speaker 1: my and he went into the hut and slept. Little
3:59:02
Speaker 1: Too may was just going to sleep too, when he
3:59:05
Speaker 1: heard the choir string snap with a little ding, and
3:59:08
Speaker 1: Colin Nagg rolled out of his pickets, as slowly and
3:59:10
Speaker 1: silently as a cloud rolls out of the mouth of
3:59:12
Speaker 1: a valley. Little Tomye pattered after him, barefooted, down the
3:59:16
Speaker 1: road in the moonlight, calling under his breath, call a Nagg,
3:59:20
Speaker 1: Call a Nagg. Take me with you, Oh, call a nagg.
3:59:23
Speaker 1: The elephant turned without a sound, took three strides back
3:59:27
Speaker 1: to the boy in the moonlight, put down his trunk,
3:59:30
Speaker 1: swung him up to his neck, and almost before Little
3:59:33
Speaker 1: Too Maye had settled his knees slipped into the forest.
3:59:37
Speaker 1: There was one blast of furious trumpeting from the lines,
3:59:40
Speaker 1: and then the silence shut down on everything, and Colin
3:59:43
Speaker 1: n Egg began to move. Sometimes a tuft of high
3:59:47
Speaker 1: grass washed along his sides as a wave washes along
3:59:50
Speaker 1: the sides of the ship, and sometimes a cluster of
3:59:53
Speaker 1: wild pepper vines would scrape along his back, or a
3:59:56
Speaker 1: bamboo would creak where his shoulder touched it. But between
3:59:59
Speaker 1: those times he moved absolutely without any sound, drifting through
4:00:03
Speaker 1: the thick carrow forest as though it had been smoke.
4:00:06
Speaker 1: He was going up hill, but though little to my
4:00:09
Speaker 1: watch the stars and the rifts of the trees, he
4:00:11
Speaker 1: could not tell in what direction. Then Colin Egg reached
4:00:15
Speaker 1: the crest of the ascent and sopped for a minute,
4:00:18
Speaker 1: and little to my could see the tops of the
4:00:20
Speaker 1: trees lying all speckled and furry under the moonlight for
4:00:23
Speaker 1: miles and miles, and the blue white mist over the
4:00:26
Speaker 1: river in the hollow. To my leaned forward and looked,
4:00:30
Speaker 1: and he felt that the forest was awake below him,
4:00:33
Speaker 1: awake and alive and crowded. A big brown fruit eating
4:00:38
Speaker 1: bat brushed past his ear. A porcupine's quills rattled in
4:00:41
Speaker 1: the thicket, and in the darkness between the tree stems,
4:00:44
Speaker 1: he heard a hog bear digging hard in the moist
4:00:47
Speaker 1: warm earth, and snuffing as it digged. Then the branches
4:00:52
Speaker 1: closed over his head, again, and Colinagg began to go
4:00:55
Speaker 1: down into the valley, not quietly this time, but as
4:00:58
Speaker 1: a runaway gun goes down a steep bank in one rush.
4:01:03
Speaker 1: The huge limbs moved as steadily as pistons, eight feet
4:01:06
Speaker 1: to each stride, and the wrinkled skin of the elbow
4:01:09
Speaker 1: points rustled. The undergrowth on either side of him ripped
4:01:13
Speaker 1: with a noise like torn canvas, and the saplings that
4:01:15
Speaker 1: he heaved away right and left with his shoulders sprang
4:01:18
Speaker 1: back again and banged him on the flank, and great
4:01:21
Speaker 1: trails of creepers, all matted together, hung from his tusks
4:01:25
Speaker 1: as he threw his head from side to side and
4:01:27
Speaker 1: plowed out his pathway. Then Little to May laid himself
4:01:31
Speaker 1: down close to the great neck, lest a swinging bough
4:01:34
Speaker 1: should sweep him to the ground, and he wished that
4:01:37
Speaker 1: he were back in the lines again. The grass began
4:01:40
Speaker 1: to get squashy, and Klinagg's feet sucked and squelched as
4:01:44
Speaker 1: he put them down, and the night missed at the
4:01:46
Speaker 1: bottom of the valley chilled Little to Miye. There was
4:01:51
Speaker 1: a splash and a trample, and the rush of running water,
4:01:54
Speaker 1: and Colinagg strode through the bed of a river, feeling
4:01:57
Speaker 1: his way at each step above the noise of the
4:01:59
Speaker 1: water as it swirled round the elephant's legs. Little to
4:02:02
Speaker 1: My could hear more splashing and some trumpeting, both up
4:02:05
Speaker 1: stream and down, great grunts and angry snortings, and all
4:02:09
Speaker 1: the mist about him seemed to be full of rolling,
4:02:11
Speaker 1: wavy shadows. Ay, he said, half aloud, his teeth chattering,
4:02:16
Speaker 1: The elephant folk are out to night. It is the dance.
4:02:19
Speaker 1: Then Coullenagg swashed out of the water, blew his trunk clear,
4:02:25
Speaker 1: and began another climb. But this time he was not alone,
4:02:28
Speaker 1: and he had not to make his path that was
4:02:31
Speaker 1: made already six feet wide in front of him, where
4:02:34
Speaker 1: the bent jungle grass was trying to recover itself and
4:02:36
Speaker 1: stand up. Many elephants must have gone that way only
4:02:39
Speaker 1: a few minutes before. Little to May looked back, and
4:02:43
Speaker 1: behind him, a great wild tusker, with his little pig's
4:02:46
Speaker 1: eyes glowing like hot coals, was just lifting himself out
4:02:49
Speaker 1: of the misty river. Then the trees closed up again,
4:02:53
Speaker 1: and they went on and up, with trumpetings and crashings
4:02:56
Speaker 1: and the sound of breaking branches on every side of them.
4:03:00
Speaker 1: At last, colin Nag stood still between two tree trunks
4:03:03
Speaker 1: at the very top of the hill. They were part
4:03:05
Speaker 1: of a circle of trees that grew round an irregular
4:03:08
Speaker 1: space of some three or four acres, And in all
4:03:10
Speaker 1: that space, as Little to Mie could see, the ground
4:03:13
Speaker 1: had been trampled down, as hard as a brick floor.
4:03:17
Speaker 1: Some trees grew in the center of the clearing, but
4:03:19
Speaker 1: their bark was rubbed away, and the white wood beneath
4:03:22
Speaker 1: showed all shiny and polished. In the patches of moonlight.
4:03:26
Speaker 1: There were creepers hanging from the upper branches, and the
4:03:28
Speaker 1: bells of the flowers of the creepers. Great waxy white
4:03:31
Speaker 1: things like convolvuluses, hung down, fast asleep. But within the
4:03:35
Speaker 1: limits of the clearing there was not a single blade
4:03:38
Speaker 1: of green, nothing but the trampled earth. The moonlight showed
4:03:42
Speaker 1: it all iron gray, except where some elephants stood upon it,
4:03:45
Speaker 1: and their shadows were inky black. Little to My looked,
4:03:49
Speaker 1: holding his breath, with his eyes starting out of his head,
4:03:52
Speaker 1: and as he looked, more and more and more elephants
4:03:55
Speaker 1: swung out into the open from between the tree trunks.
4:03:58
Speaker 1: Little to My could only count up to ten, and
4:04:01
Speaker 1: he counted again and again on his fingers, till he
4:04:03
Speaker 1: lost count of the Thames, and his head began to swim.
4:04:07
Speaker 1: Outside the clearing, he could hear them crashing in the
4:04:09
Speaker 1: undergrowth as they worked their way up the hillside, but
4:04:12
Speaker 1: as soon as they were within the circle of tree trunks,
4:04:14
Speaker 1: they moved like ghosts. There were white tusks, wild males
4:04:19
Speaker 1: with fallen leaves and nuts and twigs lying in the
4:04:21
Speaker 1: wrinkles of their necks and the folds of their ears. Fat,
4:04:24
Speaker 1: slow footed she elephants with restless, little pinky black calves
4:04:28
Speaker 1: only three or four feet high, running under their stomachs,
4:04:32
Speaker 1: young elephants with their tusks just beginning to show, and
4:04:35
Speaker 1: very proud of them. Lanky, scraggy old maid elephants with
4:04:39
Speaker 1: their hollow, anxious faces and trunks like rough bark, savage
4:04:43
Speaker 1: old bull elephants, scarred from shoulder to flank, with great
4:04:46
Speaker 1: wheels and cuts of bygone fights, and the caked dirt
4:04:49
Speaker 1: of their solitary mud baths dripping from their shoulders. And
4:04:52
Speaker 1: there was one with a broken tusk in the marks
4:04:55
Speaker 1: of the full stroke, the terrible drawing scrape of a
4:04:58
Speaker 1: tiger's claws on his side. They were standing head to head,
4:05:02
Speaker 1: or walking to and fro across the ground in couples,
4:05:05
Speaker 1: or rocking and swaying all by themselves, scores and scores
4:05:09
Speaker 1: of elephants to mine. Knew that so long as he
4:05:12
Speaker 1: lay on Kalinagg's neck, nothing would happen to him, For
4:05:15
Speaker 1: even in that rush and scramble of a Ketta drive,
4:05:18
Speaker 1: a wild elephant does not reach up with his trunk
4:05:20
Speaker 1: and drag a man off the neck of a tame elephant.
4:05:23
Speaker 1: And these elephants were not thinking of men that night.
4:05:27
Speaker 1: Once they started and put their ears forward when they
4:05:29
Speaker 1: heard the chinking of a leg iron in the forest.
4:05:32
Speaker 1: But it was Pudnini, Peterson Sahib's pet elephant. Her chain
4:05:36
Speaker 1: snapped short off, grunting snuffling up the hillside. She must
4:05:40
Speaker 1: have broken her pickets and come straight from Peterson Sahib's camp.
4:05:45
Speaker 1: And little to my saw another elephant, one that he
4:05:47
Speaker 1: did not know, with deep rope galls on his back
4:05:50
Speaker 1: and breast. He too, must have run away from some
4:05:53
Speaker 1: camp in the hills. About at last there was no
4:05:56
Speaker 1: sound of any more elephants moving in the forest, and
4:05:59
Speaker 1: Klin Egg rolled out from his station between the trees
4:06:02
Speaker 1: and went into the middle of the crowd, clucking and gurgling,
4:06:05
Speaker 1: and all the elephants began to talk in their own
4:06:07
Speaker 1: tongue and to move about. Still lying down, little to
4:06:12
Speaker 1: may looked down upon scores and scores of broad backs
4:06:15
Speaker 1: and wagging years and tossing trunks and little rolling eyes.
4:06:20
Speaker 1: He heard the click of tusks as they crossed other
4:06:22
Speaker 1: tusks by accident, and the dry rustle of trunks twined together,
4:06:27
Speaker 1: and the chafing of enormous sides and shoulders in the crowd,
4:06:31
Speaker 1: and the incessant flick and hish of the great tails.
4:06:35
Speaker 1: Then a cloud came over the moon, and he sat
4:06:38
Speaker 1: in black darkness, but the quiet, steady hustling and pushing
4:06:43
Speaker 1: and gurgling went on just the same. He knew that
4:06:46
Speaker 1: there were elephants all round Kalanag, and that there was
4:06:49
Speaker 1: no chance of backing him out of the assembly, so
4:06:52
Speaker 1: he set his teeth and shivered. In Akeda, at least
4:06:55
Speaker 1: there was torch light and shouting, But here he was
4:06:58
Speaker 1: all alone in the dark. And once a trunk came
4:07:01
Speaker 1: up and touched him on the knee. Then an elephant trumpeted,
4:07:04
Speaker 1: and they all took it up for five or ten
4:07:06
Speaker 1: terrible seconds. The dew from the trees above spattered down
4:07:11
Speaker 1: like rain on the unseen backs, and a dull, booming
4:07:14
Speaker 1: noise began, not very loud at first, and Little to
4:07:17
Speaker 1: My could not tell what it was. But it grew
4:07:21
Speaker 1: and grew, and Colinagg lifted up one fore foot and
4:07:24
Speaker 1: then the other, and brought them down on the ground,
4:07:26
Speaker 1: one too, one too, as steadily as trip hammers. The
4:07:31
Speaker 1: elephants were stamping altogether now, and it sounded like a
4:07:34
Speaker 1: war drum beaten at the mouth of a cave. The
4:07:37
Speaker 1: dew fell from the trees till there was no more
4:07:39
Speaker 1: left to fall, and the booming went on, and the
4:07:42
Speaker 1: ground rocked and shivered, and Little to My put his
4:07:45
Speaker 1: hands up to his ears to shut out the sound.
4:07:48
Speaker 1: But it was all one gigantic jar that ran through him,
4:07:51
Speaker 1: this stamp of hundreds of heavy feet on the raw earth.
4:07:54
Speaker 1: Once or twice he could feel Colinagg and all the
4:07:57
Speaker 1: others surged forward a few strides, and the thumping changed
4:08:00
Speaker 1: to the crushing sound of juicy green things being bruised.
4:08:03
Speaker 1: But in a minute or two the boom of feet
4:08:05
Speaker 1: on hard earth began again. A tree was creaking and
4:08:09
Speaker 1: groaning somewhere near him. He put out his arm and
4:08:11
Speaker 1: felt the bark, but Klinagg moved forward, still tramping, and
4:08:15
Speaker 1: he could not tell where he was in the clearing.
4:08:18
Speaker 1: There was no sound from the elephants, except once when
4:08:21
Speaker 1: two or three little calves squeaked together. Then he heard
4:08:25
Speaker 1: a thump and a shuffle, and the booming went on.
4:08:28
Speaker 1: It must have lasted fully two hours, and Little tomye
4:08:31
Speaker 1: ached in every nerve, but he knew by the smell
4:08:33
Speaker 1: of the night air that dawn was coming. The morning
4:08:37
Speaker 1: broke in one sheet of pale yellow behind the green hills,
4:08:41
Speaker 1: and the booming stopped with the first ray, as though
4:08:43
Speaker 1: light had been in order before Little too Maye had
4:08:47
Speaker 1: gotten the ringing out of his head. Before even he
4:08:50
Speaker 1: had shifted his position. There was not an elephant in
4:08:53
Speaker 1: sight except colin egg Pudmini and the elephant with the
4:08:56
Speaker 1: rope galls. And there was neither sign, nor rustle nor
4:08:59
Speaker 1: whisper down the hillsides to show where the others had gone.
4:09:03
Speaker 1: Little to My stared again and again the clearing, as
4:09:07
Speaker 1: he remembered it, had grown in the night. More trees
4:09:11
Speaker 1: stood in the middle of it, but the undergrowth, and
4:09:13
Speaker 1: the jungle grass at the sides had been rolled back.
4:09:17
Speaker 1: Little to my stared once more. Now he understood the
4:09:21
Speaker 1: trampling the elephants had stamped out more room had stamped
4:09:25
Speaker 1: the thick grass and juicy cane to trash, the trash
4:09:28
Speaker 1: into slivers, the slivers into tiny fibers, and the fibers
4:09:32
Speaker 1: into hard earth. Whah said Little to Maye, and his
4:09:37
Speaker 1: eyes were very heavy. Call a nag, my lord. Let
4:09:40
Speaker 1: us keep by Pudmini and go back to Peterson Saheb's camp,
4:09:44
Speaker 1: or I shall drop from thy neck. The third elephant
4:09:47
Speaker 1: watched the two go away, snorted, wheeled round, and took
4:09:51
Speaker 1: his own path. He may have belonged to some little
4:09:54
Speaker 1: native king's establishment fifty or sixty or a hundred miles away.
4:09:59
Speaker 1: Two hours later, as Peterson Sahib was eating early breakfast,
4:10:03
Speaker 1: his elephants, who had been double chained that night, began
4:10:06
Speaker 1: to trumpet, and Pudnini, mired to the shoulders with colin
4:10:10
Speaker 1: nagg very footsore, shambled into the camp. Little to May's
4:10:14
Speaker 1: face was gray and pinched, and his hair was full
4:10:17
Speaker 1: of leaves and drenched with dew. But he tried to
4:10:20
Speaker 1: salute Peterson Sahib and cried faintly the dance, the elephant dance.
4:10:26
Speaker 1: I have seen it, and I die. As Klinagg sat down,
4:10:31
Speaker 1: he slid off his neck in a dead faint. But
4:10:35
Speaker 1: since native children have no nerves worth speaking of, in
4:10:37
Speaker 1: two hours he was lying very contentedly in Peterson Sahib's hammock,
4:10:41
Speaker 1: with Peterson Sahib's shooting coat under his head, and a
4:10:44
Speaker 1: glass of warm milk a little brandy with a dash
4:10:46
Speaker 1: of quinine inside him. And while the old, hairy, scarred
4:10:50
Speaker 1: hunters of the Jungles sat three deep before him, looking
4:10:53
Speaker 1: at him as though he were a spirit. He told
4:10:55
Speaker 1: his tale in short words as a child will, and
4:10:58
Speaker 1: wound up with Now, if I lie in one word,
4:11:02
Speaker 1: send men to sea, and they will find that the
4:11:04
Speaker 1: elephant folk have trampled down more room in their dance room.
4:11:07
Speaker 1: And they will find ten and ten and many times
4:11:10
Speaker 1: ten tracks leading to that dance room. They made more
4:11:13
Speaker 1: room with their feet. I have seen it. Kalinag took me,
4:11:16
Speaker 1: and I saw also Kalanag is very leg weary. Little too.
4:11:22
Speaker 1: My laid back and slept all through the long afternoon
4:11:25
Speaker 1: and into the twilight, And while he slept. Peterson Sahib
4:11:28
Speaker 1: and Machua Appa followed the track of the two elephants
4:11:31
Speaker 1: for fifteen miles across the hills. Peterson Sahib had spent
4:11:35
Speaker 1: eighteen years in catching elephants, and he had only once
4:11:38
Speaker 1: before found such a dance place. Machua Appa had no
4:11:42
Speaker 1: need to look twice at the clearing to see what
4:11:44
Speaker 1: had been done there, or to scratch with his toe
4:11:46
Speaker 1: in the packed rammed earth. The child speaks the truth,
4:11:50
Speaker 1: said he. All this was done last night, and I
4:11:53
Speaker 1: have counted seventy tracks crossing the river. See Sahib, where
4:11:57
Speaker 1: Pudmini's leg iron cut the bark of that tree. Yes,
4:12:01
Speaker 1: she was there too. They looked at one another, and
4:12:04
Speaker 1: up and down, and they wondered, for the ways of
4:12:07
Speaker 1: the elephants are beyond the wit of any man, black
4:12:10
Speaker 1: or white to fathom. Forty years and five, said Machua Appa.
4:12:16
Speaker 1: Have I followed my lord the elephant? But never have
4:12:20
Speaker 1: I heard that any child of man had seen what
4:12:22
Speaker 1: this child has seen by all the gods of the hills.
4:12:26
Speaker 1: Is it? What can we say? And he shook his head.
4:12:31
Speaker 1: When they got back to the camp, it was time
4:12:33
Speaker 1: for the evening meal. Peterson sahib Ate alone in his tent,
4:12:37
Speaker 1: but he gave orders that the camp should have two
4:12:39
Speaker 1: sheep and some fowls, as well as a double ration
4:12:41
Speaker 1: of flour and rice and salt, for he knew that
4:12:44
Speaker 1: there would be a feast. Big to My had come
4:12:47
Speaker 1: up hot foot from the camp in the plains to
4:12:49
Speaker 1: search for his son and his elephant, and now that
4:12:52
Speaker 1: he had found them, he looked at them as though
4:12:53
Speaker 1: he were afraid of them both. And there was a
4:12:56
Speaker 1: feast by the blazing camp fires in front of the
4:12:59
Speaker 1: lines of picketed eleph and little to My was the
4:13:01
Speaker 1: hero at all, and the big brown elephant catchers, the
4:13:05
Speaker 1: trackers and drivers and ropers, and the men who knew
4:13:08
Speaker 1: all the secrets of breaking the wildest elephants passed him
4:13:11
Speaker 1: from one to the other, and they marked his forehead
4:13:14
Speaker 1: with blood from the breast of a newly killed jungle cock,
4:13:17
Speaker 1: to show that he was a forester, initiated and free
4:13:20
Speaker 1: of all the jungles. And at last, when the flames
4:13:25
Speaker 1: died down, and the red light of the logs made
4:13:27
Speaker 1: the elephants look as though they had been dipped in
4:13:28
Speaker 1: blood too, matua Appa, the head of all the drivers
4:13:32
Speaker 1: and all the keddahs. Matua Appa Peterson Sahib's other self,
4:13:36
Speaker 1: who had never seen a maid road in forty years.
4:13:39
Speaker 1: Matua Appa, who was so great that he had no
4:13:42
Speaker 1: other name than machua Appa, leaped to his feet, while
4:13:45
Speaker 1: little to My held in the air above his head
4:13:47
Speaker 1: and shouted, listen, my brothers, listen to you, my lords,
4:13:51
Speaker 1: and the lines there. For I matua Appa am speaking.
4:13:55
Speaker 1: This little one shall no more be called little to my,
4:13:57
Speaker 1: but to my of the elephants, as his great grandfather
4:14:01
Speaker 1: was called before him. What never man has seen, he
4:14:04
Speaker 1: has seen through the long night, and the favor of
4:14:07
Speaker 1: the elephant folk and of the gods of the jungles
4:14:10
Speaker 1: is with him. He shall become a great tracker. He
4:14:13
Speaker 1: shall become greater than I, even I betchua Appa. He
4:14:17
Speaker 1: shall follow the new trail and the stale trail and
4:14:20
Speaker 1: the mixed trail with a clear eye. He shall take
4:14:23
Speaker 1: no harm in the kedda when he runs under their
4:14:25
Speaker 1: bellies to rope the wild tuskers. And if he slips
4:14:29
Speaker 1: before the feet of the charging bull elephant, the bull
4:14:31
Speaker 1: elephant shall know who he is and shall not crush him. Ahei,
4:14:36
Speaker 1: my Lord's in the chains. He whirled up to the
4:14:39
Speaker 1: line of pickets. Here is the little one that has
4:14:41
Speaker 1: seen your dances in your hidden places, the sight that
4:14:44
Speaker 1: never man saw. Give him honor, my lords, Salaam kar O,
4:14:50
Speaker 1: my children, make your salute to Toumai of the elephants.
4:14:53
Speaker 1: Gunga pershad Ah, hire a gush Birchi, guj Qutar, guj
4:14:58
Speaker 1: Aha pu Mini. Thou hast seen him at the dance,
4:15:02
Speaker 1: and thou too call a nag my pearl among elephants.
4:15:05
Speaker 1: Aha together two to my of the elephants, but rau.
4:15:12
Speaker 1: And at that last wild yell, the whole line flung
4:15:15
Speaker 1: up their trunks till the tips touched their foreheads, and
4:15:17
Speaker 1: broke out into the full salute. The crashing trumpet peal
4:15:20
Speaker 1: that only the Viceroy of India hears the salahmut of
4:15:24
Speaker 1: the Keddah. But it was all for the sake of
4:15:28
Speaker 1: little to My who had seen what never man had
4:15:30
Speaker 1: seen before, the dance of the elephants. At night and
4:15:34
Speaker 1: alone in the heart of the Garo hills, Shiv and
4:15:41
Speaker 1: the grasshopper, the song that to Ma's mother sang to
4:15:45
Speaker 1: the baby Shiv who poured the harvest, and made the
4:15:49
Speaker 1: winds to blow. Sitting at the doorways of a day
4:15:51
Speaker 1: of long ago, gave to each his portion food and
4:15:55
Speaker 1: toil and fate. From the king upon the goody, to
4:15:58
Speaker 1: the beggar at the gate. All things made he shive
4:16:02
Speaker 1: the preserver Mahadeo mahadeo. He made them all thorn for
4:16:06
Speaker 1: the camel, fodder for the kine, and mother's heart for
4:16:09
Speaker 1: sleepy head, O, little son of mine. Wheat he gave
4:16:14
Speaker 1: to the rich folk, millet to the poor, broken scraps
4:16:17
Speaker 1: for holy men that beg from door to door, cattle
4:16:20
Speaker 1: to the tiger, carry into the kite, and rags and
4:16:23
Speaker 1: bones to wicked wolves. Without the wall at night, nought
4:16:27
Speaker 1: he found too lofty, None he saw too low. Parbati
4:16:31
Speaker 1: beside him, watched them come and go tat to cheat.
4:16:34
Speaker 1: Her husband, turning shive to jest, stole the little grasshopper
4:16:38
Speaker 1: and hid it in her breast. So she tricked him,
4:16:41
Speaker 1: shive of the preserver, Mahadeo mahadeo. Turn and see taller
4:16:45
Speaker 1: the camels, heavier the kine. But this was least of
4:16:49
Speaker 1: little things, O, little son of mine. When the doll
4:16:53
Speaker 1: was ended, laughingly, she said master of a million mouths,
4:16:56
Speaker 1: is not one unfed. Laughing Shiv made Anne, Sir, all
4:17:01
Speaker 1: have had their part, even he the little one hidden
4:17:04
Speaker 1: neath thy heart from her breast, she plucked it parbody.
4:17:08
Speaker 1: The thief saw the least of little things, gnawed a
4:17:11
Speaker 1: new grown leaf, saw and feared and wondered, making prayer
4:17:15
Speaker 1: to Shiv, who hath surely given meat to all that
4:17:18
Speaker 1: live all things made he shive of the preserver, Mahadeo, Mahadeo.
4:17:23
Speaker 1: He made all thorn for the camel, fodder for the kine,
4:17:27
Speaker 1: and mother's heart for sleepy head, o, little son of mine.
4:17:35
Speaker 1: End of chapter six, Chapter seven, Servants of the Queen.
4:17:42
Speaker 1: You can work it out by fractions or by simple
4:17:45
Speaker 1: rule of three. But the way of tweedl dumb is
4:17:48
Speaker 1: not the way of tweedledee. You can twist it, you
4:17:51
Speaker 1: can turn it, you can plait it till you drop,
4:17:53
Speaker 1: But the way of pilliwinkies not the way of winkie pop.
4:17:59
Speaker 1: It had been raining for one whole month, raining on
4:18:02
Speaker 1: a camp of thirty thousand men and thousands of camels, elephants, horses, bullocks,
4:18:07
Speaker 1: and mules, all gathered together at a place called Raul
4:18:11
Speaker 1: Pindi to be reviewed by the Viceroy of India. He
4:18:15
Speaker 1: was receiving a visit from the Amir of Afghanistan, a
4:18:18
Speaker 1: wild king of a very wild country, and the Emir
4:18:22
Speaker 1: had brought with him for a bodyguard eight hundred men
4:18:25
Speaker 1: and horses who had never seen a camp or a
4:18:28
Speaker 1: locomotive before in their lives, savage men and savage horses
4:18:32
Speaker 1: from somewhere at the back of Central Asia. Every night
4:18:36
Speaker 1: a mob of these horses would be sure to break
4:18:38
Speaker 1: their heel ropes and stampede up and down the camp
4:18:40
Speaker 1: through the mud in the dark. Or the camels would
4:18:43
Speaker 1: break loose and run about and fall over the ropes
4:18:45
Speaker 1: of the tents, and you can imagine how pleasant that
4:18:48
Speaker 1: was for men trying to go to sleep. My tent
4:18:52
Speaker 1: lay far away from the camel lines, and I thought
4:18:54
Speaker 1: it was safe. But one night a man popped his
4:18:57
Speaker 1: head in and shouted, get out quick, they're coming. My
4:19:01
Speaker 1: tent's gone. I knew who they were, so I put
4:19:04
Speaker 1: on my boots and waterproof and scuttled out into the slush.
4:19:09
Speaker 1: Little Vixen, my fox terrier, went out through the other side.
4:19:13
Speaker 1: And then there was a roaring and a grunting and
4:19:15
Speaker 1: a bubbling, and I saw the tent cave in as
4:19:17
Speaker 1: the pole snapped and began to dance about like a
4:19:20
Speaker 1: mad ghost. A camel had blundered into it, and wet
4:19:24
Speaker 1: and angry as I was, I could not help laughing.
4:19:28
Speaker 1: Then I ran on because I did not know how
4:19:30
Speaker 1: many camels might have got loose, and before long I
4:19:33
Speaker 1: was out of sight of the camp, plowing my way
4:19:35
Speaker 1: through the mud. At last I fell over the tail
4:19:38
Speaker 1: end of a gun, and by that knew I was
4:19:40
Speaker 1: somewhere near the artillery lines where the cannons were stacked
4:19:43
Speaker 1: at night. As I did not want to plowder about
4:19:47
Speaker 1: any more in the drizzle in the dark, I put
4:19:49
Speaker 1: my waterproof over the muzzle of one gun and made
4:19:51
Speaker 1: a sort of wigwam with two or three rammers that
4:19:53
Speaker 1: I found, and lay along the tail of another gun,
4:19:56
Speaker 1: wondering where Vixen had got to and where I might be.
4:20:00
Speaker 1: Just as I was getting ready to go to sleep,
4:20:02
Speaker 1: I heard a jingle of harness and a grunt, and
4:20:05
Speaker 1: a mule passed me, shaking his wet ears. He belonged
4:20:09
Speaker 1: to a screw gun pattery, for I could hear the
4:20:11
Speaker 1: rattle of the straps and rings and chains and things
4:20:13
Speaker 1: on his saddle pad. The screw guns are the tiny
4:20:17
Speaker 1: little cannons made in two pieces that are screwed together
4:20:20
Speaker 1: when the time comes to use them. They are taken
4:20:23
Speaker 1: up mountains anywhere that a mule can find a road.
4:20:26
Speaker 1: They are very useful for fighting in rocky country. Behind
4:20:30
Speaker 1: the mule there was a camel with his big soft
4:20:33
Speaker 1: feet squelching and slipping in the mud, and his neck
4:20:36
Speaker 1: bobbing to and fro like a strayed hen's. Luckily I
4:20:40
Speaker 1: knew enough of beast language, not wild beast language, but
4:20:43
Speaker 1: camp beast language, of course, from the natives, to know
4:20:46
Speaker 1: what he was saying. He must have been the one
4:20:49
Speaker 1: that flopped into my tent, for he called to the mule,
4:20:52
Speaker 1: what shall I do? Where shall I go? I have
4:20:56
Speaker 1: fought with a white thing that waved, and it took
4:20:58
Speaker 1: a stick and hit me on the neck. That was
4:21:01
Speaker 1: my broken tent pole, and I was very glad to
4:21:03
Speaker 1: know it. Shall we run on? Oh? It was you,
4:21:08
Speaker 1: said the mule, You and your friends that have been
4:21:10
Speaker 1: disturbing the camp. All right, you'll be beaten for this
4:21:14
Speaker 1: in the morning, but I may as well give you
4:21:15
Speaker 1: something on account. Now I heard the harnessed jingle as
4:21:19
Speaker 1: the mule backed and caught the camel two kicks in
4:21:21
Speaker 1: the ribs that rang like a drum. Another time, he said,
4:21:25
Speaker 1: you'll know better than to run through a mule battery
4:21:27
Speaker 1: at night, shouting thieves and fire. Sit down and keep
4:21:31
Speaker 1: your silly neck quiet. The camel doubled up camel fashion
4:21:35
Speaker 1: like a two foot rule and sat down whimpering. There
4:21:39
Speaker 1: was a regular beat of hoofs in the darkness, and
4:21:41
Speaker 1: a big troop horse cantered up as steadily as though
4:21:44
Speaker 1: he were on parade, jumped a guntail and landed close
4:21:47
Speaker 1: to the mule. It's disgraceful, he said, blowing out his nostrils.
4:21:52
Speaker 1: These camels have racketed through our lines again, third time
4:21:55
Speaker 1: this week. How's a horse to keep up his condition
4:21:58
Speaker 1: if he isn't allowed to sleep? Who U here? I'm
4:22:02
Speaker 1: the breech peace mule of number two gun of the
4:22:04
Speaker 1: first screw battery, said the mule and the others one
4:22:07
Speaker 1: of your friends. He's waked me up too. Who are you?
4:22:12
Speaker 1: Number fifteen E Troop ninth Lancers Dick Cunliff's horse stand
4:22:16
Speaker 1: over a little bear, Oh beg your pardon, said the mule.
4:22:21
Speaker 1: It's dark to see much. Aren't these camels too sickening
4:22:24
Speaker 1: for anything? I walked out of my lines to get
4:22:26
Speaker 1: a little piece and quiet here, my lords, said the camel, humbly.
4:22:32
Speaker 1: We dreamed bad dreams in the night, and we were
4:22:35
Speaker 1: very much afraid. I am only a baggage camel of
4:22:38
Speaker 1: the thirty ninth Native Infantry, and I am not as
4:22:41
Speaker 1: brave as you are, my lords? Then why didn't you
4:22:45
Speaker 1: stay and carry baggage for the thirty ninth Native Infantry
4:22:48
Speaker 1: instead of running all round the camp? Said the mule.
4:22:52
Speaker 1: They were such very bad dreams, said the camel. I
4:22:55
Speaker 1: am sorry. Listen, what is that? Shall we run on again?
4:23:01
Speaker 1: Sit down, said the mule, or you'll snap your long
4:23:04
Speaker 1: stick legs between the guns. He cocked one ear and listened. Bullocks,
4:23:09
Speaker 1: he said, gun, bullocks. On my word, you and your
4:23:12
Speaker 1: friends have waked the camp very thoroughly. It takes a
4:23:15
Speaker 1: good deal of protting to put up a gun. Bullock.
4:23:18
Speaker 1: I heard a chain dragging along the ground, and a
4:23:21
Speaker 1: yoke of the great sulky white bullocks that dragged the
4:23:23
Speaker 1: heavy siege guns. When the elephants won't go any nearer
4:23:26
Speaker 1: to the firing came shouldering along together and almost stepping
4:23:30
Speaker 1: on the chain was another battery mule calling wildly for Billy.
4:23:35
Speaker 1: That's one of our recruits, said the old mule to
4:23:38
Speaker 1: the true horse. He's calling for me here, youngster, stop squealing.
4:23:42
Speaker 1: The dark never heard anybody yet. The gun bullocks lay
4:23:46
Speaker 1: down together and began chewing the cud, But the young
4:23:49
Speaker 1: mule huddled close to Billy. Things, he said, fearful and
4:23:54
Speaker 1: horrible things. Billy. They came into our lines while we
4:23:57
Speaker 1: were asleep. Do you think they'll kill us? I've a
4:24:01
Speaker 1: very great mind to give you a number one kicking,
4:24:03
Speaker 1: said Billy, the idea of a fourteen hand mule with
4:24:07
Speaker 1: your training disgracing the battery before this, gentleman gently gently
4:24:12
Speaker 1: said the troop horse. Remember they are always like this
4:24:15
Speaker 1: to begin with. The first time I ever saw man,
4:24:18
Speaker 1: it was in Australia when I was a three year old.
4:24:21
Speaker 1: I ran for half a day, and if i'd seen
4:24:23
Speaker 1: a camel, I should be running still. Nearly all our
4:24:28
Speaker 1: horses for the English Cavalry are brought to India from
4:24:30
Speaker 1: Australia and are broken in by the troopers themselves. True enough,
4:24:36
Speaker 1: said Billy, stop shaking, youngster. The first time they put
4:24:39
Speaker 1: the full harness with all its chains on my back,
4:24:41
Speaker 1: I stood on my fore legs and kicked every bit
4:24:43
Speaker 1: of it off. I hadn't learned the real science of
4:24:46
Speaker 1: kicking then. But the battery said they'd never seen anything
4:24:49
Speaker 1: like it. But this wasn't harness or anything that jingled,
4:24:53
Speaker 1: said the young mule. You know, I don't mind that now, Billy.
4:24:57
Speaker 1: It was the things like trees, and they he fell
4:25:00
Speaker 1: up and down the lines and bubbled, and my head
4:25:02
Speaker 1: rope broke, and I couldn't find my driver, and I
4:25:04
Speaker 1: couldn't find you, Billy, So I ran off with with
4:25:08
Speaker 1: these gentlemen, HM, said Billy. As soon as I heard
4:25:13
Speaker 1: the camels were loose, I came away on my own account.
4:25:16
Speaker 1: When a battery, a screw gun mule calls gun bullocks, gentlemen,
4:25:20
Speaker 1: he must be very badly shaken up. Who are you
4:25:23
Speaker 1: fellows on the ground there? The gun bullocks rolled their
4:25:27
Speaker 1: cuds and answered both together the seventh yoke of the
4:25:31
Speaker 1: first gun of the big gun battery. We were asleep
4:25:34
Speaker 1: when the camels came, but when we were trampled on,
4:25:37
Speaker 1: we got up and walked away. It is better to
4:25:39
Speaker 1: lie quiet in the mud than to be disturbed on
4:25:42
Speaker 1: good bedding. We told your friend here that there was
4:25:45
Speaker 1: nothing to be afraid of, but he knew so much
4:25:47
Speaker 1: that he thought otherwise. Whah, They went on chewing. That
4:25:53
Speaker 1: comes of being afraid, said Billy. You get laughed at
4:25:56
Speaker 1: by gun bullocks. I hope you like it, youngun. The
4:26:00
Speaker 1: young mule's teeth snapped, and I heard him say something
4:26:03
Speaker 1: about not being afraid of any beefy old bullock in
4:26:05
Speaker 1: the world. But the bullocks only clicked their horns together
4:26:08
Speaker 1: and went on chewing. Now, don't be angry after you've
4:26:13
Speaker 1: been afraid. That's the worst kind of cowardice, said the
4:26:16
Speaker 1: true horse. Anybody can be forgiven for being scared in
4:26:19
Speaker 1: the night. I think if they see things they don't understand.
4:26:24
Speaker 1: We've broken out of our pickets again and again, four
4:26:27
Speaker 1: hundred and fifty of us, just because a new recruit
4:26:29
Speaker 1: got to telling tales of whip snakes at home in Australia,
4:26:32
Speaker 1: till we were scared to death at the loose ends
4:26:34
Speaker 1: of our head ropes. That's all very well in camp,
4:26:38
Speaker 1: said Billy. I'm not above stampeding myself for the fun
4:26:41
Speaker 1: of the thing when I haven't been out for a
4:26:43
Speaker 1: day or two. But what do you do on active service.
4:26:48
Speaker 1: Oh that's quite another set of new shoes, said the
4:26:50
Speaker 1: true horse. Dick cunlifts on my back then and drives
4:26:54
Speaker 1: his knees into me. And all I have to do
4:26:56
Speaker 1: is to watch where I'm putting my feet, and to
4:26:58
Speaker 1: keep my hind legs well under me, and be bridle wise.
4:27:03
Speaker 1: What's bridle wise, said the young mule. Buy the blue
4:27:07
Speaker 1: gums of the black blocks, snorted the true horse. Do
4:27:10
Speaker 1: you mean to say that you aren't taught to be
4:27:12
Speaker 1: bridle wise in your business? How can you do anything
4:27:15
Speaker 1: unless you can spin round at once? When the rain
4:27:17
Speaker 1: is pressed on your neck. It means life or death
4:27:19
Speaker 1: to your man, And of course that's life or death
4:27:22
Speaker 1: to you. Get round with your hind legs under you
4:27:25
Speaker 1: the instant you feel the rain on your neck. If
4:27:27
Speaker 1: you haven't room to swing round, rear up a little
4:27:30
Speaker 1: and come round on your hind legs, that's being bridle wise.
4:27:35
Speaker 1: We aren't taught that way, said Billy the mule, stiffly.
4:27:39
Speaker 1: We're taught to obey the man at our head, step
4:27:41
Speaker 1: off when he says, and step in when he says so,
4:27:45
Speaker 1: I suppose it comes to the same thing. Now, with
4:27:48
Speaker 1: all this fine fancy business and rearing, which must be
4:27:50
Speaker 1: very bad for your hawks, what do you do well?
4:27:55
Speaker 1: That depends, said the true horse. Generally I have to
4:27:58
Speaker 1: go in among a lot of yelling, hairy men with knives,
4:28:01
Speaker 1: long shiny knives worse than the farrier's knives, and I
4:28:05
Speaker 1: have to take care that Dick's boot is just touching
4:28:07
Speaker 1: the next man's boot without crushing it. I can see
4:28:10
Speaker 1: Dick's lance to the right of my right eye, and
4:28:12
Speaker 1: I know I'm safe. I shouldn't care to be the
4:28:15
Speaker 1: man or horse that stood up to Dick and me
4:28:17
Speaker 1: when we're in a hurry. Don't the knives hurt, said
4:28:21
Speaker 1: the young mule. Well, I got one cut across the
4:28:25
Speaker 1: chest once, but that wasn't Dick's fault a lot. I
4:28:28
Speaker 1: should have cared whose fault it was if it hurt,
4:28:30
Speaker 1: said the young mule. You must, said the true horse.
4:28:34
Speaker 1: If you don't trust your man, you may as well
4:28:36
Speaker 1: run away at once. That's what some of our horses do,
4:28:39
Speaker 1: and I don't blame them. As I was saying it
4:28:42
Speaker 1: wasn't Dick's fault, the man was lying on the ground,
4:28:45
Speaker 1: and I stretched myself not to tread on him, and
4:28:48
Speaker 1: he slashed up at me. Next time I have to
4:28:50
Speaker 1: go over a man lying down, I shall step on
4:28:53
Speaker 1: him hard hm, said Billy. It sounds very foolish. Knives
4:28:58
Speaker 1: are dirty things at any time. The proper things to
4:29:01
Speaker 1: do is to climb up a mountain with a well
4:29:03
Speaker 1: balanced saddle, hang on by all four feet and your
4:29:06
Speaker 1: ears too, and creep and crawl and wiggle along till
4:29:09
Speaker 1: you come out hundreds of feet above anyone else on
4:29:11
Speaker 1: a ledge where there's just room enough for your hoofs.
4:29:14
Speaker 1: Then you stand still and keep quiet. Never ask a
4:29:17
Speaker 1: man to hold your head, young un, keep quiet while
4:29:20
Speaker 1: the guns are being put together, and then you wash
4:29:23
Speaker 1: the little poppy shells drop down into the tree tops
4:29:25
Speaker 1: ever so far below. Don't you ever trip, said the
4:29:29
Speaker 1: troop horse. They say that when a mule trips, you
4:29:33
Speaker 1: can split a hen's ear, said Billy. Now and again,
4:29:36
Speaker 1: perhaps a badly packed saddle will upset a mule, but
4:29:40
Speaker 1: it's very seldom. I wish I could show you our business.
4:29:43
Speaker 1: It's beautiful. Why it took me three years to find
4:29:46
Speaker 1: out what the men were driving at the Science of
4:29:49
Speaker 1: the thing is never to show up against the sky line,
4:29:52
Speaker 1: because if you do, you may get fired at. Remember that,
4:29:55
Speaker 1: young un, always keep hidden as much as possible, even
4:29:58
Speaker 1: if you have to go a mile out of your way.
4:30:01
Speaker 1: I leave the battery when it comes to that sort
4:30:03
Speaker 1: of climbing fired at, without the chance of running into
4:30:07
Speaker 1: the people who were firing, said the true horse, thinking hard.
4:30:10
Speaker 1: I couldn't stand that I should want to charge with dick.
4:30:15
Speaker 1: Oh no, you wouldn't you know that as soon as
4:30:18
Speaker 1: the guns are in position, they'll do the charging. That's
4:30:21
Speaker 1: scientific and neat, but knives pah. The baggage camel had
4:30:26
Speaker 1: been bobbing his head to and fro for some time past,
4:30:29
Speaker 1: anxious to get a word in edgewise. Then I heard
4:30:32
Speaker 1: him say, as he cleared his throat nervously, I I
4:30:36
Speaker 1: have fought a little, but not in that climbing way
4:30:39
Speaker 1: or that running way. No, now you mention it, said billy.
4:30:44
Speaker 1: You don't look as though you were made for climbing
4:30:46
Speaker 1: or running much. Well, how was it, old hay Bales,
4:30:52
Speaker 1: The proper way, said the camel. We all sat down. Oh,
4:30:55
Speaker 1: my crupper and breastplates, said the troop horse under his breath,
4:30:59
Speaker 1: sat down. We sat down, a hundred of us. The
4:31:02
Speaker 1: camel went on in a big square, and the men
4:31:05
Speaker 1: piled our cajawas, our packs and saddles outside the square,
4:31:09
Speaker 1: and they fired over our backs. The men did on
4:31:11
Speaker 1: all sides of the square. What sort of men, any
4:31:16
Speaker 1: men that came along, said the true horse. They teach
4:31:19
Speaker 1: us in riding school to lie down and let our
4:31:21
Speaker 1: masters fire across us. But Dick Cunliff is the only
4:31:24
Speaker 1: man I'd trust to do that. It tickles my girths.
4:31:27
Speaker 1: And besides, I can't see you with my head on
4:31:29
Speaker 1: the ground. What does it matter who fires across you,
4:31:33
Speaker 1: said the camel. There are plenty of men, and plenty
4:31:36
Speaker 1: of other camels close by, and a great many clouds
4:31:39
Speaker 1: of smoke. I am not frightened. Then I sit still
4:31:43
Speaker 1: and wait. And yet said billy, you dream bad dreams
4:31:48
Speaker 1: and upset the camp at night. Well, well before i'd
4:31:51
Speaker 1: lie down, not to speak of sitting down and let
4:31:54
Speaker 1: a man fire across me, my heels and head would
4:31:57
Speaker 1: have something to say to each other. Did you ever
4:31:59
Speaker 1: hear anything so awful as that? There is a long silence,
4:32:05
Speaker 1: and then one of the gun bullocks lifted up his
4:32:07
Speaker 1: big head and said, this is very foolish. Indeed, there
4:32:11
Speaker 1: is only one way of fighting. Oh go on, said billy,
4:32:17
Speaker 1: Please don't mind me. I suppose you fellows fight standing
4:32:21
Speaker 1: on your tails. Only one way, said the two together.
4:32:26
Speaker 1: They must have been twins. This is that way to
4:32:30
Speaker 1: put all twenty yoke of us to the big gun.
4:32:33
Speaker 1: As soon as two tails trumpets. Two tails is camp
4:32:37
Speaker 1: slang for the elephant. What does two tails trumpet for,
4:32:41
Speaker 1: said the young mule, to show that he is not
4:32:45
Speaker 1: going any nearer to the smoke on the other side.
4:32:48
Speaker 1: Two tails is a great coward. Then we tugged the
4:32:52
Speaker 1: big gun all together. Hey ya hula, he ya hula.
4:32:59
Speaker 1: We do not climb like cats, nor run like calves.
4:33:03
Speaker 1: We go across the level plain twenty yoke of us
4:33:07
Speaker 1: till we are unyoked again, and we graze while the
4:33:10
Speaker 1: big guns talk across the plain to some town with
4:33:13
Speaker 1: mud walls, and pieces of the wall fall out and
4:33:16
Speaker 1: the dust goes up as though many cattle were coming home.
4:33:21
Speaker 1: Oh and you choose that time for grazing, said the
4:33:24
Speaker 1: young mule. That time or any other eating is always good.
4:33:31
Speaker 1: We eat till we are yoked up again and tug
4:33:34
Speaker 1: the gun back to where two Tails is waiting for it.
4:33:38
Speaker 1: Sometimes there are big guns in the city that speak back,
4:33:41
Speaker 1: and some of us are killed, and then there is
4:33:45
Speaker 1: all the more grazing for those that are left. This
4:33:48
Speaker 1: is fate, nothing but fate none the less. Two Tails
4:33:54
Speaker 1: is a great coward. That is the proper way to fight.
4:33:58
Speaker 1: We are brothers from Hapor. Our father was a sacred
4:34:02
Speaker 1: bowl of shive. We have spoken well. I've certainly learned
4:34:07
Speaker 1: something to night, said the true Horse. Do you, gentlemen
4:34:10
Speaker 1: of the screw gun battery, feel inclined to eat when
4:34:13
Speaker 1: you are being fired at with big guns and two
4:34:15
Speaker 1: Tails is behind you? About as much as we feel
4:34:19
Speaker 1: inclined to sit down and let men sprawl all over
4:34:21
Speaker 1: us or run into people with knives. I never heard
4:34:24
Speaker 1: such stuff. A mountain ledge, a well balanced load, a
4:34:28
Speaker 1: driver you can trust to let you pick your own way,
4:34:31
Speaker 1: and I'm your mule. But the other things, no, said Billy,
4:34:35
Speaker 1: with a stamp of his foot. Of course, said the
4:34:38
Speaker 1: true horse. Every one is not made in the same way.
4:34:41
Speaker 1: And I can quite see that your family on your
4:34:44
Speaker 1: father's side would fail to understand a great many things.
4:34:49
Speaker 1: Never you mind. My family on my father's side, said
4:34:52
Speaker 1: Billy angrily. For every mule hates to be reminded that
4:34:55
Speaker 1: his father was a donkey. My father was a Southern gentleman,
4:34:59
Speaker 1: and he could down and bite and kick into rags
4:35:01
Speaker 1: every horse he came across. Remember that, you big brown brumby.
4:35:06
Speaker 1: Brumby means wild horse without any breathing. Imagine the feelings
4:35:10
Speaker 1: of Ormond if a bus horse called him a cocktail,
4:35:13
Speaker 1: and you can imagine how an Australian horse felt. I
4:35:17
Speaker 1: saw the white of his eye glitter in the dark.
4:35:20
Speaker 1: See here, you son of an important molliga jackass, he
4:35:23
Speaker 1: said between his teeth. I'd have you know that I'm
4:35:26
Speaker 1: related on my mother's side to Carbine, winner of the
4:35:28
Speaker 1: Melbourne Cup, and where I come from, we aren't accustomed
4:35:31
Speaker 1: to being ridden over, roughshod by any parrot mouth, pig
4:35:34
Speaker 1: headed mule and a pop gun, pea shoot or battery?
4:35:37
Speaker 1: Are you ready on your hind legs, squealed Billy. They
4:35:42
Speaker 1: both reared up, facing each other, and I was expecting
4:35:44
Speaker 1: a furious fight when a griggly, rumbly voice called out
4:35:47
Speaker 1: of the darkness to the right, children, what are you
4:35:50
Speaker 1: fighting about? There? Be quiet. Both beasts dropped down with
4:35:55
Speaker 1: a snort of disgust, for neither horse nor mule can
4:35:58
Speaker 1: bear to listen to an elephant's voice. It's two tails,
4:36:02
Speaker 1: said the true horse. I can't stand him. A tail
4:36:05
Speaker 1: at each end isn't fair. My feeling's exactly, said Billy,
4:36:09
Speaker 1: crowding into the true horse for company. We're very alike
4:36:12
Speaker 1: in some things. I suppose we've been heard at them
4:36:16
Speaker 1: from our mothers, said the true horse. It's not worth
4:36:19
Speaker 1: quarreling about, Hi, two tails, are you tied up? Yes,
4:36:25
Speaker 1: said two Tails, with a laugh all up his trunk.
4:36:27
Speaker 1: I'm picketed for the night. I've heard what you fellows
4:36:31
Speaker 1: have been saying, but don't be afraid. I'm not coming over,
4:36:36
Speaker 1: the bullocks and the camel said, half aloud, afraid of
4:36:39
Speaker 1: two tails? What nonsense? And the bullocks went on, we
4:36:43
Speaker 1: are sorry that you heard, but it is true, two tails.
4:36:48
Speaker 1: Why are you afraid of the guns when they fire? Well,
4:36:53
Speaker 1: said two Tails, rubbing one hind leg against the other,
4:36:56
Speaker 1: exactly like a little boy saying a poem. I don't
4:36:59
Speaker 1: quite know whether you'd understand. We don't, but we have
4:37:04
Speaker 1: to pull the guns, said the bullocks. I know it,
4:37:08
Speaker 1: and I know you are a good deal braver than
4:37:10
Speaker 1: you think you are. But it's different with me. My
4:37:13
Speaker 1: battery captain called me a packidermatis anachronism the other day.
4:37:18
Speaker 1: That's another way of fighting, I suppose, said Billy, who
4:37:21
Speaker 1: was recovering his spirits. You don't know what that means,
4:37:25
Speaker 1: of course, but I do. It means betwixt and between,
4:37:29
Speaker 1: and that is just where I am. I can see
4:37:31
Speaker 1: inside my head what will happen when a shell bursts,
4:37:34
Speaker 1: and you bullocks can't. I can, said the true horse,
4:37:38
Speaker 1: at least a little bit. I try not to think
4:37:41
Speaker 1: about it. I can see more than you do, and
4:37:44
Speaker 1: I do think about it. I know there's a great
4:37:47
Speaker 1: deal of me to take care of, and I know
4:37:50
Speaker 1: that nobody knows how to cure me when I'm sick.
4:37:53
Speaker 1: All they can do is to stop my driver's pay
4:37:55
Speaker 1: till I get well. And I can't trust my driver, ah,
4:38:00
Speaker 1: said the troop horse. That explains it. I can trust Dick.
4:38:05
Speaker 1: You could put a whole regiment of Dick's on my
4:38:07
Speaker 1: back without making me feel any better. I know, just
4:38:10
Speaker 1: enough to be uncomfortable, and not enough to go on
4:38:12
Speaker 1: in spite of it. We do not understand, said the bullocks.
4:38:18
Speaker 1: I know you don't. I'm not talking to you. You
4:38:21
Speaker 1: don't know what blood is. We do, said the bullocks,
4:38:26
Speaker 1: is red stuff that soaks into the ground and smells.
4:38:31
Speaker 1: The troop horse gave a kick and a bound and
4:38:33
Speaker 1: a snort. Don't talk of it, he said. I can
4:38:36
Speaker 1: smell it now just thinking of it. It makes me
4:38:38
Speaker 1: want to run when I haven't dick on my back.
4:38:43
Speaker 1: But it's not here, said the camel and the bullocks.
4:38:46
Speaker 1: Why are you so stupid? It's vile stuff, said billy.
4:38:51
Speaker 1: I don't want to run, but I don't want to
4:38:53
Speaker 1: talk about it. There you are, said two tails, waving
4:38:57
Speaker 1: his tail to explain. Surely, Yes, we have been here
4:39:02
Speaker 1: all night, said the bullocks. Two Tails stamped his foot
4:39:06
Speaker 1: till the iron ring on it jingled. Oh, I'm not
4:39:09
Speaker 1: talking to you. You can't see inside your heads. No,
4:39:14
Speaker 1: we see out of our four eyes, said the bullocks.
4:39:17
Speaker 1: We see straight in front of us. If I could
4:39:21
Speaker 1: do that and nothing else, you wouldn't be needed to
4:39:24
Speaker 1: pull the big guns at all. If I was like
4:39:26
Speaker 1: my captain, He can see things inside his head before
4:39:29
Speaker 1: the firing begins, and he shakes all over, But he
4:39:32
Speaker 1: knows too much to run away. If I was like him,
4:39:35
Speaker 1: I could pull the guns. But if I were as
4:39:38
Speaker 1: wise as all that, I should never be here. I
4:39:41
Speaker 1: should be a king in the forest as I used
4:39:43
Speaker 1: to be, sleeping half the day and bathing when I liked.
4:39:47
Speaker 1: I haven't had a good bath for a month. That's
4:39:51
Speaker 1: all very fine, said Billy. But giving a thing a
4:39:53
Speaker 1: long name doesn't make it any better. Hush, said the
4:39:57
Speaker 1: true horse. I think I understand what two tails mean.
4:40:01
Speaker 1: You'll understand better in a minute, said two Tails angrily.
4:40:05
Speaker 1: Now you just explain to me why you don't like this.
4:40:08
Speaker 1: He began trumpeting furiously at the top of his trumpet.
4:40:12
Speaker 1: Stop that, said Billy and the True Horse together, and
4:40:15
Speaker 1: I could hear them stamp and shiver. An elephant's trumpeting
4:40:18
Speaker 1: is always nasty, especially on a dark night. I shan't stop,
4:40:22
Speaker 1: said two tails. Won't you explain that please? Humph hup
4:40:27
Speaker 1: humph rah. Then he stopped suddenly, and I heard a
4:40:32
Speaker 1: little whimper in the dark, and I knew that Vixen
4:40:35
Speaker 1: had found me. At last. She knew as well as
4:40:37
Speaker 1: I did that if there is one thing in the world,
4:40:39
Speaker 1: an elephant is more afraid of than another. It is
4:40:42
Speaker 1: a little barking dog. So she stopped to bully two
4:40:45
Speaker 1: Tails in his pickets and yapped round his big feet.
4:40:48
Speaker 1: Two Tails shuffled and squeaked. Go away, little dog, he said,
4:40:52
Speaker 1: don't snuff at my ankles or I'll kick you. Good
4:40:54
Speaker 1: little dog, nice little doggie. Then go home, you yelping beast.
4:40:59
Speaker 1: Oh why doesn't someone take her away? She'll bite me
4:41:02
Speaker 1: in a minute, seems to me, said Billy the true Porse,
4:41:06
Speaker 1: that her friend two Tails is afraid of most things. Now,
4:41:10
Speaker 1: if I had a full meal for every dog I've
4:41:12
Speaker 1: kicked across the parade ground, I should be as fat
4:41:14
Speaker 1: as two tails. Nearly, I whistled, and Vixen ran up
4:41:18
Speaker 1: to me, muddy all over, and licked my nose and
4:41:21
Speaker 1: told me a long tale about hunting for me all
4:41:23
Speaker 1: through the camp. I never let her know that I
4:41:25
Speaker 1: understood beast talk, or she would have taken all sorts
4:41:28
Speaker 1: of liberties. So I buttoned her into the breast of
4:41:31
Speaker 1: my overcoat, and two Tails shuffled and stamped and growled
4:41:34
Speaker 1: to himself. Extraordinary, most extraordinary, he said, It runs in
4:41:39
Speaker 1: our family. Now, where is that nasty little beast gone to.
4:41:44
Speaker 1: I heard him feeling about with his trunk. We all
4:41:48
Speaker 1: seemed to be affected in various ways. He went on
4:41:50
Speaker 1: blowing his nose. Now, you gentlemen were alarmed, I believe
4:41:54
Speaker 1: when I trumpeted. Not alarmed exactly, said the true porse.
4:42:00
Speaker 1: But it made me feel as though I had hornets
4:42:02
Speaker 1: where my saddle ought to be. Don't begin again. I'm
4:42:06
Speaker 1: frightened of a little dog, and the camel here is
4:42:09
Speaker 1: frightened by bad dreams in the night. It is very
4:42:13
Speaker 1: lucky for us that we haven't all got to fight
4:42:15
Speaker 1: in the same way, said the troop horse. What I
4:42:18
Speaker 1: want to know, said the young mule, who had been
4:42:20
Speaker 1: quiet for a long while. What I want to know
4:42:23
Speaker 1: is why we have to fight at all? Because we're
4:42:27
Speaker 1: told to, said the troop horse, with a snort of contempt. Orders,
4:42:32
Speaker 1: said Billy the mule, and his teeth snapped. Hookum high.
4:42:38
Speaker 1: It is an order, said the camel, with a gurgle
4:42:40
Speaker 1: and two tails, and the bullocks repeated hook em high. Yes.
4:42:45
Speaker 1: But who gives the orders, said the recruit mule. The
4:42:50
Speaker 1: man who walks at your head or sits on your
4:42:52
Speaker 1: back and holds the nose rope or twist your tail,
4:42:55
Speaker 1: said Billy. And the troop horse and the camel and
4:42:57
Speaker 1: the bullocks one after the other. But who gives them
4:43:01
Speaker 1: the orders? Now you want to know too much, younguinn,
4:43:05
Speaker 1: said Billy, And that is one way of getting kicked.
4:43:09
Speaker 1: All you have to do is to obey the man
4:43:11
Speaker 1: at your head and ask no questions. He's quite right,
4:43:15
Speaker 1: said two tails. I can't always obey because I'm betwixt
4:43:18
Speaker 1: in between. But Billy's right. Obey the man next to
4:43:22
Speaker 1: you who gives the order, or he'll stop all the battery,
4:43:24
Speaker 1: besides getting a thrashing. The gun bullocks got up to go.
4:43:30
Speaker 1: Morning is coming, they said, we will go back to
4:43:33
Speaker 1: our lines. It is true that we only see out
4:43:36
Speaker 1: of our eyes, and we are not very clever, but
4:43:40
Speaker 1: still we are the only people to night who have
4:43:43
Speaker 1: not been afraid. Good night, you brave people. Nobody answered,
4:43:49
Speaker 1: and the troop horse said, to change the conversation, where's
4:43:53
Speaker 1: that little dog? A dog means a man somewhere about here,
4:43:58
Speaker 1: I am yapped fixen under the guntail with my man,
4:44:02
Speaker 1: you big blundering beast of a camel. You you upset
4:44:04
Speaker 1: our tent. My man's very angry phew, said the bullocks.
4:44:10
Speaker 1: He must be white. Of course he is, said vixen.
4:44:15
Speaker 1: Do you suppose I'm looked after by a black bullock driver?
4:44:19
Speaker 1: Whaw w wash oh, said the bullocks. Let us get
4:44:24
Speaker 1: away quickly. They plunged forward in the mud and managed
4:44:28
Speaker 1: somehow to run their yoke on the pole of an
4:44:30
Speaker 1: ammunition wagon, where it jammed. Now you have done it,
4:44:35
Speaker 1: said billy, calmly. Don't struggle. You're hung up till daylight.
4:44:39
Speaker 1: What on earth's the matter? The bullocks went off into
4:44:43
Speaker 1: the long hissing snorts that Indian cattle give, and pushed
4:44:46
Speaker 1: and crowded and slewed and stamped and slipped and nearly
4:44:49
Speaker 1: fell down in the mud, grunting savagely. You'll break your
4:44:53
Speaker 1: necks in a minute, said the true horse. What's the
4:44:56
Speaker 1: matter with white men? I live with em. They eat us, pull,
4:45:03
Speaker 1: said the near bullock. The yolks snapped with a twang,
4:45:06
Speaker 1: and they lumbered off together. I never knew before what
4:45:10
Speaker 1: made Indian cattle so scared of englishmen. We eat beef,
4:45:14
Speaker 1: a thing that no cattle driver touches, and of course
4:45:17
Speaker 1: the cattle do not like it. May I be flogged
4:45:21
Speaker 1: with my own pad chains. Who'd have thought of two
4:45:24
Speaker 1: big lumps like those losing their heads? Said Billy, never mind,
4:45:29
Speaker 1: I'm going to look at this man. Most of the
4:45:31
Speaker 1: white men I know have things in their pockets, said
4:45:34
Speaker 1: the True Horse. I'll leave you then. I can't say
4:45:39
Speaker 1: I'm over fond of em myself. Besides, white men who
4:45:42
Speaker 1: haven't a place to sleep in are more than likely
4:45:44
Speaker 1: to be thieves. And I've a good deal of government
4:45:47
Speaker 1: property on my back. Come along, Yanun, and we'll go
4:45:50
Speaker 1: back to our lines. Good Night, Australia, see you on
4:45:53
Speaker 1: pray tomorrow. I suppose good night, old hay Bales. Try
4:45:57
Speaker 1: to control your feelings, won't you? Good night, two tales.
4:46:01
Speaker 1: If you pass us on the ground tomorrow, don't trumpet.
4:46:03
Speaker 1: It spoils our formation. Billy the mule stamped off with
4:46:07
Speaker 1: the swaggering limp of an old campaigner as the True
4:46:10
Speaker 1: Horse's head came nuzzling into my breast and I gave
4:46:13
Speaker 1: him biscuits, while Vixen, who's a most conceited little dog,
4:46:17
Speaker 1: told him FIBs about the scores of horses that she
4:46:19
Speaker 1: and I kept. I'm coming to the parade tomorrow in
4:46:22
Speaker 1: my dog cart, she said, where will you be on
4:46:26
Speaker 1: the left hand of the second squadron. I set the
4:46:29
Speaker 1: time for all my troop, little lady, he said politely.
4:46:32
Speaker 1: Now I must go back to Dick. My tail's all muddy,
4:46:36
Speaker 1: and he'll have two hours hard work dressing me for parade.
4:46:41
Speaker 1: The big parade of all the thirty thousand men was
4:46:43
Speaker 1: held that afternoon, and Vixen and I had a good
4:46:45
Speaker 1: place close to the Viceroy and the Amir of Afghanistan
4:46:48
Speaker 1: with his high, big black hat of astrachan wool and
4:46:51
Speaker 1: the great diamond star in the center. The first part
4:46:55
Speaker 1: of the review was all sunshine, and the regiments went by,
4:46:58
Speaker 1: and wave upon wave of legs all moving together, and
4:47:02
Speaker 1: guns all in a line, till our eyes grew dizzy.
4:47:05
Speaker 1: Then the cavalry came up to the beautiful cavalry canter
4:47:08
Speaker 1: of Bonnie Dundee, and Vixen cocked her ear where she
4:47:11
Speaker 1: sat on the dog cart. The second squadron of the
4:47:14
Speaker 1: Lancers shot by, and there was the troop horse with
4:47:17
Speaker 1: his tail like spun silk, his head pulled into his breast,
4:47:21
Speaker 1: one ear forward and one back, setting the time for
4:47:24
Speaker 1: all his squadron, his legs going as smoothly as waltz music.
4:47:28
Speaker 1: Then the big guns came by, and I saw two
4:47:31
Speaker 1: tails and two other elephants harnessed in line to a
4:47:33
Speaker 1: forty pounder siege gun, while twenty yoke of oxen walked behind.
4:47:39
Speaker 1: The seventh pair had a new yoke, and they looked
4:47:41
Speaker 1: rather stiff and tired. Last came the screw guns, and
4:47:46
Speaker 1: Billy the Mule carried himself as though he commanded all
4:47:48
Speaker 1: the troops, and his harness was oiled and polished till
4:47:51
Speaker 1: it winked. I gave a cheer all by myself for
4:47:54
Speaker 1: Billy the Mule, but he never looked right or left.
4:47:58
Speaker 1: The rain began to fall again, and for a while
4:48:00
Speaker 1: it was too misty to see what the troops were doing.
4:48:03
Speaker 1: They had made a big half circle across the plain
4:48:05
Speaker 1: and were spreading out into a line. That line grew
4:48:09
Speaker 1: and grew and grew, till it was three quarters of
4:48:11
Speaker 1: a mile long from wing to wing, one solid wall
4:48:14
Speaker 1: of men, horses and guns. Then it came on straight
4:48:18
Speaker 1: toward the Viceroy and the Emir, and as it got nearer,
4:48:21
Speaker 1: the ground began to shake, like the deck of a
4:48:23
Speaker 1: steamer when the engines are going fast. Unless you have
4:48:27
Speaker 1: been there, you cannot imagine what a frightening effect the
4:48:30
Speaker 1: steady come down of troops has on the spectators, even
4:48:33
Speaker 1: when they know it is only a review. I looked
4:48:36
Speaker 1: at the Emir up till then he had not shown
4:48:39
Speaker 1: the shadow of a sign of astonishment or anything else.
4:48:42
Speaker 1: But now his eyes began to get bigger and bigger,
4:48:45
Speaker 1: and he picked up the reins on his horse's neck
4:48:47
Speaker 1: and looked behind him. For a minute. It seemed as
4:48:50
Speaker 1: though he was going to draw his sword and slash
4:48:52
Speaker 1: his way out through the Englishmen and women in the
4:48:53
Speaker 1: carriages at the back. Then the advance stopped dead, the
4:48:58
Speaker 1: ground stood still, the whole line saluted, and thirty bands
4:49:02
Speaker 1: began to play all together. That was the end of
4:49:05
Speaker 1: the review, and the regiments went off to their camps
4:49:08
Speaker 1: in the rain, and an infantry band struck up with
4:49:12
Speaker 1: the animals went in two by two, Hurrah. The animals
4:49:15
Speaker 1: went in two by two, the elephant and the battery mule,
4:49:19
Speaker 1: and they all got into the ark for to get
4:49:21
Speaker 1: out of the rain. Then I heard an old, grizzled,
4:49:25
Speaker 1: long haired Central Asian chief who had come down with
4:49:27
Speaker 1: the Emir, asking questions of a native officer, now said
4:49:33
Speaker 1: he in what manner was this wonderful thing done? And
4:49:37
Speaker 1: the officer answered, an order was given, and they obeyed.
4:49:42
Speaker 1: But are the beasts as wise as the men, said
4:49:44
Speaker 1: the chief. They obey as the men do, mule, horse,
4:49:50
Speaker 1: elephant or bullock. He obeys his driver, and the driver
4:49:54
Speaker 1: his sergeant, and the sergeant his lieutenant, and the lieutenant
4:49:57
Speaker 1: his captain, and the captain his maie major, and the
4:50:01
Speaker 1: major his colonel, and the colonel his brigadier commanding three regiments,
4:50:05
Speaker 1: and the brigadier, the general who obeys the viceroy, who
4:50:09
Speaker 1: is the servant of the Empress. Thus it is done.
4:50:14
Speaker 1: Would it were so in Afghanistan, said the chief, For
4:50:17
Speaker 1: there we obey only our own wills. And for that reason,
4:50:22
Speaker 1: said the native officer, twirling his mustache, you are a
4:50:25
Speaker 1: mere whom you do not obey. Must come here and
4:50:29
Speaker 1: take orders from our viceroy. Parade song of the camp animals,
4:50:38
Speaker 1: elephants of the gun team. We lent to Alexander, the
4:50:43
Speaker 1: strength of Hercules, the wisdom of our foreheads, the cunning
4:50:46
Speaker 1: of our knees. We bowed our next to service. They
4:50:50
Speaker 1: ne'er were loosed again. Make way there, way for the
4:50:53
Speaker 1: ten foot teams of the forty pounder train. Gun bullocks.
4:51:00
Speaker 1: Those heroes and their harnesses avoid a cannon ball, and
4:51:03
Speaker 1: what they know of powder upsets them one and all.
4:51:06
Speaker 1: Then we come into action and tug the guns again.
4:51:10
Speaker 1: Make way there waigh for the twenty yoke of the
4:51:12
Speaker 1: forty pounder train. Cavalry horses. By the brand on my shoulder.
4:51:20
Speaker 1: The finest of tunes is played by the lancers, hussars
4:51:24
Speaker 1: and dragoons, And it's sweeter than stables or water to
4:51:27
Speaker 1: me the cavalry canter of Bonnie Dundee. Then feed us
4:51:32
Speaker 1: and break us, and handle and groom, and give us
4:51:34
Speaker 1: good riders and plenty of room, and launch us in
4:51:37
Speaker 1: column of squadron and sea the way of the war
4:51:40
Speaker 1: horse to Bonnie Dundee. Screw gun mules. As me and
4:51:46
Speaker 1: my companions were scrambling up a hill, the path was
4:51:49
Speaker 1: lost in rolling stones. But we went forward still, for
4:51:53
Speaker 1: we can wriggle and climb, my lads and turn up everywhere.
4:51:56
Speaker 1: Oh it's our delight on a mountain height with a
4:51:58
Speaker 1: leg or two to spare good luck to every sergeant.
4:52:02
Speaker 1: Then that lets us pick our road. Bad luck to
4:52:05
Speaker 1: all the drivermen that cannot pack a load for we
4:52:08
Speaker 1: can wriggle and climb, my lads, and turn up everywhere.
4:52:11
Speaker 1: Oh it's our delight on a mountain height with a
4:52:13
Speaker 1: leg or two to spare Commissariat camels. We haven't a
4:52:20
Speaker 1: camelty tune of our own to help us troll up along.
4:52:23
Speaker 1: But every neck is a hair trombone. Rich a tie
4:52:26
Speaker 1: is a hair trombone. And this is our marching song.
4:52:30
Speaker 1: Can't don't shan't, won't pass it along the line. Somebody's
4:52:34
Speaker 1: pack has slid from his back. Wish it were only mine.
4:52:37
Speaker 1: Somebody's loads tipped off in the road. Cheer for a
4:52:39
Speaker 1: halt in a row or yar, ger ar, somebody's catching
4:52:44
Speaker 1: it now, all the beasts together, children of the camp,
4:52:50
Speaker 1: are we serving each in his degree? Children of the
4:52:54
Speaker 1: yoke and goad, pack and harness, pad and load. See
4:52:57
Speaker 1: our line across the plain like a heelro bent again, reaching, writhing,
4:53:02
Speaker 1: rolling far, sweeping all away to war. While the men
4:53:06
Speaker 1: that walk beside, dusty, silent, heavy eyed, cannot tell why
4:53:10
Speaker 1: we are. They march and suffer day by day. Children
4:53:14
Speaker 1: of the camp, are we serving each in his degree?
4:53:17
Speaker 1: Children of the yoke, and goad pack and harness pad
4:53:20
Speaker 1: and load end of chapter seven,