Читаем на английском - Stories from The Jungle Book / Книга Джунглей

Киплинг Джозеф Редьярд

Stories from The Jungle Book / Книга джунглей

Об авторе

Джозеф Редьярд Киплинг родился в Мумбаи (Индия) в 1865 году. Наибольшую известность ему принесли его рассказы и стихи об Индии.

Особенно полюбились читателям произведения Киплинга для детей: «Книга джунглей», «Вторая книга джунглей» и «Сказки просто так».

«Книга джунглей» содержит несколько поучительных историй, главными действующими лицами которых являются животные.

В рассказе «Маугли – человеческий детеныш» повествуется о приключениях индийского ребенка, который, заблудившись в лесу, находит приют у семьи волков. В джунглях он заводит дружбу с медведем Балу и пантерой Багирой, а также вступает в противостояние с коварным тигром Шерханом.

«Рикки-тикки-тави» – история отважного мангуста, ставшего настоящим другом и защитником для семьи англичан.

Mowgli the man-cub

1

It was late afternoon. Father Wolf awoke from his sleep, yawned and stretched his legs. He pushed out his claws and looked at them. They were sharp and clean. It was time to go hunting for food. Mother Wolf sat watching her four cubs playing and rumbling around her.

Suddenly, her ears stood up and she stretched her neck. She could hear the leaves of a bush rustling.

She asked Father Wolf, “What is there?”

Father Wolf went to the mouth of the cave and looked out. From between the leaves, he could see a naked baby boy crawling towards the cave, laughing and shaking his curly head.

“Why, it’s a man-cub!” he exclaimed.

“A man-cub? Bring him here. I have never seen a man-cub before,” said Mother Wolf.

Father Wolf gently picked up the child by the neck with his teeth. This was the way he carried his own cubs. He put the child in front of her. There were no teeth marks on the child’s neck. The child did not struggle. He allowed Father Wolf to carry him. He was not afraid.

“He has no hair! He is naked!” exclaimed Mother Wolf. “Look at him. He is not afraid! He is pushing my cubs away to get my milk!”

Suddenly they heard Shere Khan’s growl outside the cave.

“What do you want?” asked Father Wolf.

“The man-cub,” Shere Khan answered. “I saw him crawl this way.”

“Go away. He is ours.”

“He is mine. Give him to me.”

Mother Wolf sprang up.

“The man-cub is mine. He will live with us,” she said. “He shall not be killed. One day he will hunt and kill you.”

Shere Khan knew she would not give him the man-cub, and the cave was too small for him to get into and take the cub away.

He turned to go, but growled before he went saying, “He will be mine one day.”

Mother Wolf looked at the child fondly.

“I’ll name him Mowgli. He is such a happy man-cub. Look at him playing with our cubs!”

Mowgli crawled up to her and lay down at her side. Mother Wolf smiled and put her paw over him.

2

It was the night of the full moon, when the wolf pack met at the Council Rock. Akela, the leader of the pack, sat on the Rock and watched the wolves bring their young cubs for inspection. This was the Law. The older wolves were required to see each new cub, before it became a member of the pack.

Mother Wolf also brought her four cubs and Mowgli for inspection. She was filled with anxiety. What would the pack say when they saw the man-cub? Would they allow him into the pack?

Akela said, “Look at the cubs carefully, O wolves.”

The cubs were brought to the centre. One by one the older wolves came, sniffed each one, looked carefully and then returned to their places.

“Look well, O wolves,” repeated Akela.

Father Wolf pushed Mowgli into the centre. Mother Wolf was very worried as she looked on. Mowgli was laughing and rolling the stones he had found. He was too busy playing to be afraid.

A growl came from behind a rock. It was Shere Khan.

“The cub is mine,” he growled. “You are wolves. What will you do with a man-cub?”

A young wolf asked, “Why do we have a man-cub here? He is not one of us.”

“I know,” said Akela, “but if two of the pack speak for him, he may stay.”

Father and Mother Wolf looked around and waited. They were not allowed to speak for him. No one spoke.

Suddenly they heard a grunt. It was Baloo, the brown bear. He was the teacher of the wolf cubs. He taught them the Laws of the Jungle.

He said, “I speak for the man-cub. Let him be one of the pack. I shall teach him.”

“But we need one more,” said Akela.

A soft voice purred. “I come as a friend, Akela.” It was Bagheera, the black panther. “I speak for the man-cub. Let him stay, and I will give you a fat bull that I have just killed.”

“A fat bull, did you say?” asked the pack. They were always hungry. “Of course the man-cub can stay!”

Shere Khan was very angry. He gave a loud roar and returned to his lair.

3

Mowgli spent a wonderful time among the wolves for ten whole summers. He loved Father and Mother Wolf. They in turn loved him as one of their cubs. Mother Wolf was very kind to him. She would often say, “I love him more than any son of mine.”

Their cubs were his brothers and they all played together. Mowgli was really very happy.

Father Wolf taught him many things about the jungle, its sounds and dangers.

Mowgli roamed the jungle. He ate when he was hungry, slept when sleepy, and swam in the jungle pool when he felt hot, or when he wanted to wash himself.

Baloo taught him the Laws of the Jungle and the Hunting Verse: “Feet that make no noise, eyes that can see in the dark, ears that can hear the winds, and sharp white teeth, all these are the marks of our brothers.”

Baloo also taught him the Wood and Water Laws: how to tell when a branch was rotten or strong before climbing it, how to speak politely to bees if he came upon a hive, and how to warn the water snakes before he dived into pools and rivers.

Mowgli was also taught the calls of all the creatures living in the jungle. These would be of use to him when he was in danger and had to seek their help.

Mowgli often felt tired of learning so many things. Baloo made him repeat everything. Sometimes, Mowgli would not listen to him. Then Baloo would cuff him.

Bagheera frequently sat on the branch of a tree and watched Baloo and Mowgli. He loved the man-cub and called him Little Brother. So did Baloo.

One day, when Baloo had cuffed him, Mowgli ran off and hid behind a tree. He was very angry. Bagheera said to Baloo, “Why do you cuff him so much? He is very young.”

“Not too young to get killed,” replied Baloo. “A cuff from me is better than that, is it not?”

“A soft cuff, yes, but just now you cuffed him straight over that rock! You will kill him some day.”

“It was a hard cuff, was it?” asked Baloo. He loved Mowgli. Had he really hurt him?

“Mowgli,” he called gently, “come and show Bagheera all the wonderful things you have learnt.”

Mowgli was never angry for long, and he loved to show off. He came out from behind the tree and asked, “What do you want to hear?”

“Say the word for the Hunting People, the Bears.”

“We be of one blood, you and I,” said Mowgli in the correct bear talk.

“And for the Birds?”

Mowgli let out a kite’s whistle.

“And now for the Snake People.”

The answer was a perfect hiss. Mowgli clapped his hands happily and jumped on Bagheera’s back.

4

“See how well Mowgli has learnt everything,” Baloo said to Bagheera. “Without my cuffs, he would not have learnt. Now he does not have to fear anybody.”

“Of course, he has to,” replied Bagheera. “He must fear man, his own tribe.”

Mowgli was jumping on Bagheera’s back, pulling and pushing him.

“What is the matter, Little Brother?” Bagheera asked.

“One day I will have a tribe of my own,” Mowgli replied proudly. “I shall be its leader. We will go from branch to branch and have a wonderful time.”

Baloo and Bagheera were shocked.

“What are you talking about?” asked Baloo, very angry.

Mowgli was surprised. He looked at Bagheera and saw that he was angry too.

“Have you been with the Bandar-log, the Monkey People?”

“The Bandar-log are the grey apes, who have no law and eat everything,” added Bagheera.

Mowgli nodded his head.

He said, “One day, when Baloo had cuffed me, I went into the jungle and met the Bandar-log. They were very good to me and gave me nuts and many other things to eat. They carried me from tree to tree. It was wonderful. They said that I was their brother without a tail. They even said that they would make me their leader one day.”

Baloo was furious.

“They are liars,” he said. “They have never had a leader and never will. You are not to meet them again.”

“But why not?” Mowgli wanted to know. “They were kind and good to me, and have invited me to go with them again. They are like me – they stand on their feet and use their hands to pluck nuts and fruit. They really are very kind. I liked playing with them.”

“Listen to me, man-cub,” said Baloo sternly. “I have taught you the laws of the jungle and the calls of all the creatures that live here. The only thing I have not taught you is about the Bandar-log. Why? It is because they have no law and no call. They have no speech. They chatter all the time, living on the branches. We, of the jungle, do not go where they go, or drink water from the same waterhole. You, too, will do the same.”

Mowgli had never seen Baloo so angry. He was always kind. Mowgli knew that he had not done the right thing, so he nodded. Suddenly nuts and sticks hit them on their heads. Mowgli looked up and saw many chattering monkeys swinging from branch to branch.

5

The Bandar-log were exactly as Baloo had said. They had no leader and no speech. They lived on trees. The animals of the jungle lived on the ground and they did not look up at them. They never met them and kept away from them.

But the Bandar-log had watched Mowgli. They had seen him weaving mats with straw and sticks. They found that wonderful. They thought that they could learn many things from him, and this would make them wise. Then all the creatures of the jungle would take note of them and envy them. They decided to carry him away and make him their leader.

So one day, when Mowgli was sleeping, the Bandar-log swooped down from the trees and carried him off. Mowgli opened his eyes and found that he was being carried away through the trees.

He cried out aloud. Baloo and Bagheera woke up, and were horrified to see the Bandar-log carry their Little Brother away.

Mowgli was very angry with himself. He should have listened to Baloo and kept away from these silly chattering monkeys. He felt dizzy as he was swung from branch to branch and from tree to tree.

Mowgli looked up and saw Chil, the kite, flying over him. He gave the kite a call for help. Chil was surprised to hear the call and looked down. He was even more surprised to hear a man-cub say the Master Word.

Mowgli called out to him, saying, “We are of one blood, you and I. Mark my trail. Tell Baloo and Bagheera. Go quickly.”

“Who are you, brother?” Chil asked.

“I am Mowgli, the man-cub. Mark my trail,” he repeated, “and hurry to Baloo and Bagheera.”

The monkeys carried him to the place the jungle creatures called the Cold Lairs. It was an old, ruined city, with its walls crumbling down. The monkeys lived here because there was a large water tank. No jungle creature ever came here, so they had the water to themselves.

6

Baloo and Bagheera were filled with grief. They had woken in time to see Mowgli being carried away.

“You should have warned him,” said Bagheera to Baloo. “You have taught him many things, but not all. You did not tell him about the silly, chattering Bandar-log. They could drop him while carrying him over the trees. He will surely die from such a fall.”

Baloo was too full of grief to reply. Chil spotted them as he flew over. He gave them Mowgli’s message.

“He knew the Master Word!” Chil exclaimed.

“What is the use?” wailed Baloo. “He may be dead by now.”

“Do not be so full of grief, Baloo,” comforted Bagheera. “The monkeys will be careful because they want him. Also, the man-cub is wise and well-taught. But as long as he is with them, he is not safe.”

“Oh, I am such a fat, stupid fool,” wailed Baloo again. “But, Bagheera, the Bandar-log fear Kaa, the snake, because he can climb trees, and he steals young monkeys in the night.”

“What can he do? He cannot move fast, as he has no feet.”

“He is a cunning old creature. Better still, he is always hungry,” said Baloo. “Come, we’ll go and seek his help. If he helps, we will promise him many goats.”

Both of them set off to look for Kaa. They found him sunning himself. His new coat was shining in the sun. (A snake sheds its skin when a new skin has formed inside.)

7

Kaa was a very big snake. Every creature in the jungle was afraid of his strength. Once he caught an animal and got it in his coils, he crushed it to death and then swallowed it.

Kaa was hungry. He said, “Hello, Baloo and Bagheera. What are you doing here? Have you any news of food for me? I am so hungry.”

“We are hunting,” answered Baloo. He did not want Kaa to know that they had come to seek his help. Kaa would never let them forget that.

“I’ll come with you,” Kaa said eagerly. “The last time I climbed a tree, it was dry and rotten and I nearly fell to my death. The Bandar-log were there and they called me such bad names.”

“Oh, the Bandar-log are shameless,” said Bagheera. “I once heard them say that you were old and had lost all your teeth.”

He could see that Kaa was very angry. His long body wriggled in anger.

Baloo decided to speak out. “Actually, it’s the Bandar-log we are following.”

“Why?”

“They have taken away our man-cub.”

“Man-cub? I have heard of him.”

“Yes, Kaa, the man-cub. He is the wisest, the best and the boldest of my pupils,” Baloo boasted. “And we love him very much. We call him our Little Brother.”

“The Bandar-log fear me,” said Kaa. “They are such chattering creatures. I may be of help. Indeed, I am sure I can be of help. Where did you say they had taken the man-cub?”

“To the Cold Lairs. That is the message Chil gave us. I am going as fast as I can,” said Bagheera, and then asked, “Kaa, will you come with us?”

“Of course, I will,” said Kaa, ready to set off. “And though I have no feet, I can go as fast as you can.”

“Baloo, you follow us,” said Bagheera.

Baloo was big and heavy and could not move fast.

8

They knew the place. It was an old city, lost and buried in the jungle. The roofless palace was on top of a hill. Broken walls of temples and houses were scattered around.

The monkeys liked this place because no jungle creature ever came here, and there was a water tank. This was their drinking hole and their bathing place, too. Hundreds of them lived here in the Cold Lairs.

The Bandar-log brought Mowgli to this place. There was great rejoicing when the other monkeys saw him. Now they could learn many things from him and become wise.

Mowgli was terrified to see so many monkeys, chattering around him. Some of them were trying to snatch him, others were feeling his hairless body.

Mowgli was tired and hungry and wanted to get away from this horrible place. From the corner of his eye, he noticed Bagheera climbing up the broken walls. The monkeys saw him, too. Chattering loudly, hundreds of them jumped on him. Bagheera tried to beat them back. They were trying to tear him to pieces.

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