So Mowgli went away and hunted with the four cubs in the jungle from that day on. But he was not always alone, because, years afterward, he became a man and married.
But that is a story for grown-ups.
Mowgli’s Song
That he sang
at the council rock when he
danced on Shere Khan’s
hide
The Song of Mowgli—I,
Mowgli, am singing. Let the jungle
listen
to the things I have done.
Shere Khan said he would
kill—would kill! At the gates in the
twilight
he would kill Mowgli, the Frog!
He ate and he drank.
Drink deep, Shere Khan, for when wilt thou
drink
again? Sleep and dream of the kill.
I am alone on the grazing-grounds.
Gray Brother, come to me!
Come
to me, Lone Wolf, for there is big game afoot!
Bring up the great bull
buffaloes, the blue-skinned herd bulls
with
the angry eyes. Drive them to and fro as I order.
Sleepest thou still,
Shere Khan? Wake, oh, wake! Here come I,
and
the bulls are behind.
Rama, the King of the
Buffaloes, stamped with his foot. Waters of
the
Waingunga, whither went Shere Khan?
He is not Ikki to dig
holes, nor Mao, the Peacock, that he should
fly.
He is not Mang the Bat, to hang in the branches.
Little
bamboos
that creak together, tell me where he ran?
Ow! He is there.
Ahoo! He is there. Under the feet of Rama
lies
the Lame One! Up, Shere Khan!
Up and kill! Here is meat; break the necks of the bulls!
Hsh! He is asleep.
We will not wake him, for his strength is
very
great. The kites have come down to see it.
The black
ants
have come up to know it. There is a great assembly
in his
honor.
Alala! I have
no cloth to wrap me. The kites will see that
I am
naked.
I am ashamed to meet all these people.
Lend me thy coat, Shere
Khan. Lend me thy gay striped coat that I
may
go to the Council Rock.
By the Bull that bought
me I made a promise—a little promise.
Only
thy coat is lacking before I keep my word.
With the knife, with
the knife that men use, with the knife of the
hunter,
I will stoop down for my gift.
Waters of the Waingunga,
Shere Khan gives me his coat for the love
that
he bears me. Pull, Gray Brother! Pull,
Akela! Heavy is
the
hide of Shere Khan.
The Man Pack are angry.
They throw stones and talk child’s talk.
My
mouth is bleeding. Let me run away.
Through the night, through
the hot night, run swiftly with me, my
brothers.
We will leave the lights of the village and go to
the
low moon.