Rudyard Kipling

Rudyard Kipling, The Jungle Book

The Jungle Book, collection of stories by Rudyard Kipling, published in 1894. The Second Jungle Book, published in 1895, contains stories linked by poems. The stories tell mostly of Mowgli, an Indian boy who is raised by wolves and learns self-sufficiency and wisdom from the jungle animals. The book describes the social life of the wolf pack and, more fancifully, the justice and natural order of life in the jungle. Among the animals whose tales are related in the work are Akela the wolf; Baloo the brown bear; Shere Khan, the boastful Bengal tiger who is Mowgli's enemy; Tabaqui the jackal, Shere Khan's obsequious servant; Kaa the python; Bagheera the panther; and Rikki-tikki-tavi the mongoose.