The Second Jungle Book is a sequel to The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling. First published in 1895, it features five stories about Mowgli and three unrelated stories, all but one set in India, most of which Kipling wrote while living in living in Vermont. All of the stories were previously published in magazines in 1894-5, often under different titles. The book is less well-known than the original.
Chapters in The Second Jungle Book:[]
- "How Fear Came": This story takes place before Mowgli fights Shere Khan. During a drought, Mowgli and the animals gather at a shrunken river for a 'water truce', during which Hathi the elephant tells the other jungle people about how the tiger got his stripes and why they have a certain right. This story can be seen as a forerunner of the Just So Stories.
- "The Law of the Jungle"
- "The Miracle of Purun Bhagat": An influential Indian politician abandons his worldly goods to become an ascetic holy man. Later he must save a village from a landslide with the help of the local animals.
- "A Song of Kabir" Interpreted as a boy with responsibilities who takes his own path, listening to his gods.
- "Letting In the Jungle": Mowgli has been driven out of the human village for witchcraft, and the superstitious villagers are preparing to kill his adopted parents Meshua and her (unnamed) husband. Mowgli rescues them and then prepares to take revenge.
- "Mowgli's Song against People"
- "The Undertakers": A crocodile, a jackal and an adjutant stork (erroneously referred to as a crane in the story), three of the most unpleasant characters on the river, spend an afternoon bickering with each other until some Englishmen arrive to settle some unfinished business with the crocodile.
- "A Ripple Song"
- "The King's Ankus": Mowgli discovers a jewelled object which he later discards carelessly, not realising that men will kill each other to possess it. Note: the first edition of The Second Jungle Book inadvertently omits the final 500 words of this story, in which Mowgli returns the treasure to its hiding-place to prevent further killings. Although the error was corrected in later printings, it was picked up by some later editions.
- "The Song of the Little Hunter"
- "Quiquern": A young Inuit hunter and his sled dog set out across the arctic ice on a desperate hunt for food to save their tribe from starvation, guided by the mysterious animal-spirit Quiquern. But Quiquern may not be what it seems....
- "'Angutivaun Taina'"
- "Red Dog: The dhole, the red dog, are on the move. With the wolves and his friend Kaa the python, Mowgli undertakes the difficult task of stopping them.
- "Chil's Song"
- "The Spring Running": Mowgli, now almost 17 years old now, goes for a spring running, and runs into his former adoptive mother, Meshua. He is torn between staying with her and returning to the jungle, but he finally resolves to stay with her.
- "The Outsong"
Characters[]
- Mowgli - A jungle boy
- Father wolf - Raksha's mate
- Raksha - An Indian Wolf
- Mang - A Bat
- Bagheera - A Black panther
- Baloo - A Sloth bear
- Kaa - An Indian python
- Tabaqui - A Golden jackal
- Akela - An Indian wolf
- Jacala - A Mugger Crocodile
- The Red Dogs - Dholes
- Ikki - A Porcupine
- Hathi - An Indian elephant
- Chil - a kite bird
- Shere Khan - a tiger
- monkeys
Derivative sequels[]
- The Third Jungle Book, 1992 book by Pamela Jekel, consisting of new Mowgli stories, in a passable imitation.
External links[]
Template:Wikisource
- Template:Gutenberg
- The Jungle Book Collection: a website demonstrating the variety of merchandise related to the book and film versions of The Jungle Books