The Jungle Book Summary

The Jungle Book opens with three stories and a song about Mowgli, a young boy raised in a jungle by wolves. Mother Wolf and Father Wolf find Mowgli when he is only an infant and take him in as one of their own. As Mowgli grows older, he learns the Law of the Jungle from Baloo the Bear and Bagheera the Black Panther. As a young boy, Mowgli does not fully appreciate the Law of the Jungle. His lack of appreciation leads him to be kidnapped by the Bandar-log, a group of monkeys who do not regard the Law of the Jungle. Luckily, Baloo and Bagheera rescue Mowgli and bring him back to the wolf pack.

As Mowgli grows older, some of the wolf pack start to resent him because the ferocious tiger, Shere Khan, convinces them that he is not one of their own and does not belong in the jungle. After a confrontation with Shere Khan and the wolves, Mowgli decides to leave the jungle and live among human beings. However, his time in a human village does not last long.

While living with the humans, Mowgli tricks and kills Shere Khan. After, Mowgli skins Shere Khan and takes his pelt. One of Mowgli’s fellow villagers, Buldeo, tries to steal the pelt and claim it as his own. However, Mowgli’s wolf brothers pin him down and do not allow him to. This leads Buldeo to claim Mowgli is a sorcerer, which gets him kicked out of the village. After leaving the village, Mowgli returns to the jungle and displays Shere Khan’s pelt. However, his return to the jungle is only temporary, as he will one day return to live among humans.

A stand-alone story called “The White Seal” tells the tale of Kotick, a white seal who searches far and wide for a place where seals can live without worrying about humans clubbing them. At the end of the story, Kotick finds such a place, and it becomes the most popular spot for the seals in his area.

Following “The White Seal,” is a story called “Rikki-Tikki-Tavi.” Rikki-tikki-tavi is a mongoose whom an English family living in India takes in after his burrow floods. Rikki-tikki-tavi feels he owes the English family his life and does everything he can to defend them from two cobras, Nag and Nagaina, who live in the family’s garden. After a great struggle, Rikki-tikki-tavi kills both Nag and Nagaina, which buys him the undying loyalty of both the British family and the other animals of the garden.

“Toomai of the Elephants” tells the story of a young boy named Little Toomai who hopes to one day become an elephant catcher. When he shares this information with Petersen Sahib, the leader of the local elephant catching operation, Petersen tells Little Toomai he will only achieve his dream once he witnesses an elephant dance. That night, Little Toomai follows an elephant named Kala Nag into the jungle. There, he watches a group of elephants stomp the ground for hours. The following day, Little Toomai returns to Petersen and tells him what he saw. Petersen congratulates Little Toomai and tells him he can become an elephant catcher.

The final story, “Her Majesty’s Servants,” features a group of animals talking about their respective roles in the British-Indian army. All the animals have different strengths and weaknesses, though none understands the point of the conflict the humans have enlisted them to take part in.

Meanwhile, the Amir of Afghanistan meets with the Viceroy of India. The level of control the Viceroy has over his army impresses one of the Amir’s men. However, when he expresses his approval to one of the Viceroy’s officers, the officer mocks him. He thinks Amir and the other Afghanis are inferior to the British forces and need to learn their place.