hen the four cubs could run and jump, Father Wolf
said, ‘It’s time to tell the other wolves about Mowgli.’
The Law of the Jungle says that all new wolf cubs must
come to a Pack Meeting. At this meeting, the wolves can
meet these new members of the pack and see what they
look like.
So Father and Mother Wolf took the cubs and Mowgli to
their first Pack Meeting.
The wolves waited on the rocky hillside. Akela, the
leader of the pack, sat on a big rock at the top of the hill.
All the new cubs played together, watched by their mothers
and fathers. One of the old wolves came to look at each
cub.
At last, it was Mowgli’s
turn. Father Wolf pushed
him forward. The little boy
laughed and started to play
with some stones.
But suddenly there came a
terrible roar from behind the
rocks. Then the wolves heard
the voice of the tiger, Shere
Khan.
‘That cub is mine! A man
cub has no place in a wolf
pack. Give him to me!’
Then Akela spoke. ‘Don’t
listen to him. A tiger cannot
tell a wolf pack what to do.’
But the wolves were
thinking about Shere Khan’s
words. Then a young black
wolf jumped up and said,
‘Shere Khan is right! A man
cub has no place in a wolf
pack!’
‘So we do not all agree,’
said Akela. ‘By the Law of the Jungle, two wolves must now
speak for the man cub. Two wolves who are not his mother
and father. Who will speak for Mowgli, the man cub?’
But there was no answer.
Mother Wolf was afraid for her new cub. ‘Will I have to
fight if I want to keep him?’ she thought.
8
9
CHAPTER 2
The Pack Meeting
W