''The Second Jungle Book'' is a sequel to ''
The Jungle Book
''The Jungle Book'' (1894) is a collection of stories by the English author Rudyard Kipling. Most of the characters are animals such as Shere Khan the tiger and Baloo the bear, though a principal character is the boy or "man-cub" Mowgli, ...
'' by
Rudyard Kipling
Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work.
...
. First published in 1895, it features five stories about
Mowgli
Mowgli () is a fictional character and the protagonist of Rudyard Kipling's ''The Jungle Book'' stories. He is a feral boy from the Pench area in Seoni, Madhya Pradesh, India, who originally appeared in Kipling's short story "In the Rukh" (co ...
and three unrelated stories, all but one set in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, most of which Kipling wrote while living in
Vermont
Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...
. All of the stories were previously published in magazines in 18945, often under different titles. The 1994 film ''
The Jungle Book
''The Jungle Book'' (1894) is a collection of stories by the English author Rudyard Kipling. Most of the characters are animals such as Shere Khan the tiger and Baloo the bear, though a principal character is the boy or "man-cub" Mowgli, ...
'' used it as a source.
Contents
Each story is followed by a related poem:
# "How Fear Came": This story takes place before Mowgli fights
Shere Khan
Shere Khan (Hindi- शेर खान/ English pronunciation) is a fictional Bengal tiger and the main antagonist of Rudyard Kipling's ''The Jungle Book, Jungle Book'' and its adaptations. According to The Kipling Society, the word ''shere'' ...
. During a drought, Mowgli and the animals gather at a shrunken Wainganga River for a Water Truce" where the display of the blue-colored Peace Rock prevents anyone from hunting at its riverbanks. After Shere Khan was driven away by him for nearly defiling the Peace Rock,
Hathi
Hathi is a fictional character created by Rudyard Kipling for the Mowgli stories collected in ''The Jungle Book'' (1894) and ''The Second Jungle Book'' (1895). Hathi is a bull elephant that lives in the jungle. Kipling named him after ''hāthī' ...
the elephant tells Mowgli the story of how the first tiger got his stripes when fear first came to the jungle. This story can be seen as a forerunner of the ''
Just So Stories
''Just So Stories for Little Children'' is a 1902 collection of origin stories by the British author Rudyard Kipling. Considered a classic of children's literature, the book is among Kipling's best known works.
Kipling began working on the ...
''.
# "
The Law of the Jungle
"The law of the jungle" (also called jungle law) is an expression that has come to describe a scenario where "anything goes". The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' defines the Law of the Jungle as "''the code of survival in jungle life'', now usual ...
" (poem)
# "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 whom he has befriended.
# "A Song of Kabir" (poem)
# "
Letting in the Jungle
"Letting In the Jungle" is a short story by Rudyard Kipling which continues Mowgli's adventures from "Mowgli's Brothers" and " Tiger! Tiger!". The story was written at Kipling's parents' home in Tisbury, Wiltshire, and is therefore the only Mowgli ...
": Mowgli has been driven out of the human village for witchcraft, and the superstitious villagers are preparing to kill his adopted parents Messua and her unnamed husband. Mowgli rescues them and then prepares to take revenge.
# "Mowgli's Song Against People" (poem)
# "The Undertakers": A
mugger crocodile
The mugger crocodile (''Crocodylus palustris'') is a medium-sized broad- snouted crocodile, also known as mugger and marsh crocodile. It is native to freshwater habitats from southern Iran to the Indian subcontinent, where it inhabits marshes, ...
, a
jackal
Jackals are medium-sized canids native to Africa and Eurasia. While the word "jackal" has historically been used for many canines of the subtribe canina, in modern use it most commonly refers to three species: the closely related black-backed ...
and a Greater adjutant stork, 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" (poem)
# "The King's
Ankus
The elephant goad, bullhook, or ankus (from Sanskrit ' or ''ankusha'') is a tool employed by mahout in the handling and training of elephants. It consists of a hook (usually bronze or steel) which is attached to a handle, ending in a tapered ...
": Mowgli discovers a jewelled object beneath the Cold Lairs, 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" (poem)
# "Quiquern": A teenaged
Inuit
Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories ...
boy and girl set out across the
arctic
The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenla ...
ice on a desperate hunt for food to save their tribe from starvation, guided by the mysterious animal-spirit
Quiquern. However, Quiquern is not what he seems.
# "Angutivaun Taina" (poem)
# "
Red Dog": Mowgli's wolfpack is threatened by a pack of rampaging
dhole
The dhole (''Cuon alpinus''; ) is a canid native to Central, South, East and Southeast Asia. Other English names for the species include Asian wild dog, Asiatic wild dog, Indian wild dog, whistling dog, red dog, red wolf, and mountain wolf. It ...
s. Mowgli asks
Kaa
Kaa is a fictional character from ''The Jungle Book'' stories written by Rudyard Kipling. He is a giant snake who is 30 feet long.
In the books and many of the screen adaptations, Kaa is an ally of main protagonist Mowgli, acting as a friend a ...
the
python
Python may refer to:
Snakes
* Pythonidae, a family of nonvenomous snakes found in Africa, Asia, and Australia
** ''Python'' (genus), a genus of Pythonidae found in Africa and Asia
* Python (mythology), a mythical serpent
Computing
* Python (pro ...
to help him formulate a plan to defeat them.
# "Chil's Song" (poem)
# "The Spring Running": Mowgli, now almost seventeen years old, is growing restless for reasons he cannot understand. On an aimless run through the jungle he stumbles across the village where his adopted mother
Messua is now living with her two-year-old son, and is torn between staying with her and returning to the jungle.
# "The Outsong" (poem)
Characters
*
Mowgli
Mowgli () is a fictional character and the protagonist of Rudyard Kipling's ''The Jungle Book'' stories. He is a feral boy from the Pench area in Seoni, Madhya Pradesh, India, who originally appeared in Kipling's short story "In the Rukh" (co ...
– A young human boy of
Indian
Indian or Indians may refer to:
Peoples South Asia
* Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor
** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country
* South Asia ...
ancestry who has been raised by wolves since infancy
* Father Wolf – An
Indian wolf
The Indian wolf (''Canis lupus pallipes'') is a subspecies of gray wolf that ranges from Southwest Asia to the Indian Subcontinent. It is intermediate in size between the Himalayan wolf and the Arabian wolf, and lacks the former's luxuriant wint ...
who is Raksha's mate
*
Raksha – An
Indian wolf
The Indian wolf (''Canis lupus pallipes'') is a subspecies of gray wolf that ranges from Southwest Asia to the Indian Subcontinent. It is intermediate in size between the Himalayan wolf and the Arabian wolf, and lacks the former's luxuriant wint ...
* Mang – A
bat
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most bi ...
*
Bagheera
Bagheera ( hi, बघीरा / ''Baghīrā'') is a fictional character in Rudyard Kipling's Mowgli stories in ''The Jungle Book'' (coll. 1894) and ''The Second Jungle Book'' (coll. 1895). He is a black panther ( melanistic Indian leopard) who ...
– A
black panther
A black panther is the melanistic colour variant of the leopard (''Panthera pardus'') and the jaguar (''Panthera onca''). Black panthers of both species have excess black pigments, but their typical rosettes are also present. They have been d ...
and the one who discovered the infant Mowgli and entrusted him to the wolves
*
Baloo
Baloo (from hi, भालू ur, بھالو ''bhālū'' "bear") is a main fictional character featured in Rudyard Kipling's ''The Jungle Book'' from 1894 and ''The Second Jungle Book'' from 1895. Baloo, a sloth bear, is the strict teacher of ...
– A
bear
Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Nor ...
*
Kaa
Kaa is a fictional character from ''The Jungle Book'' stories written by Rudyard Kipling. He is a giant snake who is 30 feet long.
In the books and many of the screen adaptations, Kaa is an ally of main protagonist Mowgli, acting as a friend a ...
– An
Indian python
The Indian python (''Python molurus'') is a large python species native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It is also known by the common names black-tailed python, Indian rock python, and Asian r ...
* Tabaqui – A
golden jackal
The golden jackal (''Canis aureus''), also called common jackal, is a wolf-like canid that is native to Southeast Europe, Southwest Asia, South Asia, and regions of Southeast Asia. The golden jackal's coat varies in color from a pale creamy y ...
*
Akela – An Indian wolf
* Jacala – A
mugger crocodile
The mugger crocodile (''Crocodylus palustris'') is a medium-sized broad- snouted crocodile, also known as mugger and marsh crocodile. It is native to freshwater habitats from southern Iran to the Indian subcontinent, where it inhabits marshes, ...
* The Red Dogs –
dhole
The dhole (''Cuon alpinus''; ) is a canid native to Central, South, East and Southeast Asia. Other English names for the species include Asian wild dog, Asiatic wild dog, Indian wild dog, whistling dog, red dog, red wolf, and mountain wolf. It ...
s
* Ikki – An
Indian crested porcupine
The Indian crested porcupine (''Hystrix indica'') is a hystricomorph rodent species native to southern Asia and the Middle East. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. It belongs to the Old World porcupine family, Hystricidae.
Des ...
*
Hathi
Hathi is a fictional character created by Rudyard Kipling for the Mowgli stories collected in ''The Jungle Book'' (1894) and ''The Second Jungle Book'' (1895). Hathi is a bull elephant that lives in the jungle. Kipling named him after ''hāthī' ...
– An
Indian elephant
The Indian elephant (''Elephas maximus indicus'') is one of four extant recognised subspecies of the Asian elephant and native to mainland Asia.
Since 1986, the Asian elephant has been listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List as the wild po ...
* Grey Brother – One of Mother and Father Wolf's cubs. In a later Mowgli story written by Kipling titled "In the Rukh", Grey Brother is depicted as still living with Mowgli even after Mowgli has grown up, watching over his infant son.
* Ko – A
carrion crow
The carrion crow (''Corvus corone'') is a passerine bird of the family Corvidae and the genus ''Corvus'' which is native to western Europe and the eastern Palearctic.
Taxonomy and systematics
The carrion crow was one of the many species origi ...
Derivative sequels
*''
The Third Jungle Book
''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 V ...
'', 1992 book by Pamela Jekel, consisting of new Mowgli stories, in an imitation of Kipling's style.
*''
The Second Jungle Book: Mowgli & Baloo'', 1997 film starring Jamie Williams as
Mowgli
Mowgli () is a fictional character and the protagonist of Rudyard Kipling's ''The Jungle Book'' stories. He is a feral boy from the Pench area in Seoni, Madhya Pradesh, India, who originally appeared in Kipling's short story "In the Rukh" (co ...
, but the film's story has little or no connection with the stories in Rudyard Kipling's ''The Second Jungle Book''.
See also
*
Works of Rudyard Kipling
*
Feral children in mythology and fiction
A feral () animal or plant is one that lives in the wild but is descended from domesticated individuals. As with an introduced species, the introduction of feral animals or plants to non-native regions may disrupt ecosystems and has, in some ...
External links
''The Jungle Book'' Collection a website demonstrating the variety of merchandise related to the book and film versions of The Jungle Books
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Second Jungle Book, The
1895 short story collections
Short story collections by Rudyard Kipling
19th-century British children's literature
The Jungle Book
Macmillan Publishers books
British children's books
Children's short story collections
Animal tales
1890s children's books
Sequel books