‘They will not move until I tell them to move,’ said Kaa.
‘We must thank you, Kaa. We could not it without you,’ said Baloo.
‘I am happy to help. Where is the man-cub?’ said Kaa.
‘Here! In this room, but I cannot get out.’
‘Take him away,’ called the snakes around Mowgli.
‘He dances around too much and he will stand on us.’
‘Stand back, man-cub,’ said kaa. ‘I will break the wall.’
With two metres of his heavy body off the ground, Kaa hit the wall very hard, five or six times. A hole opened, and Mowgli jumped quickly through it. He ran and put his arms around Baloo and Bagheera.
‘Are you hurt?’ asked Baloo.
‘Not much,’ said Mowgli, ‘but the Bandar-log have hurt you badly, my friends.’
‘It is nothing,’ said Baloo. ‘But you must thank Kaa. He has done must for you tonight.’
Mowgli turned and saw the head of the great python.
‘So this is the man-cub,’ said Kaa. ‘He is link the Bandar-log, but not the same. Be careful, man-cub, that I do not make a mistake when I am hunting monkeys.’
‘We are of one blood, you and I,’ Mowgli answered.
‘You have given me my life tonight. When I kill, it will be for you if you if you are hungry.’
‘Well spoken,’ said Baloo.
‘You are brave, young man,’ said Kaa, ‘and you speak well. Now go with your friends. The moon is going down. You must not see what will happen here next.’
Kaa went softly out in front of the lines of sitting monkeys and began to dance. His head moved from right to left, and his long body turned this way and that way, making circles that changed every second. Slowly, never hurrying, Kaa danced in front of the monkeys.
Baloo and Bagheera stood and could not move. Mowgli watched, and did not understand.
‘Bandar-log,’ said the deep voice of Kaa at last. ‘Can you move?’
‘Without a word from you, Kaa, we cannot move.’
‘Come nearer to me,’ said Kaa.
The lines of monkeys came nearer, and Baloo and Bagheera walked forward, too.
‘Nearer,’ hissed Kaa, and they all moved forward again.
Mowgli put his hands on Baloo and Bagheera to get them away, and the two animals woke up.
‘Keep your hand on me, Mowgli,’ whispered Bagheera, ‘or will go back to Kaa, and walk into his mouth.’
It’s only old Kaa dancing,’ said Mowgli. ‘Let us go.’ And the three of them went away into the jungle.
‘A python’s dance is dance is dangerous to watch,’ said Baloo’ ‘even for us. Kaa will have good hunting tonight.’
‘And now, Mowgli,’ said Bagheera angrily. ‘Baloo and I have fought hard for you. The monkeys have bitten us and pulled you played with the Bandar-log.’
‘It is true,’ said Mowgli sadly, ‘I am a bad man-cub.’
‘The Law of the Jungle says we must punish you,’ said Baheera. Baloo was safe and with them against the Law.
‘It is right to punish me,’ sad Mowgli. ‘I did wrong.’
Bagheera hit him, very heavily for a panther, but very heavily for a little boy. Mowgli did not cry.
‘Now,’ said Bagheea, ‘jump on my back, Little Brother, and we will go home.’
One of the good things about Jungle Law is that, after you are punished, the matter is finished.