The Jungle Book

Content Warning: This guide quotes stigmatizing language about mental illness and contains discussions of racism.

In the “Seeonee hills,” an area in central India, a family of wolves receives a visit from Tabaqui, a jackal (1). Tabaqui informs the wolves that the tiger Shere Khan has decided to move his hunting grounds to this region. Mother and Father Wolf are angry because Shere Khan has a “lame” foot and so hunts cattle rather than wild prey, causing villagers to get angry and set fire to the jungle. The Law of the Jungle forbids animals from killing humans because humans will retaliate with violence that harms the jungle, although some animals claim it is because humans are so weak that it is not fair to hunt them. The wolves drive out Tabaqui as they hear Shere Khan hunting nearby. He burns his feet from jumping at a fire. A human baby, called a “man cub” by the wolves (8), approaches the den and tries to drink milk with the other pups, charming Mother Wolf with his fearlessness. Shere Khan, led by Tabaqui’s advice, comes to the entrance of the cave and tells the wolves that he has been hunting the man cub, demanding that they hand over the child—he had scared away the baby’s parents when jumping at the fire.