The Jungle Book - Bookworm. Oxford Chinese-English Bilingual Readers (Level 2 suitable for 8th and 9th graders)

Author: (English) Rudyard Kipling
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-06-01
Features: A warm night covers the Shyamala Hills in southern India. The father wolf, having rested for the day, wakes up. Beside him lies the mother wolf, along with four little wolf cubs. "It's time to go find some food," the father wolf says. He gets to his feet, ready to leave the cave. "Good luck." A voice says. It's Tabaki the jackal, a glutton who will eat anything, even scraps of old clothes found in the village. The wolves of India dislike him because he roams around, causing trouble, and always speaks ill of them. "Tiger Shere Khan is coming here to hunt," Tabaki says. "It's outrageous," the father wolf growls, "According to the 'Laws of the Jungle,' he must notify us before coming here to hunt." "One of Shere Khan's legs is crippled, so he can only catch cows to eat. The villagers nearby are furious. So he came here—to hunt in a new place. Listen, he's here," Tabaki says. "This foolish creature," the father wolf says, listening to the angry roar of the starving tiger, "Now no one will be able to find food in the jungle anymore." "But Shere Khan is here tonight to eat people, not animals," Tabaki says. According to the 'Laws of the Jungle,' animals are not allowed to hunt humans because if someone is killed, people will come with guns. This would put all the animals in danger. The father wolf and the mother wolf listen to the movements of Shere Khan in the nearby jungle. Suddenly, they hear a voice coming from even closer. "It's a person, a little one. Look!" the father wolf cries. Standing before them is a baby who has just learned to walk. He looks up at the father wolf and smiles. "That's a human child?" the mother wolf says. "I've never seen one before. Bring him here." The child is very small and is not wearing any clothes. He squeezes through the wolf cubs to get to the mother wolf's side. "Look," she says, "He's come to drink milk like the other children." "I've heard that such things have happened before," the father wolf says, "But I've never seen it with my own eyes. Look, he's not afraid at all." Suddenly, the cave grows dark as Shere Khan's big heads through the entrance. "Welcome, Shere Khan," the father wolf says, though his eyes are filled with anger. "What is it you want?" "I'm catching a human child," Shere Khan replies. "His parents have run away. Give him to me." P3-5