Men often do their best work blind, for some one else’s sake.
But the wildest of all the wild animals was the Cat. He walked by himself, and all places were alike to him.
The Wolves are a free people,” said Father Wolf. “They take orders from the Head of the Pack, and not from any striped cattle-killer. The man’s cub is ours – to kill if we choose.
Directly in front of him, holding on by a low branch, stood a naked brown baby who could just walk – as soft and as dimpled a little atom as ever came to a wolf’s cave at night. He looked up into Father Wolf’s face, and laughed.
The tiger’s roar filled the cave with thunder. Mother Wolf shook herself clear of the cubs and sprang forward, her eyes, like two green moons in the darkness, facing the blazing eyes of Shere Khan.
He who rebukes the World is rebuked by the World.
She walked on and on till she melted out of the picture – like – like a shadow jumping over a candle...
Burmese babies – fat, little, brown little divils, as.
Nag coiled himself down, coil by coil, round the bulge at the bottom of the water jar, and Rikki-tikki stayed still as death.
Akela, the grim old wolf who had never asked for mercy in his life, gave one piteous look at Mowgli as the boy stood all naked, his long black hair tossing over his shoulders in the light of the blazing branch that made the shadows jump and quiver.
And that lame butcher would have killed him and would have run off to the Waingunga while the villagers here hunted through all our lairs in revenge!
Sing to your fledglings again, Mother, oh lift up your head!
When a snake misses its stroke, it never says anything or gives any sign of what it means to do next.
Slowly – slowly. It was haste killed the Yellow Snake that ate the sun.
Then Kotick roared to the seals: “I’ve done my best for you these five seasons past. I’ve found you the island where you’ll be safe, but unless your heads are dragged off your silly necks you won’t believe. I’m going to teach you now. Look out for yourselves!
The White Seal Oh! hush thee, my baby, the night is behind us, And black are the waters that sparkled so green. The moon, o’er the combers, looks downward to find us At rest in the hollows that rustle between. Where billow meets billow, then soft be thy pillow, Ah, weary wee flipperling, curl at thy ease! The storm shall not wake thee, nor shark overtake thee, Asleep in the arms of the slow-swinging seas! Seal Lullaby.
Now Rann the Kite brings home the night That Mang the Bat sets free –.
The wheel of the world swings through the same phases again and again. Summer passed and winter thereafter, and came and passed again.
All kinds of magic are out of date and done away with, except in India, where nothing changes in spite of the shiny, top-scum stuff that people call ’civilization.
I have heard now and again of such a thing, but never in our Pack or in my time,” said Father Wolf. “He is altogether without hair, and I could kill him with a touch of my foot. But see, he looks up and is not afraid.