The Jungle Book in English

Rudyard Kipling

originalC1.7year1894genreAdventurevibeUpliftingNatureIdentityaudioUSUK

A human child is raised by wolves in the jungle, and has to learn its laws while the tiger Shere Khan hunts him. Other stories in the book are about different animals.

The book is a set of separate stories, not a single novel. Three of them tell Mowgli's life in order, and the others are independent tales about a mongoose, a seal, an elephant and a boy, and the animals of an army camp. Most stories begin or end with a short verse, which gives the book a rhythm like a song. The chapters are short, so you can read one in a sitting. Kipling writes in plain, rhythmic sentences, and the animals speak a formal, slightly old-fashioned English.

What kind of book“The Jungle Book” is

Versions of “The Jungle Book” in English: C1

Same book, adapted to a level you can read without stopping

levelA1–A2B1–B2C1–C2pagesaudiobook

Vocabulary by level

A1 65%
A2 14%
B1 8%
B2 7%
not in dictionary 3%

A sample from “The Jungle Book” in English

One passage, the way each version writes it.

Tap any word — we will show the translation

Original · C1.7298 words

Now Rann, the Kite, brings home the night That Mang, the Bat, sets free — The herds are shut in byre and hut, For loosed till dawn are we. This is the hour of pride and power, Talon and tush and claw. Oh, hear the call! —Good hunting all That keep the Jungle Law!

It was seven o’clock of a very warm evening in the Seeonee hills when Father Wolf woke up from his day’s rest, scratched himself, yawned, and spread out his paws one after the other to get rid of the sleepy feeling in the tips. Mother Wolf lay with her big gray nose dropped across her four tumbling, squealing cubs, and the moon shone into the mouth of the cave where they all lived. “Augrh!” said Father Wolf, “it is time to hunt again”; and he was going to spring downhill when a little shadow with a bushy tail crossed the threshold and whined: “Good luck go with you, O Chief of the Wolves; and good luck and strong white teeth go with the noble children, that they may never forget the hungry in this world.”

It was the jackal —Tabaqui, the Dish-licker —and the wolves of India despise Tabaqui because he runs about making mischief, and telling tales, and eating rags and pieces of leather from the village rubbish-heaps. They are afraid of him too, because Tabaqui, more than anyone else in the jungle, is apt to go mad, and then he forgets that he was ever afraid of anyone, and runs through the forest biting everything in his way. Even the tiger hides when little Tabaqui goes mad, for madness is the most disgraceful thing that can overtake a wild creature. We call it hydrophobia, but they call it dewanee —the madness —and run.

The same passage at different levelsContinue in the reader

The original language of “The Jungle Book” and what it gives you

How hard the language is C1.7

This is a fairly easy classic. The average sentence is 17.3 words, and 79% of the words are in the A1–A2 bands (65% + 14%). Only 4% of the words are beyond the 5000 most frequent and 3% are outside the dictionary, mostly animal names, Hindi words and names of places. We estimate the original at B1. There is no adaptation yet, so you read the original.

What this means in practice: A good classic for the B1 reader: short stories and plain words, with a little old-fashioned speech to get used to.

What to be ready for

Formal animal speech. The animals use old forms such as "thou" and "we be", which makes their talk sound ceremonial.

Jungle vocabulary. Many words name plants, animals and places in India, such as "jackal", "cobra" and "banyan".

Names and Hindi. Character names and words like "sahib" come from Hindi and are not English.

Verse and refrains. Songs and poems appear between the stories, and some phrases like "Good hunting" return as a greeting.

How to read it and not quit

Learn the older pronouns "thou", "thee" and "thy": they mean "you" and "your", and they come with verb endings such as "art" and "hast".
Notice how often Kipling joins short clauses with "and"; the rhythm helps you read sentences that would otherwise be long.
Do not look up every animal word: most are pictures you can guess, and the stories repeat them.
Read the verses aloud once; their rhythm is easier to catch by sound than by reading.

Contents of “The Jungle Book” · 2 chapters

Beginningpage 1
Mowgli’s Brotherspage 1
Mowgli’s Brothers (continued)page 15
Mowgli’s Brothers (continued)page 28
Mowgli’s Brothers (continued)page 43
Mowgli’s Brothers (continued)page 57

All 2 chapters

Mowgli’s Brothers (continued)page 61
Mowgli’s Brothers (continued)page 76
Mowgli’s Brothers (continued)page 87
Mowgli’s Brothers (continued)page 101
Mowgli’s Brothers (continued)page 113
Mowgli’s Brothers (continued)page 127
Mowgli’s Brothers (continued)page 134
Mowgli’s Brothers (continued)page 149
Mowgli’s Brothers (continued)page 161
Mowgli’s Brothers (continued)page 176

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The story of “The Jungle Book”

1893
First Mowgli story
The first story about Mowgli, 'In the Rukh', appeared in Kipling's collection 'Many Inventions'.
1894
The Jungle Book is published
Kipling published the book, partly written in Vermont, USA, after several of the stories had appeared in magazines. Kipling's father, John Lockwood Kipling, was among the illustrators.
1895
The Second Jungle Book
A second collection followed, with more Mowgli stories and the poem 'The Law of the Jungle'.
1916
Cub Scouts
Robert Baden-Powell started the Wolf Cubs, a section of the Scout movement built on the Jungle Book, with Kipling's permission.
1967
Disney animated film
Disney's animated version, the last Walt Disney worked on, became the way most people first met the story.

In culture “The Jungle Book”

9 adaptations and mentions, 1894–2016

1894
Art Original illustrations
The first edition carried illustrations by John Lockwood Kipling, the author's father, among others.
1894
In the language 'The law of the jungle'
Now used for a cut-throat world where the strongest wins, which is nearly the opposite of Kipling's Law, a code of mutual duty and restraint.
1916
In the language Akela, Baloo and Bagheera
Cub Scout leaders still take their names from the animals of the book.
1942
Film Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book (Zoltan Korda)
A live-action Technicolor film with the actor Sabu as Mowgli.
1967
Film The Jungle Book (Disney)
The animated musical with 'The Bare Necessities'; it made Baloo, a lazy singing bear, the popular face of the story.
1967
Film Mowgli (Soviet animated films)
A series of animated films from Soyuzmultfilm that follow the books more closely than the Disney film.
1975
Film Rikki-Tikki-Tavi (Chuck Jones)
A television special based on the mongoose story from the book.
1994
Film Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book (Disney, live action)
A live-action Disney version with Jason Scott Lee.
2016
Film The Jungle Book (Jon Favreau)
A Disney film that combines live action and computer-made animals.

Questions and answers about “The Jungle Book” in English

Is The Jungle Book the same as the Disney film?

No, the film is lighter and funnier, and it changes characters and events. In the book the tone is more serious, Mowgli's story is told across several tales, and not all the stories are about him.

Who is Mowgli?

Mowgli is a human boy raised by a wolf pack in the Indian jungle. He is called the "man-cub", and the stories follow him as he learns the jungle's rules and is pulled between the animals and the human village.

Are all the stories about Mowgli?

No, only three of the seven stories in this book are about Mowgli. The others are separate tales about a mongoose, a white seal, an elephant handler's son and the animals of an army camp.

What is the Law of the Jungle?

It is the set of rules that the animals follow to live together, such as respecting the hunting of others and not killing during the water truce. Baloo teaches it to Mowgli, and the idea runs through the whole book.

Is The Jungle Book a children's book?

It was written to be read by children, but it is not a simple book. It has fights, deaths and a clear sense of danger, so it works well for adults too.

Is Rikki-Tikki-Tavi in The Jungle Book?

Yes, it is one of the stories in the collection. It tells how a pet mongoose protects a family from two cobras.

Do I need to read The Second Jungle Book?

No, this book stands on its own. The Second Jungle Book is a later sequel with more Mowgli stories and other tales, and you can read it afterwards if you want more.

Is the book set in a real place?

Yes, it is set in India, but the jungle in the Mowgli stories is an imagined one. Kipling was born in India and drew on what he knew of the country, though he wrote the book while living in the United States.

Why do some people criticise Kipling?

Kipling supported the British Empire, and some readers object to the way he writes about India and its people. The Jungle Book is mostly about animals, but readers still often discuss this background.

Is it hard to read in English?

No, it is one of the easier classics: the sentences are medium length and the vocabulary is mostly everyday. The old pronouns in the animals' speech are the main new thing.

In brief about “The Jungle Book”

17 fields of imprint data and measured text characteristics. All of it checkable.

Original title: The Jungle Book
Author: Rudyard Kipling
First published: 1894
Original language: English
Genre: Adventure · Animals · Classics
Mood: Uplifting
Themes: Nature · Identity · Family
Setting: The jungles of India, with one story on a seal beach in the north Pacific · British India in the 19th century
Distinct words: 4,497

Words per sentence: 17 words
Level of the original: C1.7
Versions: C1.7
Length of the original: 16 ch. · 50,388 words
Reading time: ~4 h 40 min
Source text: Standard Ebooks
Rights: CC0 1.0 Universal (Public Domain Dedication)
Download: EPUB