The Strength of the Wolf is the Pack by Scott Peterson

Author:Scott Peterson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Disney Book Group
Published: 2016-03-01T05:00:00+00:00

MOWGLI CHARGED across the Jungle, weaving like a kite, hardly touching the ground with his feet.

He knew he could convince Bagheera. He had to. If he could just show him how far he’d come, all the things he’d accomplished, Bagheera would have to let him stay.

The silent cat followed close behind, up the winding embankment toward Baloo’s cave.

“Hey!” called the pygmy hog as Mowgli ran past.

“Hi, Man-cub!” The pangolin waved. He was holding one end of a makeshift leash fashioned from vines, with the pygmy hog at the other end. The pygmy hog was happily being led through the forest tethered to another scavenger. Clearly, Mowgli’s presence had made a profound impact in that part of the Jungle.

“Hey, guys,” Mowgli called back without hesitating. The smaller animals’ curious arrangement didn’t seem out of place to the man-cub, but Bagheera was momentarily thrown off his stride, staring in wonderment at the bizarre relationship. What had the man-cub been up to while under that bear’s influence?

“We going climbing later?” the pangolin called after Mowgli, but the boy was already out of earshot. The pangolin turned to the pygmy hog. “Because it’s my turn to go up.”

“Oh, no, you went up last time,” the pygmy hog said. “It’s my turn to fly.”

“Oh, yeah, right. A flying pig. Dream on,” the pangolin replied.

Bagheera caught up to Mowgli.

“Don’t be mad, okay?” Mowgli asked.

“Why would I be mad?” Bagheera responded, already suspicious.

“’Cause you’re always mad when I do stuff, but you gotta promise not to be mad this time. And then no breaking that promise, right?”

It was a promise the weary cat was unable to make.

“Show me,” he said. “Then I will decide.”

Unable to contain his enthusiasm, Mowgli scampered up to a small lean-to he had constructed outside Baloo’s cave. It consisted of thick support branches and a roof of thatched twigs and leaves that protected the various tools he had made, all hanging neatly from hooks. He had labored over the structure and its contents for days upon days, and his pride was evident.

Bagheera hesitated. This did not belong in the Jungle. It looked more like one of man’s traps than anything else. He was wary of getting too close, but Mowgli ran inside.

“These are vines I use on the cliff. I twirled them together to make them longer and stronger. See?” Mowgli tugged with all his might on the vine rope, but it wouldn’t break.

“And this is the thing I use to hold myself up,” he said, proudly displaying the harness he had fashioned. “It could probably even hold you if I adjusted it a little. You wanna try?”

“I think not,” Bagheera snorted, but before he could say anything further, the man-cub erupted again with excitement.

“Ohhh, and the pouch I made. It hangs over my shoulder when I go up to collect the—Oh! The really cool part is inside. Check it out!”

Mowgli darted out of the lean-to and into Baloo’s cave, his eagerness radiating like the summer sun at midday. Bagheera eyed the entrance to the dark den with concern.

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