Chapter 3

The Law of the Jungle

Hush! Here come all the animals! The _buffaloes_, the _blue deer_, the _red deer_, the _wild pigs_, the _hyenas_, the _wolves_, the _red dogs_, and many others. Watch and see how each kind of animal comes; it is not always in the same way. The moon is now shining clear above the trees, and we can see a long way up the stream.

See the _buffaloes!_ They come a little _above the elephants_. But they do not come one behind another in a line, like the elephants. They come three or four together. They also have beaten down the bushes there years ago, to make a drinking place; and it is wide enough for three or four of them to drink at the same time, side by side.

_How Buffaloes Come to Drink--in Rows_

But why must they drink three or four at the same time? Because the buffaloes are like a body of soldiers, one row behind another. Sometimes twenty or thirty rows make up a herd. We see only the first row drinking now, but soon we shall see the others behind.

And why do the buffaloes come like a body of soldiers? Because they are afraid of their enemy--the tiger! Once upon a time the buffaloes lived scattered about, and many of them got eaten by the tiger, one at a time. Then those that escaped from the tiger became wise; they joined together like a body of soldiers, so that they could beat off the tiger. How they came to do that, I shall tell you at another time.

But now let us watch the first row drinking. They are all _bull buffaloes_, the Papas of the herd; you can tell that by their _huge horns_, a yard long on each side of the head. You see how the buffaloes stand side by side, so that their horns almost touch one another. That is the way the buffaloes have marched to the stream from their feeding place--horn to horn. Why? Because no prowling tiger can get past those horns.

Watch the first row as it finishes drinking; the whole row wheels around to the side like soldiers. Then the buffaloes that have had their drink march to the back of the herd, and stand there in a row facing the jungle.

Meanwhile the second row in the front has stepped to the water to drink. These also are bull buffaloes. When they finish drinking, they also wheel, march to the back of the herd, and there stand behind the first row. In this way four or five rows of bulls drink, one after the other, and go to the back of the herd.

Next come about a dozen rows of _cow buffaloes_ and their calves, or children. You see again, like the elephants, the Mammas and children among the buffaloes are also _in the middle_, safe from all harm.

Then at the end there are four or five rows of bull buffaloes again, to guard the Mammas and the children from enemies in the back.

_Buffalo Knights Guard the Timid Deer_

But wait a moment! Before the buffaloes go away, a most wonderful thing happens. You have read stories, how once upon a time there were brave knights who used to come to the help of ladies who were in danger. Well, you will be glad to know that these bull buffaloes are just like those brave knights. Do you see that timid little shadow creeping in by the side of the buffaloes?

She is a _blue deer_, a very timid lady indeed; for she knows that a tiger is waiting in the high ground behind, to catch her. It is the last chance of the tiger to get his supper; so he waits by the high ground behind, and watches for some weak animal like the deer to come to drink.

But the blue deer knows that; so she hides in the bushes, and waits for the buffaloes to come to drink. Then as the buffaloes come to the water, row after row, horn to horn, she tries to creep in toward them; she even tries to creep in _under_ the horns of the buffaloes, knowing that there she will be quite safe from the tiger. It takes her a long time to reach the buffaloes in that way, without being caught by the tiger.

But do you see the wonderful thing? The buffaloes wait a little for her! They take a little longer to drink, to give her a chance to reach the water by their side. Like the brave knights, they feel proud of helping a lady.

Now see! The blue deer also has finished drinking. She goes away with the buffaloes, under their horns. They all reach the jungle again. She looks carefully: the tiger is watching her, but he dares not come too near. She sees where he is--then suddenly she gives a leap--another leap--and another--quickly! The tiger leaps after her--but she leaped first! She is gone! She is safe!

The tiger is furious. He stands a moment before the buffaloes, growling with rage. But the bulls in front of the herd paw the ground, and rattle their horns with one another. They are going to charge!

But that tiger does not wait for the charge of the bull buffaloes. He does not want to be trampled into a mess under their hoofs, or cut up into pieces with their horns. Instead, he sneaks away, growling. He sneaks back to the stream, to wait for some other weak animal.

So, you see, the jungle folks are in many ways just like us; for a brave man always helps a lady or anybody who needs his help.

But now let us watch the stream higher up.

_Wild Pigs--Careless_

Here come the _wild pigs_. They are not exactly a herd; but still there are many dozens of them, all one large family with all their relations--cousins and uncles and aunts. Some of the wild pigs are called _boars_; they are the Papas among the wild pigs. You can always tell them by the two _sharp tusks_, or teeth, one on each side, which grow _upward_ from their under jaw. Each tusk is as long as a knife, and so sharp that a tiger does not always care to fight with a boar.

The wild pigs drink in any fashion, and go off in any fashion--just as they like. They trust to luck or to the sharp tusks of some of the boars to guard them from danger. But they have not learned enough yet to do things in proper order.

_Red Dogs--Bold, Fearing Nobody_

Meanwhile other animals have also come. The moon is now quite high in the sky. A band of shadows in the moonlight seems to fall upon the water. It is a pack of _red dogs_; they have come boldly, as they are afraid of nothing. For if a hungry tiger attacks them, the whole pack will jump on the tiger and tear him down--that is, the tiger could kill dozens of the dogs in a few minutes, but then the rest of the wild red dogs would tear the tiger to pieces.

So the red dogs are not afraid as they come flocking to the stream. They lap up the water with their lolling tongues. Then they look up at the moon. Do you see what they are doing? Can you _hear_ them? They are _howling at the moon in a chorus_. Dogs always howl at the moon. Men do not quite know just why dogs do that. But perhaps they do it because they are glad and satisfied, and are trying to _sing!_ When _you_ sing, and there is a dog near by, you may hear him start howling. He does that, I suppose, because he likes your singing, and wants to join in the chorus!

So the wild dogs of the jungle also howl when they are glad. Then, after the red dogs have howled as long as a song, they scamper off into the jungle again. That shows, I suppose, that their howling was really a song!

_Other Animals Come Alone_

The red dogs are the last of the animals that come in a bunch. Now you see other animals coming one by one. A sneaking shadow there! It must be a _hyena_. That is an animal that eats what remains from some other animal's supper; so the hyena waits to see if a tiger or a leopard has caught any supper, or else it will have to go hungry.

But hush! Here is a _red deer_ coming carefully to the water. This animal is much bigger than the blue deer, and more able to take care of herself. But, still, she comes very quietly, looking to right and left to make sure that the tiger is not just in that place. She reaches the water and starts drinking. But do you see how her ear is bent to the side? The red deer is listening most carefully, even while she is drinking!

But look, look! The bush behind the deer parts very slowly, and a huge yellow form crouches there! It is the tiger!

He is not near enough to jump on the deer; so he takes one step forward--as softly as a cat!

But the deer has heard the footfall! For she can hear even a leaf when it falls to the ground. And in that one second, even while she was drinking, the red deer has turned and leaped to the side. The tiger has also leaped at the same time, and he aimed at the place where the deer _was_. But the deer has just left that place, and the next second she gives another leap, like a flash, and gets out of the tiger's reach.

The tiger stands where he leaped, and growls with rage. He knows it would be no use chasing the deer, as _the deer can run much faster_. So he stands there, and growls for quite a while. Then, as he did not get any supper that night, he can at least have a drink. So he drinks and goes away, still growling.

Now all is quiet at last at the midnight pool, as all the animals have gone away.

_The Law of the Jungle--Clear Water for All_

But before _we_ leave the place, I want you to remember something. I showed you first the elephants; they were on our right--that is, _down_ the stream, the way the water flows. And the elephants drank first among all the animals.

Then all the other animals came to the stream, but more to our left--that is, _up_ the stream. Why was that? Think!

I shall tell you. By the time the elephants finish drinking by dipping their trunks into the stream many times, the water begins to get muddy. In fact, after drinking, the elephants jump into the water to have a bath and a swim, as I shall tell you in the next chapter.

So the water gets muddy near the elephants and all the way down stream from that place, as the water flows that way. And as the other animals do not want muddy water to drink, they always go _up_ the stream, where the water is still clear.

That is _The Law of the Jungle_, though it is not written down in a book, like the laws among men. The Law of the Jungle says that as the elephants are the lords of the jungle, they shall drink _first_: but they must be careful to drink _down the stream_, so that all the other animals may have a place higher up, where they can get _clear water to drink_.

And that law has never been broken, for many thousands of years, among all the different sorts of animals.

But with men the laws among the different sorts of people, called nations, are often broken, because some of them want all the best things and the best places, and do not care if they muddy the water that their neighbors have to drink.

So, my dear children, we can learn many things from the animals, even how to be better men and women when we grow up.