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The Jungle Book Script
The Jungle Book Script
This is an original play, inspired by Kipling’s stories, which retells the classic tale in an
exciting new way. It is a fantastically fun production both to perform and to watch, with a
host of zany characters and lots of opportunities for stage design, costume and lighting.
The production is designed to be as flexible as possible:
- Suitable for casts of all ages and varying sizes
- Script can be edited to fit your needs
- Props, costume and stage design are entirely open ended and can be done on a
small budget
CAST:
Name Gender Who are they? Cast someone who:
Mowgli Male (or a The hero. A human boy. Naïve and Is a strong actor, capable
girl confident brash yet brave and noble, his of carrying the narrative
playing a journey of discovery through the Can bring athleticism
boyish jungle is the main narrative of the and energy to the role
character) story. Has an innocent,
childlike confidence and
zest.
Bagheera Male/Female The narrator. A black panther. She Can play mature and
tells the story and has a serious characters
protective, motherly relationship Has a good ‘story-telling’
with Mowgli. manner, clear and
compelling
Baloo Male A big bear. Baloo is a wise teacher Has a big, confident
with a laidback, carefree personality with plenty
personality. He is the ‘fun uncle’ of charm and humour
figure to Mowgli. Is tall and physically
strong
Can put on a deep, loud
voice
Shere Khan Male/Female The villain. A tiger. A feared and Can play menacing,
hated tyrant who terrorises the villainous characters
jungle, she wants to kill Mowgli. Has a confident,
commanding presence
that ‘owns’ the stage
Kaa Female A hypnotic python. She at first Is flexible and can play
seems friendly towards Mowgli very physical,
but ultimately puts him under her movement-based
spell and tries to eat him. characters
Can be sinister and
seductive, with a playful,
coquettish side
Akela Male/Female Chief of the wolf pack. A noble Has gravitas and
and authoritative leader. maturity
Wolves Male/Female Mowgli’s adopted family. They’re Is a versatile actor
mothers, fathers and cubs.
Can work well in an
ensemble
Vultures Male/Female Mischievous undertakers of the Can play comedic
jungle. They help Mowgli out characters
more than once and provide Works well in an
comic relief to the plot. ensemble
Monkeys Male/Female Crazy, unruly band of apes who Is highly energetic
Mowgli briefly joins. Can play crazy, comic
characters
COSTUME SUGGESTIONS:
Mowgli:
- Shorts or a loincloth, made to look rough and worn (he’s lived in the jungle all his life!)
- Barefoot
- (If the actor does not feel confident bare-chested) A thick sash or a vest, also rough and
worn
Bagheera:
- All black
- Velvety material (panthers have beautiful, shimmery coats)
- Slim-fitting (Bagheera should appear cat-like and predatory)
- Cat ears (can be put on an Alice band)
- Gloves (like paws!)
- Cat like makeup
Baloo
- Slobby, messy clothes, baggy and relaxed
- Can fill costume with cushions or other padding to give the sense of a bear’s size
- Brown or grey colours
- Big, heavy boots (Baloo is a big character, in both sound and size!)
- Bear ears
Shere Khan
- Orange, black or tiger pattern clothes
- Regal, glamorous clothes, create the idea of power and privilege
- Can use similar style to Bagheera, they’re both cats
Kaa
- Tight fitting clothes
- Green, brown or snakeskin
- Something to act as ‘coils’ that can be wound around Mowgli (perhaps a long stretch of
fabric)
- Barefoot (Kaa treads lightly)
- Expressive eye make-up (focus on those hypnotizing eyes!)
Akela/ Wolves
- Grey colours
- Wolf ears
- Fluffy material
Vultures
- Black suits and ties
- White shirts
- ‘Undertaker’ outfit (top hat etc.)
- Something with feathers if possible
- Bird beaks (can be made out of cardboard)
Monkeys
- Childish clothes
- Dungarees, t-shirts
- Monkey ears
- Clownish makeup
MUSIC, which fades as WOLVES walk on stage and begin the rhyme:
Now Chil 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!
But the Jungle is also home to many other creatures, not all of them as kind to Mowgli as we were. If
you will sit a while a lend an ear, I shall tell you of the peculiar man-cub’s story, the dangers he faced
and overcame, and the brave young man he grew to become. To begin, then, at the beginning: some
[insert Mowgli’s age] years ago, when the man-cub was found by one of the pack….
Exit BAGHEERA. Another noise offstage, at which MOTHER and FATHER WOLF look out.
FATHER WOLF: The fool! To begin a night’s work with such noise!
MOTHER WOLF: My cubs will never sleep with such roaring in the night.
FATHER WOLF: Does that tiger think he will catch any prey with such shouting?
MOTHER WOLF: Surely he can’t; any animal would hear him coming. Even Shere Khan must know
that.
FATHER WOLF: Maybe he has changed his methods because he is changing his prey, and wishes to
intimidate rather than surprise
MOTHER WOLF: What do you mean?
FATHER WOLF: If the word of the grapevine is to be believed, it is neither buck nor bullock he hunts
tonight – it is man.
MOTHER WOLF: Man!? Are there not beast and birds enough in the jungle? Must he hunt man too,
and on our ground?
A rustling sound.
FATHER WOLF: No, it is too small to be Shere Khan, and too quiet.
MOTHER WOLF: (pointing) There! In the bushes!
MOTHER WOLF: Is that a man-cub? I have never seen one before! How little it is and how bold!
MOTHER WOLF: I just think we owe it to him to keep him safe, at least for a little while.
FATHER WOLF: He is not our responsibility.
MOTHER WOLF: If Shere Khan has orphaned him on our territory, it seems the least we can do.
MOTHER WOLF: He may even stay and become a member of the pack, do you think?
FATHER WOLF: We must present him to the pack before he is accepted, you know that.
MOTHER WOLF: I know, but when the time comes they will accept him, I am sure of it.
Exit WOLVES.
SCENE 2 – AKELA and the WOLVES accept MOWGLI into the pack.
MUSIC
BAGHEERA: (narrating) Now many years passed without much of a hitch; Mowgli grew up with the
wolf cubs and grew stronger as he grew older. Finally, he came of age alongside his adopted
brothers and sisters, and was able to attend the ceremony to be accepted as a member of the pack.
Enter AKELA, who sits on Council Rock, upper left. The WOLVES and MOWGLI enter from right to sit
below him. Enter BALOO, who remains right.
AKELA: You know the Law: Look – look well, O Wolves!
WOLVES: Look – look well, O Wolves!
AKELA: We are assembled to accept the cubs as members of the pack. The Jungle law states clearly
that every mother wolf has to bring their cub to the council meeting on the night of the full moon, so
that the others can get to know them. Look – look well Oh Wolves!
WOLF: I present my cub.
A cub steps up towards AKELA, who looks him over. The cub is trying to appear strong and fierce.
AKELA: Her teeth like made out of steel, she knocks like of a hammer, she will without a doubt
become a strong hunter; I advise that we accept her!
AKELA: Look – look well, O wolves! Remember the Jungle Law, the one who is accepted into the wolf
pack now, will be free to live and hunt amongst us, he will be one of us! Look – look well, O wolves!
A cub steps up towards AKELA, who looks him over. The cub is trying to appear agile and quick.
AKELA: His muscles like springs, his legs fast as the wind, he will become a great hunter, I suggest
that we accept him!
She pokes her cub, who yawns and looks around, dazed. The cub clumsily makes his way to AKELA
after a nudge from the mother. AKELA looks him over.
AKELA: She is a little skew-eyed, she is a little knock-kneed, but she belongs to us; with time and
guidance she will become a brave hunter. Let us accept her!
The WOLVES begin to chatter excitedly, the cubs looking pleased at their acceptance into the pack.
MUSIC.
AKELA: Indeed. What right do you claim to be accepted as one of the pack?
MOWGLI: I have grown up with you, I have hunted with you and I am here to present myself for
acceptance. I want to become a grown member of the pack as much as all the other cubs.
AKELA: We have never had a man-cub in our pack before, there is no precedent for this. But if you
wish to join the pack, you will need someone to speak for you. Who speaks for this man-cub? …
Among the Free People who speaks?
BALOO walks over to the pack, and places a hand on MOWGLI’s shoulder.
BALOO: I’ll speak for him. There’s no harm in a man-cub. Let him run with the pack, and be accepted
with the others. I’ll teach him the Jungle laws and he will be a true honour to the wolves just like any
of lupine descent. He needs a family; let that family be this pack, and let me be his tutor.
AKELA: Thank-you, Baloo, you speak wisely, and you may teach him as you help teach our cubs for
your place in our assembly, but we need another to agree to protect the man-cub, for it cannot be
done alone. Who speaks beside Baloo?
BAGHEERA steps into the scene from where he was narrating.
BAGHEERA: Akela, Free People, I hope you will excuse me, but I will speak for him.
AKELA: Bagheera, you know you normally have no influence in our assembly.
BAGHEERA: True, but the law of the Jungle says that a cub without protection, or whose lineage is
doubted, may be claimed for a price by any animal of the Jungle.
AKELA: This is true, however I desire to know what you propose to do with the man-cub. He was
found among the pack, it should be the pack’s son or sustenance that he becomes.
BAGHEERA: To kill a harmless man-cub would be a great shame. Besides, he may make better sport
for you when he is grown. Baloo has spoken for his learning, now I will speak for his protection.
AKELA: How can we guarantee your compliance?
BAGHEERA: I will bring you a kill by the morn to prove my word as an outsider, if you accept the
man-cub. In return I will watch the cub and ensure he remains neither a threat to himself nor to our
Jungle.
WOLF: Under Bagheera’s watch he can do us no harm.
WOLF: And Baloo will surely teach him well.
WOLF: Let him be accepted.
WOLF: Yes, let him be accepted!
AKELA: Then we have a decision! The man-cub will live amongst the pack, and Baloo and Bagheera
shall be responsible for his education and protection. On their words he is accepted by the pack.
MOWGLI moves up towards Council Rock.
WOLVES: We accept him.
MUSIC.
Exit WOLVES, MOWGLI and AKELA, to left, and BALOO, to right. BAGHEERA steps forward centre
stage to narrate.
BAGHEERA: (narrating) And so Mowgli was taught the laws of the Jungle by Baloo, who was both his
friend and his guide, whilst I watched over him in his leisure hours, as his protector. Mowgli’s
teaching included the hunting call, which must be repeated aloud till it is answered whenever one of
the Jungle-People hunts outside his own grounds. It means: ‘Give me leave to hunt here because I
am hungry’, and the answer is: ‘Hunt then for food but not for pleasure.’ Mowgli learned this from
Baloo and became a good hunter, for a man-cub.
BAGHEERA steps into the scene. Enter BALOO.
BALOO: Ah, Bagheera, there you are. I’ve been looking for you; It’s about Mowgli.
BAGHEERA: Oh yes, how is the little one doing?
BALOO: Good! Reckon I could take him down to the river later today? The kid needs a break, and the
fruit down there is ripest at this time of year.
BAGHEERA: A break? Baloo, the Jungle is not a haven; it’s a dangerous place for a man-cub and he
needs to realise it; he needs to learn the laws.
BALOO: But think how small he is, how can you actually expect his little head carry all that
information or listen to me waffling on? The boy just wants to have fun!
BAGHEERA: Is there anything in the Jungle too little to be killed? (pause, as they look at each other,
BALOO sighs and breaks eye contact first) He needs to learn if he wants to survive; that’s why you
have to teach him, not take him on day trips.
BALOO: But he’d love the paw-paws and prickly pears!
BAGHEERA: He can’t go, Baloo
BALOO: You would say that.
BAGHEERA: I’m only protecting him.
BALOO: Yeah, I’m sure he sees it that way.
BAGHEERA: What do you mean by that?
BALOO: Nothing.
BAGHEERA: What do you mean? Tell me!
BALOO: It’s just… he is only a kid. He’s going to spend his life either too scared to step a foot out on
his own or trying to sneak away at every opportunity – he’s realised you’re watching him you know,
I’ve seen him scanning the forest for you.
BAGHEERA: Being sneaky is not bad for him. It may teach him to beware of the Jungle’s perils, to
scan the area for dangers like that.
BALOO: But it’s no fun to spend a life like that.
BAGHEERA: At least it is safe.
BALOO: Hmmmmm.
BAGHEERA: I’m giving him security.
BALOO: No, you’re giving him paranoia. Besides, I’m giving him independence by teaching him the
Master Words of the Jungle, they’ll protect from every predator on four feet.
BAGHEERA: How so?
BALOO: He’ll be able to communicate with any creature. I’ll call Mowgli now and he shall say them –
if he will do it for such a grumpy audience, anyway (he chuckles). Come, Little Frog!
Enter MOWGLI, rubbing his head
MOWGLI: Yes?
BALOO: What’s up, kid?
MOWGLI: My head is ringing like a bee-tree.
BAGHEERA: Why is that, little one?
MOWGLI: Well, I, um…
BALOO: Oh, Mowgli, what did you do?
MOWGLI: I maybe fell from a vine whilst trying to swing between trees.
BALOO: What are you like!?
BAGHEERA: Mowgli, you really mustn’t overestimate yourself like that.
MOWGLI: I’m fine!
BAGHEERA: What if you had landed on a rock, or in the river?
MOWGLI: Well, I didn’t.
BAGHEERA: And let’s be thankful of that fact.
BALOO: (shooting a disapproving look at Bagheera) Let’s be thankful the kid has no fear.
MOWGLI: (perking up) Yes, I’m fearless!
BAGHEERA: (shooting an even more disapproving look at Baloo) That’s all well and good, as long as
you know what you’re doing.
MOWGLI: I do! I’ve been learning lots with Baloo today!
BALOO: (to BAGHEERA) See! (to MOWGLI) Tell Bagheera the Master Words of the Jungle that I have
taught you today.
MOWGLI: (proud) Master Words for which people? The Jungle has many tongues and I know them
all now.
BALOO: You know some, not all. It is enough from some people to only know a rough version the
Jungle Law, but you are different Mowgli, which means you have to know it inside and out in order
to be accepted, and so that other animals can see you are from the Jungle, rather than consider you
a stranger. Say the word for the Hunting-Peoples then. Actually, no, let’s hear the Jungle Law first:
MOWGLI: Now this is the Law of the Jungle — as old and as true as the sky;
And the Wolf that shall keep it may prosper, but the Wolf that shall break it must die.
As the creeper that girdles the tree-trunk, the Law runneth forward and back —
For the strength of the Pack is the Wolf, and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack.
Music
MOWGLI runs to hug BAGHEERA, then dances off stage with BALOO, humming together. BAGHEERA
remains on stage.
SCENE 4 – SHERE KHAN comes for MOWGLI
Music
AKELA sits on Council Rock, upper left, with the WOLVES below him. (BAGHEERA is still onstage, but
distanced)
AKELA: You know the Law: Look – look well, O Wolves!
WOLVES: Look – look well, O Wolves!
MUSIC.
SHERE KHAN enters and growls.
AKELA: Shere Khan, you do not often grace us with your presence; what is it that you need?
SHERE KHAN: I am come to claim the man-cub. He was my kill by rights years ago and now that he is
a fully-fledged member of the pack he is free to be my kill again.
WOLF: You still want our man-cub?
WOLF: After all this time?
SHERE KHAN: Always! That man-cub belongs to me!
AKELA: He will have the protection of the pack, Shere Khan, and a pack who takes on their foe
together is strong; it is only the lone wolf who will struggle in the face of adversity. You have no
power here.
SHERE KHAN: You may have the upper hand here on this rock, Akela, but you are old, and I am
patient. I have waited many years in the shadows of the jungle. I am prepared to bide my time a
little more.
AKELA: What do you mean by that?
SHERE KHAN: I’ve watched the man-cub from afar but always he is too close to the panther or the
bear. Now he is come of age and will wander out alone I will take my opportunity; he shall be mine.
WOLF: If you lay a paw on the man-cub, we shall have vengeance.
SHERE KHAN: Pah! You shall never find me. I intend to move to better ground once I have had my
man-cub. His people are tearing this part of the jungle up, anyway; I have no desire to remain here.
Besides, don’t tell me the man-cub actually means anything to you; you would not waste the energy
of the pack on a lost cause such as that, surely?
WOLF: He is a member of the pack.
WOLF: We would do the same for any of our brothers.
WOLF: Take none of us or take all of us as one.
SHERE KHAN: Then you are even more hopelessly attached than I’d hoped. I have no qualms about
taking the pack, however. I will strike you a deal: get rid of the man-cub within a week, or I shall
return and fight you personally for the right to govern the pack.
WOLF: You can’t do such a thing!
SHERE KHAN: Oh, I can, and I will. If you refuse or try to cheat me, I will kill any of your cubs in place
of the man-cub.
WOLF: No!
WOLF: Cursed tiger!
AKELA: It seems you leave me no option, for though Mowgli is part of our pack we cannot forsake
our own young. How do you propose we settle this?
SHERE KHAN: The Jungle Law states that if the pack leader cannot kill a bullock on demand he may
be replaced by he who can. I challenge you to hunt with me. Whoever catches the bullock wins.
AKELA: Very well, Shere Khan, we go to hunt.
WOLF: What? No!
WOLF: Akela you can’t do this!
AKELA: I must do it. If I win, we will rejoice. If I lose, I hope you will honour me by staying true as a
pack in the face of such adversity.
MUSIC.
SHERE KHAN smiles wryly as he turns on his heels and leaves to the left. The WOLVES look distraught
but AKELA is thoughtful. After a moment he steps down from Council Rock and follows SHERE KHAN
off stage. The WOLVES murmur to each other, then some exit in the same direction as AKELA.
Enter BALOO, nonchalant, eating the paw-paws but then realises something is wrong; he and
BAGHEERA talk to each other, aside, as MOWGLI walks over to them.
BAGHEERA: What on earth are you doing, eating paw-paws at a time like this? There’s no time for
paw-paws!
BAGHEERA: What we feared has happened, Shere Khan has come for Mowgli.
SCENE 7 – VULTURES tell BALOO and BAGHEERA where MOWGLI was last seen, with KAA
BAGHEERA: Meanwhile, myself and Baloo had been searching for Mowgli, being both wiser and
more experienced than the man-cub in the perils of the Jungle. We came across the vultures, who
struck fear into our hearts when they told us what they had seen.
(BAGHEERA steps into the scene, met by Baloo from the other side of the stage)
BALOO: I can’t find him anywhere! Any luck at your end?
BAGHEERA: None, I’m afraid.
BALOO: I’m worried about him, Bagheera.
BAGHEERA: You say that as if I’m not; I want him to be safe just as much as you.
BALOO: I hope I trained him well enough to survive until we find him.
BAGHEERA: I’m sure he will, we’ll just have to keep searching.
(Enter VULTURES)
VULTURE: What are you searching for?
BAGHEERA: I don’t suppose that’s your business
VULTURE: Depends, because if you’re searching for a scrawny man-cub we might be able to help.
VULTURE: No, you heard the panther, that’s none of our business.
BALOO: Wait, wait! You’ve seen Mowgli!?
VULTURE: We’ve seen a scrawny man-cub.
VULTURE: If that’s who you mean.
BALOO: That’s Mowgli! Oh my god, he’s safe!
VULTURE: Weeeelllll…
BAGHEERA: What?
VULTURE: Depends on your definition of safe, really.
BALOO: Tell us where he is!
VULTURE: Depends, what’s in it for us?
BAGHEERA: If you don’t tell us where the man-cub is I will make you sorry, you can depend on that.
VULTURE: Alright, alright; we may have seen the man-cub
VULTURE: He was among the Bandar-logs.
VULTURE: But then he went with Kaa!
BAGHEERA: Then he is in grave danger, we must go and get him at once.
VULTURE: Yeah, good luck retrieving him.
VULTURE: I’d hurry up if I were you.
VULTURE: Before we have to remove what’s left.
BALOO: (disgusted) Oh god
BAGHEERA: Don’t you dare talk of Mowgli like that.
BALOO: You don’t really think….
BAGHEERA: No, you taught him how to handle himself.
BALOO: But Kaa is unlike anything I’ve prepared him for.
BAGHEERA: The we must lose no time in finding them (turning to the vultures) Do you know where
they went?
VULTURES: (all pointing in different directions) That way!
The VULTURES begin to bicker among themselves as to which way MOWGLI and KAA went.
VULTURE: It was definitely that way.
VULTURE: Maybe.
VULTURE: Probably.
VULTURE: We think.
BAGHEERA: (sarcastically) Well, thanks for the clarity.
VULTURE: Look, panther, we don’t need to help you.
VULTURE: Yeah, this is out of the goodness of our hearts.
VULTURE: And will probably see us out of pocket, too.
VULTURE: So take it or leave it, but that’s what we know.
BAGHEERA seems disgruntled and scoffs at the VULTURES, but BALOO tries to reconcile.
BALOO: Thank you for your help.
VULTURE: Think nothing of it.
VULTURE: Although, you will be doing us out of a job.
VULTURE: Yeah, maybe think of a courtesy cheque.
VULTURE: But, seriously, think nothing of it. Really.
BAGHEERA: It is true we owe you a great debt, but do not push your look, vultures.
BALOO: Yes, thank you, but we must go to Mowgli.
BAGHEERA: Indeed, let us go.
Exit BAGHEERA and BALOO in one direction, VULTURES in the other.
BAGHEERA: (narrating) Kaa was feared in the jungle, particularly by the Monkeys, for though she
often tempted them to her company, none who had dared to embrace her had made it out alive.
They did not care enough for Mowgli to risk their lives retrieving him from her grasp. Even we, who
were familiar with Kaa’s methods of seduction enough to resist her, were concerned to learn where
Mowgli had gone, for we had not warned him of her charms, and we feared he would succumb more
easily than most.
BAGHEERA exits; KAA and MOWGLI enter, they have been running. MOWGLI is out of breath at first
but KAA seems unfazed.
MUSIC begins, very quietly, crescendoing as KAA’s control over MOWGLI increases.
MOWGLI: (panting) I - I think we made it. I can’t hear those crazy monkeys any more.
KAA: Cccertainly. You’re a quick runner man-cub, though having legs must ssslow you down…
MOWGLI: (sitting downstage left) Slow me down? But, how would I run without legs?
KAA: (reclining on the stage blocks) We sssnakes don’t have legs and yet we can move ssswifter in
the trees than Chil the kite can in the air!
MOWGLI: Wow, I hadn’t ever thought of it like that. Can you teach me?
KAA: I’d love to man-cub, then we can ssspeed through the trees together.
MOWGLI: I’d like to move through the trees easily; Bagheera says I’m a terrible climber.
KAA: I can teach you that too, if you like.
MOWGLI: You would?
KAA: Why, of courssse.
MOWGLI: Cool!
KAA: Why so ssscared looking?
MOWGLI: I… well… I’ve just never met a snake so long and strong as you. What sort are you?
KAA: An Indian python.
MOWGLI: Oh wow. Thank you for saving me, by the way. Ahem- (he slears his throat, takes a depp
breath as he recalls Baloo’s teaching, and pointedly recites:) ‘We be of one blood you and I’.
KAA: You’re quite welcome. I have no love for the Bandar-Log but I’ve always had a liking for
humans.
KAA licks her lips, MOWGLI does not notice
MOWGLI: Who are you anyway?
KAA: (walking downstage) Why, I am Kaa. I know you man-cub, you’re the one they call Little Frog.
You’re Mowgli.
MOWGLI: How do you know that?
KAA: That old bear Baloo told me.
MOWGLI: You know Baloo?
KAA: Oh yesss. He’s an old friend. Bagheera too. It was they who asked me to sssave you from the
monkey people.
MOWGLI: Really? Well then maybe we should get back to them… they’ll be worried.
Kaa sits down next to Mowgli, uncomfortably close, and places a hand on his leg to stop him moving.
KAA: (darkly) I’m sssure they’ll be fine. You look tiiired and it’s getting dark…no time for travelling.
MOWGLI: But… I don’t know this part of the jungle. It could be dangerous!
KAA: Dangerousss?
MOWGLI: I mean… I’m not afraid!
KAA: I assure you it’s perfectly sssafe.
MOWGLI: O-okay but…um…where would I sleep?
KAA: You can ssslumber in my coils, Mowgli
MOWGLI: Your coils? But –
Kaa drapes a coil over Mowgli’s shoulders
KAA: Sssee how sssmooth and sssoft they are?
MOWGLI: Yeah…
KAA: Why don’t you look at me when I’m talking to you man-cub?
MOWGLI: Huh? Oh, nothing, it’s just…
KAA: Sssay it, go on…
MOWGLI: Well… I saw what you did to those monkeys, it was… as if they’d been hypnotised or
something.
KAA: Oh pleassse man-cub. I only want to sssee your properly. It’sss okay. Jussst look at me.
MOWGLI finally looks into KAA’s eyes. He is surprised by the hypnosis. His eyes widen and his mouth
drops open as he becomes captivated.
MUSIC
KAA: (nodding) Peeerfect.
MOWGLI, nodding with her, suddenly shakes his head and snaps out of the spell.
MUSIC stops abruptly.
MOWGLI runs away, stage right.
MOWGLI: No Kaa! I don’t trust you!
KAA: Awww come on mancub, you can trussst me. I’m a friend.
MOWGLI: (covering his eyes with his arms) Stop it Kaa. Leave me alone. I can look after myself.
KAA: Oh I’m sssure you can. Sssuch a ssstrong, handsssome mancub. . But I hear you want to stay in
the jungle? Surely you don’t wanna be alone?
MOWGLI: No… I want a people more than anything. The wolves, the vultures, the monkeys, none of
them are who I belong with.
KAA: You belong with me Mowgli, we’d be a perfect match. Ssstay with me?
MOWGLI: I said leave me alone!
KAA: Oh that’s sssad mancub. I was jusssst getting to know you. And now you won’t even look at
me. You’re not ssscared of me are you?
MOWGLI: Well I-I-
KAA: Jussst look at me man-cub. Look into my eyes when I’m ssspeaking to you.
MOWGLI: I’m not gonna look at you Kaa
KAA: Come on. Relaxxx. You know you want to. Jussst one tiny glance.
MOWGLI: You’re going to hypnotize me!
KAA: I wouldn’t do a thing like that. I promissse.
MOWGLI: You promise?
KAA: Yessss
MOWGLI: Well… I guess one tiny glance can’t hurt
KAA: There’sss a good boy
MUSIC has begun again, quietly.
MOWGLI parts his hands just slightly, keeping one eye covered. He is met by KAA’s wide, hypnotizing
eyes. MOWGLI soon becomes transfixed, his arms falling loosely by his side as he leans forwards,
ever more drawn in. KAA smiles and beckons him to her.
MOWGLI: (sleep-walking forward) Please Kaa…
KAA: Shhhhh. No talking now. Jussst ssstare.
KAA begins to sway and revolve her head, eyes still fixed on MOWGLI’s. He helplessly follows her
gaze.
KAA: Time for bed sssleepy head. Pleassse go to sssleeep. Pleeeeasssse go to sssssleeeep.
Ssssssleeeep deep.
KAA lays an arm leisurely across his shoulders. MOWGLI’s eyelids are drooping, his mouth ajar.
MUSIC cresendoes.
KAA: Ah, so soft is your ssskin man-cub. I could confussse you for a Bandar Log on a dark night. But
much better looking (she giggles). Ah the thingsss I could do with you… I could have you fetching and
carrying food for me all day… I could make you sssleepwalk along my coils so your bare feet work out
all my aches… or I could just ssswallow you whole as a midnight sssnack…
MOWGLI: (sleepily) That would be nice…
KAA: Oh you think ssso man-cub? Let me jussst get you in my coils while I decide.
KAA wraps her coils around MOWGLI, leaning ever closer but never breaking eye contact.
MUSIC loud.
MOWGLI: (mumbling) Ba…Ba…Bag-guh-gheera…
KAA: Shhhh, relax yourssself jungle boy… deliciousss jungle boy…
KAA tightens around his neck, silencing him. MOWGLI gulps. KAA leads him to the blocks and he sits
down, leaning against them with legs outstretched, smiling in his sleep. Before long, BAGHEERA and
BALOO rush in from the other side of stage and stop short, KAA and MOWGLI do not notice them.
BALOO: (whispering) Look Bagheera, she’s got him completely under her spell.
BAGHEERA: (also whispering) Go and distract her.
BALOO: Okay (he waits for BAGHEERA to slink to the back of the stage) … Kaa! Kaa, get off the man-
cub, now!
KAA spins her head around whilst hissing angrily.
MUSIC stops as she does so.
KAA: Sssss it’s you! Get away you oaf!
BALOO: Sorry, can’t do that.
KAA starts to move towards BALOO with menace.
KAA: You’ll pay for interrupting my dinner with the ssscrumptious mancub, bear!
BALOO: Is that all you’ve got? Empty threats?
KAA: Oh they aren’t empty, trussst me.
BALOO: Well you better hurry up and deliver on them.
KAA: Oh pleassse, I’ll catch you any day Baloo; I’ve seen rocks that move faster than you!
When KAA is close enough, she lashes forward at BALOO, who swipes at her and overpowers her.
KAA recoils in an attempt to escape, only to find BAGHEERA right behind her, growling.
BAGHEERA: Going somewhere?
KAA hisses, for lack of anything else to do. She is so focussed on BAGHEERA that she doesn’t notice
BALOO go over to MOWGLI who is snoring softly.
BAGHEERA: You’re outnumbered Kaa, give it up.
KAA: Do you really think a panther and an oaf can sssstop me?
BAGHEERA: You’d have to get through me to get to that boy now Kaa.
KAA: You underestimate my affection for the man-cub.
BAGHEERA: You underestimate mine.
KAA hisses but BAGHEERA prowls closer, forcing KAA to back up to the right of stage. As he does so,
BALOO and MOWGLI are to the left:
BALOO: Wake up Mowgli!
MOWGLI: (jerking back awake, confused) Wha- Bagheera!? Baloo!? What are you doing here? What
am I doing here? Where is here?
BALOO: You were about to be Kaa’s dinner, kid!
MOWGLI: Kaa? Oh! She had these eyes…and I…I tried to look away but they were so… (he shudders)
KAA: (aside) Oh jussst wait till I get my coils around you again boy…
BAGHEERA: I’m just glad you’re safe. Now let’s go.
Exit BAGHEERA, BALOO and MOWGLI, to left. KAA looks on from right, irritated.
KAA: Ssspoilsportsss!
Exit KAA to right.
SCENE 9 – They go to the man-village
Music
Enter BAGHEERA, BALOO, and MOWGLI, from left. They move toward front centre stage, looking out
to the audience.
MOWGLI: Where are we?
BAGHEERA: Almost at the man-village, it will be safer for you to be there if not with the pack.
BALOO: There it is, look! (he points out to the audience)
MOWGLI: (looking out) Oh yes, I see it! (he watches intently for a while) So that’s what other
humans are like.
BALOO: What do you think, kid? This look like a place you could feel at home?
MOWGLI: Maybe.
BAGHEERA: It is very likely your real parents lived here.
MOWGLI looks on, contemplative, but is silent when BAGHEERA and BALOO look to see his reaction.
BALOO: What’s up, kid?
MOWGLI: I don’t know, it’s just so different.
BAGHEERA: Well, yes, it will be a big adjustment, but these are your people.
MOWGLI: I don’t know any of them, how do I become accepted into their pack?
BAGHEERA: Well, that’s the thing. The humans don’t have a pack.
MOWGLI: No pack!? But how do they survive? The strength of the wolf is the pack!
BAGHEERA: Well yes, in the Jungle the pack thrives on teamwork, each wolf is as valuable as the
others. In the human world, some are more important than others.
MOWGLI: Oh, like a chief? Like Akela was?
BALOO: Not exactly.
BAGHEERA: Their system is more complicated. There are levels of power.
MOWGLI: Who decides that?
BALOO: Good question.
BAGHEERA: Usually power passes from father to son. So the same family will remain in control.
BALOO: It’s not like a pack, kid.
BAGHEERA: The wolves may share parenting duties but in human society a cub stays with its natural
mother and father. They live one family per hut, rather than the entire pack in one den.
MOWGLI: Oh, that’s strange.
BAGHEERA: It may seem odd to us, but in the human world it’s normal.
MOWGLI: That cub is on her own, where are her parents?
BAGHEERA: They must have left her.
BALOO: She looks kinda sad.
MOWGLI: Will I be sad if I go there? I don’t even have parents.
BAGHEERA: No, of course not! (shooting a warning glance at BALOO, who looks back confused.
Then, pointedly:) You’ll fit right in.
MOWGLI: I don’t know.
They react to something they see in the man village, some kind of bullying.
BALOO: Woah, that wasn’t cool.
MOWGLI: Why did they do that?
BALOO: I don’t know, kid.
BAGHEERA: Why didn’t anybody help her?
BAGHEERA: It is a man-eat-man world.
BALOO: I didn’t realise humans could be so cruel.
MOWGLI: You guys would never treat me like that.
BALOO: Damn right, kid, we wouldn’t.
BAGHEERA: No, but…
MOWGLI: Bagheera surely you don’t expect me to go there?
BAGHEERA: It’s safer…
MOWLGI: It’s not! You saw that just now; man does not look after his own in the way that the pack
do, and I wouldn’t survive there because all I know is my Jungle.
BALOO: (quietly) The kid has a point, Bagheera.
BAGHEERA: I… I…
MOWGLI: I can’t stay there. I belong with you; you’re the closest thing to a family I have. I certainly
don’t have one there! (pointing)
BAGHEERA: I just don’t want Shere Khan to hurt you.
MOWGLI: With your help, and with the rest of the pack, he won’t. I’m sure of it. Please, just… just
don’t abandon me here.
BALOO: Oh, kid, we wouldn’t ever abandon you!
BAGHEERA: We thought we were doing what was best for you.
MOWGLI: The pack is best for me.
BAGHEERA: I see that now.
BALOO: Yeah, let’s get away from here, and get you home.
BAGHEERA: What about the tiger?
MOWGLI: I have you guys by my side, I’m not scared of her!
BALOO: That’s the spirit, kid!
BAGHEERA: Are you sure you want to face Shere Khan?
MOWGLI: If it’s my only chance to be part of that pack again then yes, I’d face anything. Plus, I know
I can count on you guys to support me.
BAGHEERA: I suppose
They run off stage, exit left.
Music
SCENE 10 – They return to defeat Shere Khan
WOLF: NOW this is the Law of the Jungle — as old and as true as the sky;
WOLF: And the Wolf that shall keep it may prosper, but the Wolf that shall break it must die.
WOLF: As the creeper that girdles the tree-trunk the Law runneth forward and back —
ALL:For the strength of the Pack is the Wolf, and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack.
SHERE KHAN: You pathetic mongrels. Can’t you see he will bring destruction on you all. He will
wear your skins, he will burn down your forests. And you man-cub, I should have killed you when I
had a chance to.
SK leaves - music stops
The WOLVES run over to the tree hit by lightning, which has caught fire, and pick up flaming
branches. BALOO, BAGHEERA and MOWGLI push SHERE KHAN in the direction of the fire, which the
WOLVES have prepared. His tail catches fire and he runs off, screaming.
BALOO: Take that, stripes!
Wolf comes over to Mowgli and puts a hand on his shoulder. – reconciliation
VULTURE: I never liked that tiger.
VULTURE: She never left any meat on her kills for us.
VULTURE: rude, if you ask me.
VULTURE: Anyway, we’ll be off then.
MOWGLI: Thank you, for everything.
VULTURE: Ah, any time man-cub.
VULTURE: See you around!
Exit VULTURES.
BALOO: I’m proud of you, kid.
BAGHEERA: As am I.
MOWGLI: I’m just glad I’m accepted again.
BALOO: Kid, we love you!
BAGHEERA: You have every right to be a member of this pack, and you have shown your worth
within it today.
WOLF: We’re so sorry we ever doubted you, Mowgli.
WOLF: We only hope you’ll forgive us.
MOWGLI: Of course I do!
WOLF: Then our pack is complete again
WOLF: Shall we hunt, brothers?
WOLVES: Yes, let’s, come on Mowgli!
MOWGLI: Let’s go!
Exit WOLVES and MOWGLI, playfully.
BALOO: Wait for me! I’ll catch the paw-paws! (he runs off stage after them)
BAGHEERA: Oh, I’m sure you will. (laughing at BALOO, then walking forward towards the crowd to
narrate). I don’t know what happens next, I don’t know whether Shere Khan will return, I don’t know
what will happen to the pack, but for now at least, the jungle is peaceful.
Now Chil 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!