Now, the Law of the Jungle says that if there is a disagreement about the right of a man's cub (幼崽) to be part of the Pack (兽群), he must be spoken for by at least two members of the Pack who are not his father and mother.
"Who speaks for this man's cub?" asked the leader of the wolf Pack Akela. There was no answer. Mother Wolf got ready for a fight. Her last fight.
There is only one non-wolf allowed at the Pack Council, a sleepy brown bear called Baloo. Baloo teaches the wolf cubs the Law of the Jungle. He is accepted by the wolves because he eats only nuts and roots and honey. Now Baloo stood up on his hindquarters (后腿) and shouted.
"I speak for the man's cub. Let him run with the Pack, and become part of the Pack with the others. I can teach him the Law of the Jungle. "
"We need another one, " said Akela. "Baloo speaks for the man's cub, and he is the teacher of our young cubs. Who speaks besides Baloo?"
A black shadow came into the circle. It was Bagheera the Black Panther. Everybody knew Bagheera, and nobody wanted to make him angry.
"Akela, and the wolf Pack, " he shouted. "The Law of the Jungle says that a cub can be saved if someone pays a price for him. Now I can give you one fat recently killed bull, if you accept the man's cub according to the Law. Is it difficult to decide?"
Mowgli, the man's cub, was still very interested in the stones, and he did not notice when the wolves came and looked at him one by one. At last they all came down the hill for the dead bull, and only Akela, Bagheera, Baloo, and Mowgli's wolf family were left. The tiger Shere Khan roared all night. He was angry because the wolves accepted Mowgli in the Pack.
"It was a good decision, " said Akela. "Men and their cubs are very wise. He may be a help in time. "
"Yes, a help in time of need; for no one can hope to lead the Pack forever, " said Bagheera.
"Take him away, " he said to Father Wolf, "and teach him like the other wolf cubs. "
—From Mowgli's Brothers
