The Law
of the Jungle
---Rudyard Kipling
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.
Wash daily from nose-tip
to tail-tip; drink deeply, but never too deep;
And remember the
night is for hunting, and forget not the day is for sleep.
The Jackal may follow
the Tiger, but, Cub, when thy whiskers are grown,
Remember the Wolf
is a hunter--go forth and get food of thine own.
Keep peace with the
Lords of the Jungle--the Tiger, the Panther, the Bear;
And trouble not Hathi
the Silent, and mock not the Boar in his lair.
When Pack meets with
Pack in the Jungle, and neither will go from the trail.
Lie down till the
leaders have spoken--it may be fair words shall prevail.
When ye fight with
a Wolf of the Pack, ye must fight him alone and afar,
Lest others take
part in the quarrel, and the Pack be diminished by war.
The Lair of the Wolf
is his refuge, and where he has made him his home,
Not even the Head
Wolf may enter, not even the Council may come.
The Lair of the Wolf
is his refuge, but where he has digged it too plain,
The Council shall
send him a message, and so he shall change it again.
If ye kill before
midnight, be silent, and wake not the woods with your bay,
Lest ye frighten
the deer from the crops, and the brothers go empty away.
Ye may kill for yourselves,
and your mates, and your cubs as they need, and ye can;
But kill not for
pleasure of killing, and seven times never kill Man.
If ye plunder his
Kill from a weaker, devour not all in thy pride;
Pack-Right is the
right of the meanest; so leave him the head and the hide.
The Kill of the Pack
is the meat of the Pack. Ye must eat where it lies;
And no one may carry
away of that meat to his lair, or he dies.
The Kill of the Wolf
is the meat of the Wolf. He may do what he will,
But, till he has
given permission, the Pack may not eat of that Kill.
Cub-Right is the right
of the Yearling. From all of his Pack he may claim
Full-gorge when the
killer has eaten; and none may refuse him the same.
Lair-Right is the
right of the Mother. From all of her year she may claim.
One haunch of each
kill for her litter, and none may deny her the same.
Cave-Right is the
right of the Father--to hunt by himself for his own:
He is freed of all
calls to the Pack; he is judged by the Council alone.
Because of his age
and his cunning, because of his gripe and his paw,
In all that the Law
leaveth open the word of the Head Wolf is Law.
Now these are the
Laws of the jungle, and many and mighty are they;
But the head and
the hoof of the Law and the haunch and the hump is--Obey!
ENTER