在印度南部的群山之中,一个人类的婴儿躺在山洞里,又温暖又安全。他挤在小狼崽们中间,旁边卧着狼妈妈,可是他一点儿也不害怕。洞穴外,食人虎希尔汗正愤怒地咆哮着,想要杀死那个婴儿。“没门儿!”狼妈妈说道,“这个人崽儿是我的,他会活下去,和狼群一起奔跑,并且成为我的儿子。我要叫他莫格利。” 许多年过去了,那个人崽儿莫格利和小狼们一起成长起来。在他的老师老棕熊巴鲁和黑豹巴格拉的教导下,他懂得了“森林法则”。在森林中他屡入险境,可也交到了不少动物朋友。 当然他还有个敌人。食人虎希尔汗对他耿耿于怀。老虎在等待机会,期待着有一天能够抓住这个人崽儿,然后杀死他。 In the hills of Southern India a baby lies warm and safe in a cave. He lies among wolf-cubs, next to Mother Wolf’s side, and he is not afraid. Outside the cave Shere Khan, the man-eating tiger, roars angrily, wanting to kill. ’No!’ says Mother Wolf. ’The man’s cub belongs to me. He will live, to run with the other wolves, to be my son. And I will call him Mowgli.’ The years pass, and Mowgli the man’s cub grows up with the wolves. He learns the Law of the Jungle from his teachers, Baloo the old brown bear and Bagheera the black panther. He has many adventures, and many friends among the animals of the jungle. But he still has an enemy. Shere Khan the tiger has not forgotten. He waits for the day when he can catch the man’s cub — and kill him.
One very warm evening in the Seeonee hills in Southern India, Father Wolf woke up from his day’s rest. Next to him lay Mother Wolf, with their four cubs beside her.
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“该出去找点儿吃的了。”狼爸爸说道。他站起身,准备离开洞穴。
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It’s time to look for food,’ said Father Wolf, and he stood up to leave the cave.
Good luck,’ said a voice. It was the jackal, Tabaqui, who eats everything and anything, even pieces of old clothes from the villages. The wolves of India do not like him, because he runs around making trouble and telling bad stories about them.
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“老虎希尔汗就要到这里来觅食了。”塔巴奎说道。
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Shere Khan, the tiger, is coming to look for food here,’ said Tabaqui.
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“岂有此理,”狼爸爸叫道,“按照‘森林法则’,他在来这里捕猎之前,必须提前通知我们。”
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He can’t,’ cried Father Wolf. ’By the Law of the Jungle he must tell us first, before he comes here to hunt.’
Shere Khan has a bad leg, so he can kill only cows. In the village near him the people are angry. That is why he is coming here — to start hunting in a new place. Listen, you can hear him now,’ said Tabaqui.
He is a stupid animal,’ said Father Wolf, and he listened to the angry noise of a tiger who has not eaten. ’No one will find anything to eat in the jungle now.’
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“可是希尔汗今晚是来吃人的,不是吃动物。”塔巴奎说道。
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But Shere Khan is hunting man, not animal, tonight,’ said Tabaqui.
The baby, small and with no clothes, pushed its way between the cubs to get near to Mother Wolf. ’Look,’ she said, ’he is taking his meal with the others.’
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“我听说以前曾发生过这样的事,”狼爸爸说道,“但是我直到今天才亲眼看到。你瞧,他一点儿都不害怕。”
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I have heard that this has happened before,’ said Father Wolf, ’but I have never seen it until now. Look at him. He is not afraid.’
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突然,洞里暗了下来,原来是希尔汗的大脑袋从洞口挤了进来。
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Suddenly, it was dark, and Shere Khan was pushing his great head in through the mouth of the cave.
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“欢迎来访,希尔汗,”狼爸爸嘴上说道,眼中却透出一股怒气,“有何贵干?”
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We are pleased that you visit us, Shere Khan,’ said Father Wolf, but his eyes were angry. ’What do you need?’
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“我正在抓一个人崽儿。”希尔汗回答道,“他的父母已经逃走了。把他给我。”
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I am hunting a man’s cub,’ said Shere Khan. ’Its father and mother have run away. Give it to me.’
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狼爸爸知道希尔汗没法钻进洞来,因为他的个头太大。
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Father Wolf knew that Shere Khan could not get inside the cave because he was too big.
No!’ came the angry voice of Mother Wolf. ’The man’s cub belongs to me! We will not kill him. He will live, to run with the other wolves, to be my son. Now go away, fish-killer, eater of cubs! Go!’
Shere Khan went. He knew that he could not fight Mother Wolf in the cave. ’But I will have this man-cub one day, you thieves!’ he shouted from the jungle.
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“你真的想留下他吗,孩子他妈?”狼爸爸问道。
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Do you really want to keep him, Mother?’ said Father Wolf.
Keep him?’ said Mother Wolf. ’Yes. He came here by night, alone and hungry, but he was not afraid. Yes, I will keep him. And I will call him Mowgli, the frog.’
By the Law of the Jungle all wolf-cubs must come to the Pack when they can walk. The wolves look at the cubs carefully. Then the cubs are free to run anywhere because all the adult wolves know them and will not attack them.
When the four wolf-cubs could run a little, Father Wolf took them and Mowgli and Mother Wolf to the Meeting Rock. Here, the hundred wolves of the Wolf-Pack met every month when the moon was full.
There is only one other animal who can come to these wolf-meetings — Baloo, the sleepy brown bear. His job is to teach the Law of the Jungle to the wolf-cubs.
O Akela, will you let me speak?’ said Bagheera softly. ’The Law of the Jungle says it is possible to buy the life of a cub. It is bad to kill a man-cub. He cannot hurt you. Let him live with you, and I will give you a fat cow, newly killed, which lies in the jungle not far away.’
The voices of the wolves replied, ’Let him live.’ They were always hungry and they wanted to get the dead cow. Soon they went away, and there were only Akela, Bagheera, Baloo, and Mowgli’s wolf family left. They could hear the angry roars of Shere Khan in the night.
It is good,’ said Akela. ’Men are clever. Perhaps this man-cub will help us when he is older. Take him away,’ he said to Father Wolf, ’and teach him well.’
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就这样,由于巴鲁的美言加上牛的功劳,莫格利成为了西奥尼山上狼族的一员。
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And so, because of Baloo’s good word and the present of a cow, Mowgli now belonged to the Seeonee Wolf-Pack.
The story of Mowgli’s life among the wolves fills many books, but we must jump ten or eleven years now. Father Wolf, Baloo, and Bagheera taught Mowgli well, and he learnt everything about the jungle. He knew the meaning of every sound in the trees, of every song of the birds, of every splash in the water. He learnt to climb trees like a monkey, to swim in the rivers like a fish, and to hunt for his food as cleverly as any animal in the jungle.