森林王子（下）：红花之火与宿敌之决

Bagheera, who had been born in the cages of the King's palace at Oodeypore before breaking his iron lock and escaping to the wild, warned Mowgli of the approaching danger. 'The day will come when Akela misses his kill,' Bagheera said softly. 'Then the young wolves will turn against him and against you. You must go down to the human village and bring back the Red Flower.'

By the 'Red Flower', Bagheera meant fire—the one thing in the world that every wild beast in the jungle feared with absolute terror.

Mowgli ran swiftly to the edge of the cultivated fields near the human village. Peering through the thatched fence of a cottage, he saw a glowing clay pot filled with burning charcoal embers. Reaching inside with a brave hand, Mowgli seized the pot, fed the glowing embers with dry twigs, and carried his secret weapon back to the jungle.

That very evening, the summons howl echoed through the hills. Akela had failed to bring down a healthy young buck, and the Law of the Jungle declared that the leader who missed his kill was a 'Dead Wolf', open to challenge by any rival.

All the wolves gathered at the Council Rock under the full moon. Shere Khan stood openly among the younger wolves, his yellow eyes gleaming with cruel anticipation. 'The man-cub belongs to me!' roared Shere Khan. 'Give him to me, or I will hunt in your territory forever!'

A dozen young wolves snarled in agreement, shouting, 'He is a man! What has a man to do with us?' Akela, bleeding from old scars, raised his head: 'He has eaten our food; he has slept with us; he has broken no word of the Law.' But the pack screamed him down.

At that moment, Mowgli stood up tall in the center of the Council Rock, holding the clay pot in his hands. He crushed the pot on the stone, pulled out a blazing pine branch, and blew upon it until bright red flames leaped into the night air!

The wolves recoiled in sheer panic, whimpering and covering their eyes from the terrifying glare of the Red Flower. Mowgli walked boldly toward Shere Khan, thrusting the flaming branch into the tiger's whiskers. The mighty predator backed away, howling with pain and terror.

'Listen, you dogs!' shouted Mowgli with the commanding authority of a true Master. 'You have told me tonight that I am a man, and indeed I shall not call you my brothers anymore. Akela shall live in peace, and no wolf shall touch him! As for you, Shere Khan, I will return one day and lay your striped hide across this very rock!'

Mowgli struck the tiger across the snout with the blazing torch until Shere Khan fled shrieking into the dark jungle. But as the fire died down, a strange, painful tightness gripped Mowgli's throat. Tears rolled down his cheeks for the first time in his life.

'What is this?' asked Mowgli in distress. 'Am I dying, Bagheera?' 'No, Little Brother,' Bagheera purred gently, resting his great black head against Mowgli's knee. 'Those are only tears, such as men weep. You are a man now, and the jungle is no longer your home.'

Mowgli embraced Mother Wolf and Father Wolf in their cave, promising to return with Shere Khan's hide. He walked down the mountain at sunrise and entered the human village, where a kind woman named Messua, who had lost her own son to a tiger years before, welcomed him into her home.

Mowgli learned human speech, wore clothes, and was assigned to herd the village water buffaloes in the wide pastures. But he never forgot the jungle. Grey Brother, his loyal wolf companion, brought him news every evening from the forest.

One hot afternoon, Grey Brother brought urgent news: Shere Khan had returned to the ravine near the river, having eaten a heavy meal of pig, and was now sleeping soundly at the bottom of the gorge.

Mowgli devised a masterly plan. With the help of Akela and Grey Brother, Mowgli divided the herd of village buffaloes into two groups. He led the heavy, sharp-horned bulls to the upper entrance of the steep rocky ravine, while Akela drove the cows and calves to the lower end.

At Mowgli's signal, the bulls charged down the narrow gorge like a thunderous avalanche! Trapped between the sheer stone walls and the two rushing herds, Shere Khan woke in horror. The heavy bulls trampled the fierce tiger beneath their iron hooves, ending the reign of the terrorizing beast forever.

Mowgli worked for hours skinning the tiger with his hunting knife. When the greedy village hunter tried to claim the reward and rob the hide, Mowgli commanded Akela to pin the hunter down until he fled in terror. The superstitious villagers, believing Mowgli was a sorcerer, threw stones and drove him out of the village.

Unbothered by human ingratitude, Mowgli carried the enormous striped hide back to the Seeonee hills. He spread Shere Khan's skin across the Council Rock, exactly as he had promised. The remaining wolves begged Mowgli and Akela to lead the Free Pack once more, but Mowgli shook his head with quiet wisdom: 'No. From now on, I will hunt alone in the jungle, with only my four wolf brothers at my side.' And under the silver moon, the legendary Master of the Jungle sang his song of freedom and triumph.