The Jungle Book

A collection of short, vivid animal stories with a clear code behind each. Only three of the seven have Mowgli, and the rest are just as good. Some period attitudes show. Four out of five (draft). Read it if: you want short stories you can read one at a time; you like animals who talk and follow a strict code; you know the movie and want to see what kipling wrote. Skip it if: you expect one continuous mowgli story; period attitudes put you off; you want king louie: he is not in the book.

The Jungle Book story by Rudyard Kipling, summarized: all seven stories, only three about Mowgli. Full spoilers. The Jungle Book Story by Rudyard Kipling →

It is seven stories, not one. Three follow Mowgli, a boy raised by wolves in the Seeonee hills. The others follow a white seal named Kotick, the mongoose Rikki-tikki-tavi, the elephant boy Little Toomai, and a group of army animals at a camp in Rawal Pindi.

Seven stories, each followed by a song or poem, in the Project Gutenberg text (ebook 236): Mowgli's Brothers, Kaa's Hunting, Tiger, Tiger, The White Seal, Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, Toomai of the Elephants and Her Majesty's Servants.

No. Mowgli is in three of the seven stories, about 47 percent of the story words by our count. The other four have entirely different casts.

No. By our search of the Project Gutenberg text, King Louie, an orangutan, vultures and Shanti do not appear. As of November 2026, the Wikipedia article on the character and a Business Insider piece both report that King Louie was created for Disney's 1967 film. In the book the monkeys, the Bandar-log, have no leader.