"Phew!" said Gray Brother (he was the eldest of Mother Wolf's cubs).
"This is a poor reward for following thee twenty miles. Thou smellest
of wood smoke and cattle--altogether like a man already. Wake, Little
Brother; I bring news."

"Are all well in the jungle?" said Mowgli, hugging him.

"All except the wolves that were burned with the Red Flower. Now,
listen. Shere Khan has gone away to hunt far off till his coat grows
again, for he is badly singed. When he returns he swears that he will
lay thy bones in the Waingunga."

"There are two words to that. I also have made a little promise. But
news is always good. I am tired to-night,--very tired with new things,
Gray Brother,--but bring me the news always."

"Thou wilt not forget that thou art a wolf? Men will not make thee
forget?" said Gray Brother anxiously.

"Never. I will always remember that I love thee and all in our cave. But
also I will always remember that I have been cast out of the Pack."

"And that thou mayest be cast out of another pack. Men are only men,
Little Brother, and their talk is like the talk of frogs in a pond. When
I come down here again, I will wait for thee in the bamboos at the edge
of the grazing-ground."

For three months after that night Mowgli hardly ever left the village
gate, he was so busy learning the ways and customs of men. First he had