This story takes place while Mowgli was still living in the care of his wolf family. He was raised under the watchful eyes of his adoptive mother and father, and taught to do everything they did. But since he was a human child, these tasks were slightly more difficult and unnatural for him. The wolves were always patient with him. The black panther, Bagheera, now a friend of the family, would come to help out whenever it was convenient for him. He knew Mowgli was safe with the wolves, but he felt a responsibility for the boy. He sometimes thought that it must be lonely for Mowgli to grow up with no other animals of his own species. Bagheera took it upon himself to teach Mowgli the ways of the jungle. Of course, he knew deep down that someday the boy would have to return to the Man-Village.
On a certain afternoon, Bagheera took Mowgli on a long walk through the hot jungle. The sun beat down on them, forcing the thirsty panther to stop at the river a couple of times. Mowgli splashed some water on his face. His brown skin gleamed in the golden noon sunlight.
"Come now, Man-Cub," Bagheera said, after he drank his fill.
"Where are you taking me, Bagheera?" Mowgli asked.
"I'm going to teach you how to hunt."
"Why?"
"Because to survive in the jungle, one must learn to hunt if he wants to eat. You won't always have your family around to feed you," Bagheera explained.
"My legs are getting tired," Mowgli complained, as he followed Bagheera deeper into the trees.
"Well, I suppose you can ride this time, but don't get used to it," Bagheera said, groaning as Mowgli jumped onto his back roughly without hesitation.
"No bouncing!"
Mowgli just giggled and enjoyed the ride.
When they got to a grassy area, Bagheera crouched behind a rock and told Mowgli to do the same. There was a small rabbit minding its own business, nibbling away something in the grass. Bagheera decided this would be an easy prey for Mowgli to start with.
"Now, Man-Cub, the main thing to remember when stalking your prey is to be completely still. You must remain silent if you want surprise your prey."
"Why do we want to surprise him? Is it his birthday?"
"No, Man-Cub. Now be silent!"
The rabbit's ears perked up, looking around for any sign of danger. After a while, it relaxed again and went about its business.
"Never just rush out the minute you spot food," Bagheera continued. "Watch it until you can sense its nerves calming. When your prey is at ease, you will then pounce and catch it off-guard."
Mowgli watched the rabbit for a while, but soon felt bored and began drawing a picture in the dirt with a stick.
"Soon, Man-Cub," Bagheera said, not noticing the boy was growing restless.
As Mowgli scribbled away at the ground, his stick snapped in half and the sound startled the rabbit.
"Mowgli! I said silence!" Bagheera scolded in a harsh whisper. "Absolutely no snapping twigs!"
"Sorry, Bagheera, but it wasn't my fault!" Mowgli said, much louder than he meant to.
The rabbit bolted upright and saw the predators. In a flash, the rodent was gone.
Bagheera glared at Mowgli. "Now look what you've done...scared away your meal. You'll go hungry now."
"Oops," Mowgli said, scratching his black hair which was damp from the heat. He didn't know what else to say.
"Let's try this again," Bagheera grumbled. "Get into position."
"But the rabbit's gone."
"I can see that, Man-Cub. But we'll just have to pretend there's a rabbit there. Alright?"
"But, Bagheera, the rabbit's gone."
"Mowgli, I know th-"
"How am I supposed to hunt a rabbit that I can't see? I can't see him at all. He ran away. He's gone, Bagheera."
"You'll just have to use your imagination."
"But the rabbit's gone, Bagheera."
"Mowgli, will you kindly stop saying that!?"
"Aw, hunting is no fun!" Mowgli folded his scrawny arms and plodded down on the ground.
"That's just too bad," Bagheera snapped.
Mowgli glared at the panther.
"Now please pay attention, Man-Cub. Are you ready to listen?"
"Yeah, I guess."
Bagheera cleared his throat and scanned the area for another target. "Man-Cub, do you see that rock over there by that tall tree? Let's pretend that rock is a naive, foolish, carefree little creature...just like you. Therefore, the perfect prey for a beginner."
Mowgli scoffed. "Are you saying that rock is supposed to be me? It doesn't look like me. It looks more like your rear end."
Bagheera shot him a glare.
"Okay, okay! I'm listening."
Bagheera wasn't sure how much more of Mowgli's nonsense he could handle. "As I was saying, the most important thing is to approach your prey with absolute silence. You should observe your prey's every move and be sure that it feels safe in its surroundings. Only then, will you pounce and seize the prey. Wolves hunt in packs but other animals such as myself, must hunt alone and have no one else to blame if the food escapes."
While Bagheera was talking, Mowgli turned his attention toward a playful beetle scurrying around in the dirt. The boy smiled and lightly poked at the bug's hard shell. "Hi there, it sure is good to see you."
"Yes, yes, it's good to see you too, Man-Cub. Now hush up and listen," said Bagheera, without looking at him. "Now when you eventually catch your first prey, you will feel very proud and your confidence will grow exceedingly..."
Mowgli gently picked up the beetle between his thumb and index finger. He snickered at the bug's tiny, wriggling legs. He glanced at Bagheera, who's back was toward him.
"Look, Bagheera! I caught something."
"No, you haven't. Now be quiet!"
"Just look, Bagheera! Turn around and see what I have!"
"No, Mowgli! And if I hear one more peep out of you, I'm taking you back home right now!"
Mowgli was then silent, but still held the beetle in his hand.
Bagheera waited a few moments to see if Mowgli would start blabbing again. He sighed with relief, cleared his throat, and resumed the lecture.
Then Mowgli got an idea. He snuck up behind Bagheera and put the beetle on the panther's back. Mowgli covered his mouth to stifle a laugh.
"Panthers such as myself, have the ability to drag prey twice our own body weight and carry it up a tree to avoid being pestered by other carnivores." Suddenly, Bagheera shivered as he felt something tickly crawling through his fur. He glanced over and saw the beetle rummaging around on the back of his shoulder. "B-B-BEETLE!"
He started jumping around in a frenzy to shake off the confused bug, that finally fell off and scurried away. The beetle dove into a hole in the earth.
Mowgli was rolling around and laughing his head off. "Hahehehe! Afraid of bugs, Bagheera? Hehehahaha!" Then Mowgli noticed Bagheera glaring down at him and quickly got over his laughing fit.
"So you find this amusing, do you? You think this is a big joke, don't you?"
Mowgli said nothing, but looked away and folded his arms in a pout. He didn't understand why Bagheera had to be so glum about everything.
"You haven't been listening at all, have you?"
"Yes, I have been listening!" Mowgli insisted.
"Alright, what was the last thing I said?"
"You said...B-B-BEETLE!" Mowgli exploded with laughs all over again.
The panther was not amused. "I'm waiting for an answer, Man-Cub."
Mowgli made a raspberry noise.
Bagheera cracked a sly smile. "Well, looks like somebody needs to be taught a lesson."
"You don't scare me," Mowgli grumbled.
Bagheera chuckled, circling the boy as if stalking a weak animal. There was a slightly evil gleam in the panther's cold, yellow eyes.
Mowgli sat still. He watched Bagheera warily as he wondered what he planned to do.
"Are you bored, Man-Cub? You want to play? Very well..." With that, Bagheera pinned the boy down on his back by holding a large paw over his chest. Mowgli struggled, but Bagheera was too powerful. He pressed firmly enough to hold the boy in place, but not hard enough to hurt him.
"Let me go!" Mowgli said, angrily. He tried to push away the offending paw.
Bagheera shook his head, a smirk on his face. "It's time you learned another important lesson about hunting...always taste your catch to make sure it's fresh." Then he began to lick Mowgli's face with his wet tongue.
Mowgli jerked his head from side to side to escape the licking, but his attempts were futile. It wasn't long before he was laughing and giggling.
"H-hey! Hehehehey Bagheera! Heehehahaha! Stohohohop!"
"Having fun I see," Bagheera teased. "Well, there's plently more where that came from."
"Cut it out! Hahahahaha! Stop licking me! Hehehehehe! It tihihickles!" Mowgli squirmed and wiggled but there was no escape. The black panther had him pinned too well.
After a few minutes, Bagheera stopped licking his face. Mowgli wiped the slobber from his face and caught his breath. He assumed the panther had finished and was going to let him go. He was mistaken.
Bagheera started blowing on Mowgli's neck. This drove the boy wild with laughter.
"AHAHAHAHAHA NOOOO! IT TICKLES TOO MUCH! HAHAHAHAHA B-BAGHEERA!"
"Detention, young Man-Cub. Dentention."
Mowgli's cheeks grew red from laughter. He kicked his boney legs and beat his tiny fists against his attacker.
Then Bagheera began tickling Mowgli's ribs, sides, and belly using a very gentle touch of his paws. He had to be extra careful so he wouldn't rip Mowgli's soft flesh with his sharp claws.
Mowgli threw back his head and howled with laughter, scaring away all the birds in the area.
"AAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH PLEASE BAAAAGHEERA STOP IT! HEEEHEHEHEHEHEHE! I'M TOOHOHOHOHOHO TICKLISH!"
Bagheera decided to give Mowgli a short break.
"I'm sure you now regret getting on my nerves. Well, your punishment is not over yet," Bagheera said to the giggling boy.
Mowgli's lean, dark body was shining with heavy sweat. The humid jungle weather only made him feel twice as hot. His cheeks were deeply flushed and his eyes were runny with merry tears.
"I'm gonna tell Papa and Mama on you!"
Bagheera shook his head and chuckled, which made Mowgli angrier. Then he walked over to Mowgli's exposed feet and lay himself across Mowgli's legs to hold him down.
"What are you doing now?!" Mowgli demanded, fearfully.
Bagheera smiled coolly at him, then started licking his feet.
Mowgli erupted in hard laughter. He screamed and howled and writhed.
"NOOOO AHAHAHAHAHAHAH AAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA PLEEEEASE! HEE HEE HEEEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE!"
Then Bagheera began blowing raspberries on Mowgli's small soles. This was too much for the wild child to bear. Tears flew from his eyes and his face turned redder than his undies.
"GAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! STOOOHOHOHOHOHOHOP! AAAAAAHHH NOOO! PLEEEEASE NOOOO HEEHEHEHEAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Bagheera blew more and more raspberries on Mowgli's soles, each blow longer than the one before. When he was sure Mowgli was near his limit, he stopped tickle torturing him. The boy gasped for oxygen, breathing in gallons of the hot, sweet air. He was surprised to learn how torturous a tickle session could be. He never got tickled at home except for a few playful licks in the face from his relatives. He never knew he was ticklish in so many places.
"Have you learned your lesson, young Man-Cub?"
"Yeah, I guess so."
"Fine, then we shall continue our lesson."
"Do we have to practice on a rock again?"
"Unless you can find something better."
Mowgli looked around at the surroundings. His eyes lit up when he spotted the perfect prey. He got into primal position and strode like an animal to a large bush. He crouched just outside the bush, carefully watching something hidden inside. He waited for almost a minute, and then dove into the bush. He growled like a giant cat as he attacked the prey.
Bagheera was stunned to see Mowgli doing a reasonably good job. He thought the boy hadn't paid attention to a word he said.
"I got it, Bagheera! I caught something!"
"Good, good! Bring it over here so I can see what you've caught."
Mowgli emerged from the bush, carrying the prize catch in his mouth:
Berries.
Bagheera's proud smile faded.
Mowgli sat down beside him and proceeded to munch away at the juicy fruits.
"You know something, Bagheera? I'm glad you took me hunting today."
Bagheera facepalmed.
The End