There has been much speculation as to why King Louie was not in 'The Jungle Book 2'.
This is the tale of what really happened ..................
With Mowgli gone, what was King Louie to do about his master plan to discover fire.
Well if man wouldn't come to him, he'd go to man.
CAPTURE
King Louie knew the Man-Village had a boat which they used to travel to the Man-City.
He watched and learnt how to paddle. He found it was easy when at last, on the night of a new moon, he slipped the away with the boat from the wharf.
The Man-City was amazing – a jungle of stones for only one animal. He said hello to the people he met, tipping his hat (he'd learnt manners as well as paddling).
He was surprised at people's reactions - they didn't want to talk, instead they seemed suddenly very busy, wanting to be elsewhere.
Next King Louie felt a net around him.
He saw a dark shadow across his eyes as a blanket was placed across them. He wasn't fooled - he'd captured humans and he would not be calmed so easily, but his struggles were to no avail.
The next thing he was in a cage with other orang-utans.
He quickly wanted to organise an escape committee, with him as chair naturally.
It was a committee of two - the only other orang-utan was a young male who dreamed of visiting the jungle. He'd been entranced by stories from those animals that had been captured years before.
MISSING
The creature of the jungle missed King Louie - some more than others !
Soon the collective memory faded, replaced by the fable of a strange and might king who had been punished by banishment, some said he'd been whisked away in the night by spectres, others that he'd travelled away to discover great secrets.
VISIT
Not all forgot him.
Shanti and Mowgli were grown and school had come to the village. Their idyllic wanderings in the jungle had been replaced by lessons. The jungle creatures - well they now avoided any human habitation.
One day the school had a planned visit to the big city to visit the zoo. For many of the younger children it was sadly to see some animals for the first time.
That sad looking orang-utan looked familiar. "It's King Louie !", Shanti shouted, grabbing Mowgli's arm.
Mowgli realising the eyes of his fellow pupils were on him, and even those of some other visitors, told her quickly to hush. Even then he knew what must be done and he did not want any suspicion to fall on them, and some of the children still didn't totally trust the boy who came from the jungle.
PLAN
Shanti and Mowgli asked Baghera to call a meeting of all the jungle animals at the old palace ruins.
Most of the younger animals were reluctant, after all why risk everything for a mythical figure.
It was Baloo and Baghera who convinced them to change their minds. All the other animals revered these almost saintly figures who had fought off the legendary Shere Khan.
All the creatures were now on board, even Kaa who had found that he missed the old rascal and what he meant for the jungle.
RESCUE
Shanti and Mowgli enlisted Ranjan to help the steal the two boats the next moonless night.
In the boat were the humans, the monkeys and Kaa. The vultures followed overhead.
At the Man-City, the monkeys helped Shanti and Mowgli over the fence.
The vultures lifted Kaa over.
It was Ranjan who first spotted the keeper. Kaa then found his spot for his ambush.
As the keeper moved below him he suddenly dangled down.
The keeper was initially frozen in fear but this was replaced by a mesmerised look as Kaa got to work.
With the keeper fixed in place, Mowgli quickly grabbed the keeper's keys and ran to the orang-utan cage.
He opened the lock.
King Louie took some rousing but his energy returned when he saw the friendly faces and open door that signalled freedom.
He invited the other orang-utans to join him but only his young assistant agreed - the rest were too frightened now by the prospect of change.
The party rushed to the boats and disappeared into the night before the roused keeper could raise the alert.
When they retiurned to the old ruins there was the party to end all parties.
EPILOGUE
King Louie relishing his new freedom stiil had time for a wry grin. Unbeknownst to the others, he had a secret and he smiled to himself as he looked down at the fire lighter he had acquired from the zoo keeper's pocket.
Now he would find out about man-fire, though he didn't find appealing breathing the smoke of the smoke-sticks like the keeper used to do.