Time to continue. Thanks for reviewing, dream lighting.
When Mowgli and Misty found Shanti and Ranjan at the mango tree, Shanti was acting very distant towards Mowgli.
"She's in a bad mood." Ranjan whispered. Mowgli winked at him, and then said, intending for Shanti to hear, "Hey Ranjan, want to see a little trick I learned in the jungle?" He used the trick King Louie had with the bananas.
"That's a pretty good trick." Ranjan admitted through a mouthful of banana.
"Well, here's a little trick I learned right here at home." Shanti countered, peeling a mango with minimum effort and giving it to Ranjan.
"That's a neater trick." he said.
"Like I said, Ranjan," Shanti said, putting down her fruit basket and climbing down, "Don't listen to him."
"Hey, I listen to him, and I'm still alive." Misty said.
"That's because you're older, and most of the time, you don't need to listen, you just play lip-lockers all the time." Shanti teased, but she wasn't really in a teasing mood with Mowgli.
"She's right, Ranjan." Mowgli said. "Don't listen to me. Listen to the jungle. Can you hear it?"
"Yeah..." murmured Ranjan. Mowgli winked at Misty, reminding her of their earlier conversation.
"Yeah, man! And when you hear that rhythm," he continued, "You get a crazy feeling inside." He then began to sing a song which was obviously written beforehand. "That morning sun peeks over the mountains,
And all the rhinos rub their eyes, when they hear..."
"Hear what?" asked Ranjan.
"Hear the jungle rhythm." Mowgli sang. "Those birds are tap-tap-tappin' the tree trunks,
The busy bee hums as he flies, loud and clear..."
"To the jungle rhythm." Now Misty joined in, trying her best to sing with Mowgli.
"Now you can hightail it out of the jungle, but it never leaves your heart.
First you feel that beat start bubbling under, then you hear the tom-tom's loudest thunder..." Now other kids in the village were joining in. Soon, every kid was joining in with the words "Jungle rhythm", except for one.
"Come on, Shanti!" Mowgli called.
"It's fun!" Misty added.
In the end, Mowgli continued to sing as he took her fruit basket. "Hey! Give me that!" Shanti cried, giggling.
"You'll dance along with them," Mowgli continued, "Feel it steal your soul..."
"We'll stomp our paws," another boy sang.
"Flap our wings!" added a girl.
"Maybe do one or two crazy things!" Mowgli and Misty chanted together.
Every kid wanted to be some kind of animal. Ranjan wanted to be a wolf, a couple of boys were monkeys, some girls were snakes...Mowgli enlisted Misty as his jungle girl as the match to the jungle boy he was, while Shanti got to be a peacock.
"Those chat-chat-chattering monkeys, swinging through the banyan trees two by two..." now nearly everyone was singing. "To the jungle rhythm.
Sounds like a wolf pack way in the distance, singing pretty harmonies, oh-oh-oh...
To the jungle rhythm.
Now you can hightail it out of the jungle, but it never leaves your heart.
First you feel that beat start bubbling under, then you hear the tom-tom's loudest thunder!
It's moving me, sounds a lot like being free, when you feel...
Feel the jungle rhythm." Mowgli beckoned the kids. They were up to the village gates, and already, Mowgli and Misty were halfway across the stepping stones to the jungle. Ranjan was right behind them, with the other kids following, even the older ones.
Only Shanti realized what they were doing. "Wait, wait, stop! No passing the river! Mowgli, you can't go into the jungle, it's too dangerous! Misty, did you know about this? Mowgli – STOP!" Shanti tore the peacock headband off as she screamed the last word.
"Shanti, what is it?" Ranjan's father came charging up. He was appalled when he saw what was going on. "Children! Come inside this instant, all of you!" Even Ranjan and Misty stopped and obeyed. Only one boy stood outside the village gates. "Mowgli! That includes you."
Mowgli slowly retreated back.
"I am very disappointed in you. You put everyone in danger. You know you're not supposed to cross the river, and yet you deliberately disobeyed me."
Mowgli looked up from underneath his long fringe. "But – but I -"
"No, Mowgli." the man said firmly. "The jungle is a dangerous place. I should know." He pulled up his sleeve. Misty couldn't see the scars, since she was standing further back, with Shanti, but she saw Mowgli gasp. He was confined to his room for the rest of the day without food. Shanti tried to apologize, but he only gave her one hard look. The girls walked back home, talking.
"Did you have to do that?" Misty asked. "I know most of the village kids wouldn't be able to handle themselves, but Mowgli has friends in the jungle."
"It's still dangerous." Shanti insisted. "Besides, I didn't mean to get him in trouble, but we couldn't just cross the river and go into the jungle. Did you know he was going to do that?"
"No." Misty said. She wasn't lying, really. She knew Mowgli was devising a plan to get back to the jungle, but she hadn't expected him to go to all the trouble of practicing a song-and-dance number to entrance all the kids into following him there. "But I still think you should apologize again. When Mowgli gets mad, he doesn't easily forgive."
"Well..." Shanti said. "I can't be caught talking to him, but I'll bring him a basket of fruit tonight. Since he hasn't been allowed food, that should help, right?"
But that night, Mowgli wasn't in his room. Misty and Shanti did sneak out with fruit that they had artistically arranged in a basket, but no matter how many times they called out, Mowgli didn't make an appearance.
"Mowgli, it's us!" Shanti called in a whisper. "Don't be mad, I get grounded all the time. Mowgli...I'm sorry you got in trouble."
"Um, Shan." Misty interjected, "Somehow, I think he's not here. He must've sneaked out."
That's when both of them heard a yell. They ran over to where they heard it, and saw what was happening. Misty and Shanti both gasped.
Baloo and Mowgli were sparring as usual. Shanti misinterpreted the situation, and before Misty could stop her, she started yelling. "Help, wild animal in the village!"
Baloo took off with Mowgli, and no one saw him. But at that moment, they saw another wild animal prowling around.
This time, Misty gasped in fear, and pulled Shanti into a doorway. "The bear was Baloo, one of Mowgli's friends!" she hissed. "Did you have to scream like that?"
"What did you expect?" Shanti whispered back. "Besides, you seem scared enough."
"Didn't you see the other wild animal?" Misty said. "That tiger was Shere Khan! I'd recognize him anywhere. That's why I'm scared. But you're scared of a bear hanging out with Mowgli. He's told you about Baloo. He was laughing there."
Shanti gave a sigh. "Fine. But we need to go into the jungle to find him, even if it's just to apologize."
The two girls ran out of the village, across the stepping stones, and back into the jungle.
Well, now they're back. Come on, review!