Chapter Thirty-One: Trust in Kaa

Soon night falls and Mowgli is fast asleep as Baloo, Jason, Max and Bagheera are talking.

"...and furthermore, Mowgli seems to have man's ability to get into trouble, and your influence hasn't been exactly-"

"Shhh! Keep it down, you're gonna wake little buddy. Yeah. He's had a big day, it was a real sockaroo. You know it ain't easy learning to be like me" Baloo said.

"Pah! A disgraceful performance. Associating with those undesirable, scatterbrained apes. Huh. I hope he learned something from that experience" Bagheera said as Mowgli in sleep mumbles.

"Yeah... scooby-dooby, dooby-doo.."

"Ha, ha. That's my boy" Baloo said as Bagheera walks to water.

"Oh, nonsense. Baloo, come over here. I'd like to have a word with you."

"A word? You gonna talk some more?" he yawns, "All right, what's up Bagheera?"

"Baloo, a man-cub must go back to the man-village. The jungle is not the place for him."

"I grew up in the jungle. Take a look at me."

"Yes, just look at yourself. Look at that eye" Bagheera said gesturing to Baloo black eye unaware they both had one eye swollen since the fight.

"Yeah. It's beautiful, ain't it?" Baloo said.

"Oi" Jason sighed.

"Frankly, you're a disreputable sight" Bagheera said.

"Why, you don't look exactly like a basket of fruit yourself" Baloo said as Bagheera saw he had a black eye.

"D'oh! Ballo, you can't adopt Mowgli as your son."

"Why not?"

"How can I put it? Baloo, birds of a feather should flock together" he said as Baloo shrugs.

"You wouldn't marry a panther, would you?"

"I don't know. Ha ha, come to think of it, no panther ever asked me."

"Baloo, you've got to be serious about this."

"Oh, stop worrying, Baggy, stop worrying, I'll take care of him"

"Yes, like you did when the monkeys kidnapped him, huh?"

"Can a guy make one mistake?"

"Not in the jungle. And another thing, sooner or later, Mowgli will meet Shere Khan."

"The tiger? What's he got against the kid?"

"He hates man with a vengeance, you know that. Because he fears man's gun and man's fire."

"But little Mowgli don't have those things."

"Shere Khan won't wait until he does. He'll get Mowgli while he's young and helpless. Just one swipe-"

"No. Well, what are we gonna do?" Baloo asked.

Sun appears from horizon all the time they were talking it was slowly getting brighter.

"We'll do what's best for him." Bagheera said.

"You better believe it, you name it now I'll do it" Baloo said.

"Good. Then make Mowgli go to the man-village" Bagheera said.

"Are you out of your mind? I promised him he could stay here in the jungle with me!"

"That's just the point. As long as he remains with you, he's in danger. So it's up to you."

"Why me?"

"Be-because he won't listen to me!" Bagheera huffed.

"I love that kid. I love him like he was my own cub."

"Then think of what's best for Mowgli and not yourself."

"Well, can't I.. Well can I wait until morning?"

"It's morning now. Go on, Baloo" Bagheera said.

"It's the right thing Baloo this tiger doesn't sound nice" Max said as Baloo walks to Mowgli.

"Uh..Ummmm..." Mowgli said in his sleep as Baloo gulps.

"Oh boy. Mowgli? Mowgli? Uh, it's time to get up" he said as Mowgli wakes up and stretches.

"Oh. Hi Baloo" Mowgli said.

"Hi. Hey, rub that sleep out of your eyes. You and me, eh, we've got a long walk ahead of us" Baloo said.

"Swell! We'll have lots of fun together."
"Sure. yeah. Yeah, uh.. let's hit the trail, kid. See you around, eh, Bagheera."

"Well, good-bye Bagheera. Me and Baloo, we've got things to do."

"Good-bye man-cub. And good luck" Bagheera said as Baloo and Mowgli began to walk away as Jason and Max followed.

"Come on, Baloo. All we've got to do is...Look for the bare necessities. Some good old bare necessities. Forget about your worries and your strife. I mean the bare necessities, That's why a bear can rest at ease. With just the bare necessities of life. Yeah! I'll live here in the jungle all my life! Yeah, man! I like being a bear! Where are we going, Baloo?" Mowgli asked.

"Well, ah.. it's a.. um, well it's sort of new and-" Baloo said.

"Oh, I don't care, as long as I'm with you" Mowgli said.

"Mowgli, look buddy, there's something I've got to tell you" he said as Mowgli chases a butterfly.

"Tell me what, Baloo?"

"Gee whiz. How did old Baggy put it?" Baloo muttered "Ah! Mowgli? Hah, you wouldn't marry a panther, would you?"

"Heh-heh. I don't even know what you're talking about."

"Mowgli, don't you realize that you're a human?"

"I'm not anymore, Baloo. I'm a bear like you."

"Man this is going to be hard to watch" Max whispered to Jason.

"Yep" Jason nodded.

"Little buddy, look, listen to me" Baloo said as Mowgli threw playful punhes into his gut.

"Come on, come on, Baloo" Mowgli said.

"Now Mowgli, stop it now, now hold still. I wanna tell you something, now listen to me" Baloo said grabbing Mowgli hands.

"What's the matter, old papa bear?"

"Look Mowgli, I've been trying to tell you, I've been trying all morning to tell you, I've got to take you back to the man-village!"

"The man-village?!" Mowgli said jumping back in shock.

"Now look, kid, I can explain" Baloo said.

"But you said we were partners!" Mowgli said looking betrayed and backing away.

"Now believe me, kid, I, I-"

"You're just like old Bagheera!"

"Now just a minute, that's going too far!" Baloo said as Mowgli runs away.

"Hey, Mowgli, where are you going? Wait a minute! Stop! Wait! Wait! Listen to ol' Baloo. Mowgli? Mowgli? Mowgli! Mowgli? Mowgli?" he called seeing he lost Mowgli as Bagheera who must have heard Baloo calling Mowgli, arrives.

"Now what's happened?" Bagheera asked.

"You're not going to believe me, Bagheera, but look, now I used the same words you did, and he ran out on me" Baloo said.

"Why, don't just stand there. Let's separate. We've got to find him!" Bagheera said as he runs away.

"Oh, if anything happens to that little guy, I'll never forgive myself. I've got to find him. Mowgli? Mowgli?" he called.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

"How is it were able to keep up with him?" Jason said as they followed after Mowgli as a large snake tail picks Mowgli from the ground and raises to the branch.

"What the?!" Jason said as they look up to see a large python.

"Kaa, it's you!" Mowgli said trying to get free.

"Yesss, man-cub, so nice to see you again. sss-sss-sss" Kaa hissed.

"Oh, go away. Leave me alone" Mowgli said.

"Let me look at you" Kaa said as Mowgli turns away from Kaa's eyes "You don't want me to look at you? Then you look at me" he said trying to hypnotize Mowgli as Mowgli threw Kaa tail off.

"No sir! I know what you're trying to do, Kaa!" Mowgli said.

"You do? Uh, I mean, you don't trust me?" Kaa said grabbing Mowgli hand.

"No!"

"Then there's nothing I can do to help?"

"You want to help me?"

"Ss-certainly. I can see to it that you never have to leave this jungle" Kaa said slithering around Mowgli.

"How could you do that?" Mowgli asked.

"Hmm? Oh, I have my own ss-subtle little ways. But first, you must trust me" Kaa said.

"I don't trust anyone anymore" Mowgli said trying to walk away.

"I don't blame you. I'm not like those so-called fair-weather friends of yours. You can believe in me" Kaa said as he finally gets to see into Mowgli's eyes long enough to hypnotize him.

"Come on Max!" Jason said as they began to climb up the large tree.

"Trust in me. Just in me. Shut your eyes. And trust in me. Hold still, please. You can sleep. Safe and sound. Knowing I. Am around. Slip into silent slumber. Sail on a silver mist. Slowly and surely your senses. Will cease to resist" Kaa sang as his lullaby put Mowgli to sleep and Mowgli snores while standing on his head on the tip of Kaa's tail]

"You're snoring" Kaa said.

"Sorry" Mowgli said in his sleep.

"Trust in me And just in me" Kaa sang wrapping his tail in a coil around Mowgli as Shere Khan appears below and listens.

"Shut your eyes And trust in me" Kaa sang as down below Shere Khan pulls Kaa by the tail.

"Huh? Ow, now what? I'll be right down" Kaa said slithering down from the leaves, "Yes? Yes? Who is it?"

"It's me, Shere Khan" Shere Khan said coming from behind the tree, "I'd like a word with you, if you don't mind."

"Shere Khan. What a ss-surprise."

"So that him" Jason whispered from above to Max as they slowly made their way to Mowgli.

"We need to get him out of here now" Max whispered.

"Yes, isn't it? I just dropped by, forgive me if I've interrupted anything" Shere Khan said.

"Oh no, nothing at all" Kaa said as Shere Khan bares claws, "I thought you were entertaining someone up there in your coils."

"Coils? Someone? Oh, I was just curling up for my siesta" Kaa said.

"But you were singing to someone" Shere Khan said as he grabs Kaa's neck, "Who is it, Kaa?"

"Uh, who? Uh, no. Well I was just singing to myself" Kaa said.

"Indeed."

"Yes, yes, you see, I have trouble with my ss-sinuses."

"What a pity."

"Oh, you have no idea. It's ss-simply terrible. I can't eat, I can't ss-sleep, so I sing myself to sleep. You know, self-hypnosis, Let me show you how it works" Kaa said, "Trust in me." Kaa moves to Shere Khan's eyes, but he drops his paw over Kaa's head, moving it to the ground, "Mmm-fff!"

"I can't be bothered with that. I have no time for that sort of nonsense" Shere Khan said.

"Some other time, perhaps?" Kaa said from under his paw.

"Perhaps. But at the moment I am searching for a man-cub" he said releasing Kaa.

"Man-cub? What man-cub?"

"The one who is lost and the ones who slay those new beast. Now where do you suppose they could be?"

"Search me" Kaa shrugged as he covered his mouth realizing what he said.

"That's an excellent idea. I'm sure you wouldn't mind showing me your coils, would you, Kaa?"

"Uh, ss-certainly not" Kaa said as he puts down the end of his tail, "Nothing here" he said as he shows his open mouth "And nothing in here."

Mowgli in the coils above snores as Shere Khan glances up and Kaa makes snorting sounds.

"My ss-sinuses" Kaa said

"Hmm. Indeed" Shere Khan said glancing at the tree above, "And now, how about the middle?"

"The middle? Oh, the middle" Kaa said as he puts down his middle, leaving Mowgli in much less coils as Shere Khan feels the stomach as Kaa laughs, "Ha-ha, absolutely nothing in the middle."

"Hmmm. Really? Well, if you do just happen to see the man-cub, you will inform me first. Understand?" he said holding his claw to Kaa neck as Kaa gulps.

"I get the point. Cross my heart, hope to die."

"Good show. And now I must continue my search for the helpless little lads."

"Little?" Jason muttered as tried to carefully free Mowgli.

"Ooh, who does he think he's fooling? "Helpless little lad" Ooh, he gives me the shivers!" Kaa hissed as Kaa shivers, and completely loses grip on now awake Mowgli as Jason quickly helped him up. "Picking on that poor little helpless boy... oh, yes, poor little helpless boy."

"Take this!" Max said as he and Mowgli pushes Kaa's coils off the branch and he falls down, hitting his head on some branches along the way.

"Oooh!" Kaa grunted.

"You told me a lie, Kaa. You said I could trust you!" Mowgli said climbing down with the others as Kaa rose from the pile of coils.

"It's like you said. You can't trust anyone!" Kaa hissed as he lunges at Mowgli, but a knot on his tail stops him.

"Nice try snake" Jason said as he see Mowgli leaves as he and Max follows.

"If I never see that skinny little shrimp again, it will be too soon Ooh.. my ss-sacroiliac!" Kaa hissed.

"Mowgli wait up!" Jason yelled as he and Max continued to follow.

"Come kid just hear us out!" Max said.

A.N. Please Review.