The Jungle Book: Chapter 6
By: jungleboy69
Chapter 6: The Man-Pack
Cassie Andrews was just your typical 11 year old American girl. She was a beautiful girl with fair skin and long brown hair with eyes as green as a forest. She was kind-hearted and friendly to her family and friends. However, what set her apart from other girls, was her strong adventurous spirit and love of nature.
Back in her home in America, she often fed pigeons or stray cats in her neighborhood and sometimes helped out at the animal shelter. So, when her uncle, Alexander Andrews, a renowned college professor invited her and her family to India to help study the local wildlife, she was more than excited to go.
Her father, Jacob Andrews was an explorer himself, who traveled to many places around the world and whom she inherited her adventurous spirit from. Her mother, Lydia Andrews was a teacher who hoped she could create a school for the impoverished children of India and whom Cassie inherited her kindness from.
There was also her brother, Davy Andrews, a rather mischievous little boy who took joy in teasing her for her interests. Nevertheless, the family were more than excited to visit India and it's exotic jungles.
They weren't the only ones. The Andrews were accompanied by the O'Neils, a British family. The patriarch, Sean O'Neil was an accomplished colonel and commander in the British Army, well respected among his troops and the public and a good friend to the professor.
His wife, Evelyn O'Neil was a lovely and sweet-natured woman. She and Lydia became good friends and the former supported her idea of a school for the children in India. However, the O'Neil's greatest joy was their daughter, Lindy.
Being the daughter of an Army commander, Lindy had everything a girl desired. A huge house, servants to cater to her and even a private jet which was how the Andrews came to India. Most girls would become spoiled and rotten, but not Lindy. She was a kind and gentle girl with a bit of a shy nature. Nevertheless, she and Cassie became close friends.
The villagers were not really keen with foreigners since they live in such a secluded place but the expedition made friends with two native families. One consisted of Mohan a jovial woodcutter, his wife, Messua and their little daughter, Saanvi who became close friends with Davy, much to Cassie's amusement.
The other consisted of Kabir, a friendly potter, his wife, Arya and their daughter, Shanti. She was a passionate girl who had a talent for dancing. She became another close friend to the two girls and they were inseperable.
Right now, we find the latter looking at some butterflies her uncle had caught in a tank in his makeshift lab. She wore a green shirt and khaki pants with black sneakers on her feet. She smiled as she watched a red butterfly flutter in the tank.
"Taking an interest in my subjects?" A voice spoke up and Cassie turned to see her uncle, Alexander approach her. He wore an adventurer's outfit with a green shirt underneath a safari jacket with khaki trousers and brown boots. "Uncle Alex!" Cassie exclaimed, giving him a hug.
The man chuckled and hugged her back. "Good to see you are taking an interest in my work." He pointed out. "They are beautiful, aren't they?" Cassie smiled. "They are...They would look even more beautiful if they weren't stuck in a tank..."
Alex chuckled. "I know...I am only just studying them." He replied. "Unlike other scientists, I do not believe taking creatures away for research." "I value all forms of life, big or small and to take a creature away from it's home is cruel and wrong." He added.
Cassie nodded in agreement. "Cassie!" A voice called out and a girl about Cassie's age appeared at the tent. She had red hair, light skin and eyes as blue as the sky. She wore a white dress with white sandals on her feet. Her shoes were brown sneakers. "Come on! Shanti's waiting for us!"
"Sure, Lindy!" Cassie replied with a smile. "See you, Uncle Alex!" The latter laughed as he watched her leave the tent. As the two girls walked through the campsite, they passed two Hindu women doing some sewing; both wearing simple saris, one blue and one lavender. "Hello, Miss Messua! Miss Arya!" Lindy called.
The two women looked up at the two girls and smiled. "Hello, girls!" Arya, the woman with the lavender sari replied. "What brings you here?" "We're looking for Shanti." Cassie replied. "She was going to show us her new dance moves."
Messua smiled. "Well, Shanti is with your mothers, looking for some new clothes." She replied. "They have some saris for you both to try!" Lindy squealed in excitement. "Really, thank you!" Cassie, on the other hand, groaned. "Do I have too...?" She whined a bit.
"Yes...your mother bought it just for you from the village seamstress." Arya replied. "She wants you to try it out." She added. Cassie sighed a bit. "Fine, I guess..." "Come on!" Lindy added as she grabbed her friends' hand and raced off.
(A while later...)
"You two looked amazing!" Shanti squealed, a Hindu girl about the same age as Cassie and Lindy. She had black hair tied to a short braid, brown eyes and dark skin. She wore a purple shirt and skirt.
The latter two were dressed in saris; Lindy wore a sparkling pink sari while Cassie wore a yellow sari. "How do I look?" Lindy asked, twirling around in her sari. "You look wonderful!" Lydia Andrews replied, smiling proudly.
"Yeah..." Cassie replied, glumly. She wasn't the type of girl to wear such feminine outfits but she didn't want to offend Evelyn. "You two look like princesses..." The latter replied with a smile.
"Thank you!" Lindy squealed as she stroked the silken sari while Cassie shuffled a bit in embarrassment. "Whooo~!" A mischievous little voice called out and a figure drapped in a white sheet appeared, waving its arms. "I am the Jungle Ghosts~!"
Cassie rolled her eyes. "Davy...I know it's you." She pointed out. "No...it isn't...!" The figures chanted. "We are the Jungle Ghost~!" Cassie walked forward and pulled the sheets off to reveal an 8 year old American boy with blue eyes and same brown hair
"It's not funny..." Cassie pointed out. Davy pouted and crossed his arms. "Come on, I was just having some fun." He pointed out. Cassie sighed. "Honestly, aren't you a little old to believe in ghost stories?" She scoffed.
"It's real!" Davy argued. "Uncle Davy always says just because you don't see something, doesn't mean it's not there!" "Saavni and I are going to find that Jungle Ghost and show you!" He declared. "Speaking of which, where is Saavni?" Lindy asked.
"Richik! Richik!" Suddenly, a brown Indian mongoose with a bushy tail scampered into the clothes tent and dashed up to Cassie. The latter squealed as the mongoose climbed up her leg and nuzzled itself around her neck, making her giggle.
"Rikki!" A voice called out and a 7-year-old Hindu girl with dark skin, green eyes and black hair entered the tent. "Rikki, there you are!" She called to the mongoose, who chittered and scampered over into her arms. "Don't run off like that!"
"Hey, Saavni!" Shanti giggled. "Having trouble with Rikki?" "I was going to give him a bath but he won't stay still..." Saavni giggled as she tickled the mongoose under its furry chin. "Sorry if he startled you."
"No need to worry, Saavni." Eveyln replied. "In fact, we bought some new clothes for you." "Really?!" Saavni squealed in excitement. "Can I try some on?!" "Of course, sweetie." Lydia chuckled as the Hindu girl squealed and hurried off.
"Mom, can I head to the river to bathe?" Cassie asked. "I'm starting to get hot and sweaty." "Me too..." Lindy replied as she fanned herself. "I was hoping to take a swim." "I want to bathe too." Shanti added. "All my dance practice is making me sticky"
"Okay." Lydia replied. "Just be sure to stay with close to camp and don't wander off." "Just to the springs and back." She added. "Okay, Mom!" Cassie replied. "Come on, girls!" The excited girls hurried out of the changing them.
"Where you off to girls?" A man with red hair and blue eyes approached them with a smile. "Daddy!" Lindy replied. "We're just heading to the river to bathe." "Okay...just be careful." Sean replied. "You don't know what's out there."
"Sure thing, Mr O'Neil." Cassie replied. "We'll be back!" As the girls headed off, Sean was joined by Professor Alex and Cassie's father, Jacob Andrews. "I'm not sure about this" Sean spoke up. "You know about the rumors of the...Jungle Ghost."
Jacob raised an eyebrow. "You don't really believe in that rumor?" He asked. "Everyone knows there is no such thing as ghosts." "Of course not." Sean replied. "It's just that...the jungle is dangerous, you don't know what's out there."
Alex took a deep breath. "What makes you think this...Jungle Ghost is dangerous...?" He asked. The two fathers turned to him. "You believe in the Jungle Ghost?" Jacob asked in surprise. "In a way...yes..." Alex replied. "Another reason why I came to India was to investigate the rumor of the Jungle Ghost."
Both fathers were surprised. "You want to study...this Jungle Ghost?" Jacob asked. "It's more than that." Alex replied. "Being a scientist means finding answers to questions, especially those that have been left unanswered."
"I always believed...just because you can't see something, doesn't mean it's not there." He added. "Besides, imagine the stories we'll tell the folks at home!" Sean and Jacob couldn't help but chuckle at them.
Little did they know that two figures were watching them, Mowgli and Bagheera. "Interesting..." Bagheera purred softly. "They don't seem to be hunters...and they don't have " "Bagheera..." Mowgli spoke up. "I'm going to head to the river, I want to see those...girl-cubs up close."
"Are you certain, Little Brother?" Bagheera asked. "Yes." Mowgli replied. "Something is drawing me to them, especially the one with green eyes." Bagheera resisted the urge to smile. "Very well, Little Brother." He complied. "Remember, stay downwind, so they can't smell you."
"I will." Mowgli replied, before he snuck down to the river, determined to see the girl-cubs.