The moon was going down when Mowgli reached the wolves' cave.
He was carrying Shere Khan's hide.
"Mowgli?" Mother's eyes glowed.
"We all knew you'd hunt Shere Khan one day. Well done!"
A deep voice came from some shrubs.
"Well done indeed!" Bagheera ran toward them.
"Mowgli, the jungle has been lonely without you."
Soon the group of friends climbed up the hill to Council Rock.
Mowgli spread the hide out on the flat stone at the top of Council Rock.
As the wolves gathered, Mowgli beckoned Akela to lie on the hide.
"Look well, oh, wolves!" Akela called loudly.
The wolf pack had been without a leader for a while now.
Many of the wolves were thin and hungry.
Some were sick or wounded.
Out of habit, they answered Akela's call.
They stared in surprise when they saw the tiger's striped hide on the rock.
A few gasped. "Shere Khan!" They looked toward Mowgli.
"I have kept my word," the boy said proudly.
A skinny wolf howled.
"Please, Akela, lead our pack again.
We are hungry and tired of living without laws."
Bagheera grunted near Mowgli's ear.
"This is what the wolves say now.
When they are well-fed again, they will not listen to Akela or anyone."
Mowgli nodded. He didn't trust these wolves either.
Later Mowgli returned to the cave.
He slept for a day and a night, his heart feeling oddly heavy.
When he awoke, Akela was visiting.
So were Baloo and Bagheera.
Everyone wanted to hear the story about the victory over Shere Khan again.
"Akela and Gray Brother were a big help," Mowgli said.
"You should have seen the buffalo pouring down the ravine!"
"Well, I'm glad that I didn't see the humans throwing stones at you."
Mother Wolf frowned. "I would have hunted all of them.
Except for the kind woman who took care of you."
"Calm down, Mother," Father Wolf said lazily.
"Mowgli has come back again. What else matters?"
Mowgli lay his head on Mother Wolf's side.
"For my part, I never want to see or hear or smell humans again."
Akela tilted his head to look at Mowgli.
"What if the humans don't leave you alone, Little Brother?"
Gray Brother growled softly.
Bagheera twitched his tail and glanced at Akela.
"What made you say that?" he asked.
"After last night's council, I went home along the trail," Akela answered.
"I saw Mang the bat.
He told me that the humans' village has been humming like a bees' nest."
"So?" Mowgli shrugged.
"The humans are often busy."
"So, the bat saw the red flower blooming at the village gate.
He also saw some men sitting near it.
They were holding guns."
Akela looked Mowgli in the eye.
"And I believe I smelled a man along our trail this morning."
"They are hunting you, Mowgli," Bagheera said.
"But they threw me out of their pack!" Mowgli said.
"Why can't they just leave me alone?"
"You're a human, Little Brother," Akela replied softly.
"We are animals. We cannot explain your kind to you."
Mowgli looked down.
He didn't know what to say.
"What's that?" Bagheera sprang to his feet.
He sniffed the air. His body stiffened.
Gray Brother did the same thing, sniffing the wind that was blowing from the right.
"It's a human's scent!" Bagheera said.