The Jungle Book: 5. ‘Tiger! Tiger!’ Summary & Analysis

After Mowgli’s fallout with the wolves, he goes to live in a nearby human village. Just outside the village, a few people see Mowgli and take an interest in him. One woman, Messua, remarks that he looks like her son, whom a tiger stole many years ago. However, she slowly talks herself out of the idea and decides that he cannot be her son.

However, the village priest, who is there with Messua, thinks she could be right. He notices the wolf bites that cover Mowgli and determines that he grew up in the wild. The priest tells Messua that it is her job to take Mowgli in because he could be her son and she is the wealthiest person in the village.

Messua asks Mowgli if he is her son. However, Mowgli does not respond because he cannot communicate with humans—he only knows how to speak with animals. Nonetheless, Messua takes Mowgli in. Although Mowgli agrees to live with Messua, he has a difficult time at first. He enjoys sleeping out in the wilderness and cannot get used to falling asleep with a roof over his head. As such, rather than sleeping inside, he goes outside where he can rest comfortably.

While Mowgli is outside, Grey Brother, a member of the wolf pack still loyal to Mowgli, approaches him. Grey Brother warns Mowgli that Shere Khan will likely return to cause more problems in the jungle. At first, Mowgli does not care. He is still angry with the wolves for betraying him and does not see how what Shere Khan does will affect him. However, Grey Brother reminds him that he could get kicked out of the village and end up back in the jungle. If that happens, then Mowgli will have to deal with Shere Khan because Shere Khan will surely come after him. Mowgli sees Grey Brother’s point. Before Grey Brother leaves, he promises Mowgli that he will keep him informed about what is going on in the jungle. 

For the next three months, Mowgli builds a life in the village. He learns to speak with the villagers and works alongside them. The village people find Mowgli astonishing. He is incredibly strong and never gets tired. However, he does not understand the social mores of India, which makes it difficult to get along with other people his age. When some children make fun of him, Mowgli temporarily contemplates killing them. Ultimately, however, he decides it would not be a fair fight and decides against it.

In the evenings, all the village’s men gather around a campfire and tell stories about the jungle. Mowgli does not find their stories amusing because he knows what it is like to live in the jungle and knows the stories are not true. In particular, he mocks Buldeo, the village hunter, to his face because he tells a story about Shere Khan.

Apparently, Buldeo once knew a money-lender with a limp who died in the forest. Because Shere Khan has a lame foot, Buldeo thinks the spirit of the money-lender possesses Shere Khan. Of course, Mowgli knows Shere Khan personally and thinks the story is ridiculous. The village men get annoyed with Mowgli, and he leaves. Mowgli is happy to go; he would much rather spend time with the buffalo than with the village men.

While Mowgli is tending to the buffalo, Grey Brother pays him a visit. Grey Brother warns Mowgli that Shere Khan still wants revenge on him. He believes Shere Khan will try to attack and kill Mowgli soon. Mowgli does not fear Shere Khan, but he does not want to underestimate him either. He starts forming a plan to ensure that Shere Khan ends up dead instead of him.

Mowgli learns that Shere Khan recently ate a pig, meaning that he will not be as spry as he normally is when he comes after Mowgli. This knowledge gives Mowgli an idea, and he asks several of his wolf friends for help. He wants them to herd the buffalo for him while he lures Shere Khan to a particular spot in a ravine. The wolves, including Akela, do as Mowgli asks. Mowgli lures Shere Khan exactly where he wants him. Meanwhile, the wolves drive the buffalo to where Shere Khan stands in the ravine. Mowgli knows Shere Khan cannot climb up the ravine because he is too full from his meal. Because Shere Khan cannot climb, the buffalo trample and kill him.

After Shere Khan is dead, Mowgli skins him. As he does, Buldeo approaches him and demands that Mowgli give him Shere Khan’s pelt. There is a large reward on Shere Khan, and Buldeo wants to collect it. However, Mowgli refuses and orders one of his wolves to pin down Buldeo while he finishes skinning Shere Khan. Mowgli’s control over the wolves terrifies Buldeo, and he calls Mowgli a sorcerer. Eventually, the wolves let Buldeo go free, and he runs back to the village.

When Mowgli returns to the village, he finds a large crowd of people. At first, Mowgli thinks the villagers plan to celebrate him; after all, he killed Shere Khan, a tiger they feared. However, instead, the villagers throw rocks at Mowgli and order him to go away. They think he is a sorcerer, and they do not want his evil presence lurking in their village.

Messua does not fear Mowgli, but she asks him to leave the village for his own sake. Before he leaves, Messua thanks him for killing Shere Khan. Mowgli asks his wolf friends to herd the buffalo back to the village. If it were not for Messua, he would take revenge on the villagers, but he appreciates Messua's kindness and does not want to cause her any pain.

Mowgli returns to Council Rock and shows the other animals Shere Khan's pelt. Many of the wolves are in attendance, and they ask Mowgli and Akela to act as their leader. Mowgli’s accomplishment impresses them, and they are glad Shere Khan is gone. Under Shere Khan's rulership, the wolf pack all but fell apart, and now the wolves want Mowgli and Akela to rebuild the strong community they once had.

Bagheera shuts the wolves down and tells them that they will have to live with the world they created. Likewise, Mowgli decides he will not hunt with the wolf pack. Instead, he plans only to hunt alongside his brother wolves. For now, Mowgli will continue to live in the jungle, though one day he will return to the world of humans and marry a woman.