Rudyard Kipling was born in Bombay in India. His father was an arts and crafts teacher and his mother was a sister-in-law of the painter Edward Burne-Jones. India was at that time still part of the British Commonwealth.
At the age of six he was taken back to England where he began his studies. In 1878 Kipling entered United Services College. It was an expensive institution that specialized in training for entry into military academies. Kipling wanted to become a soldier, but his bad eyesight halted any of his efforts.
After being unsuccessful at the entry exams, Kipling returned back to India where he worked as a journalist for the Civil and Military Gazette (1882-87) and an assistant editor and overseas correspondent in Allahabad for Pioneer (1887-89). During his stay in India he wrote short stories that were published as the The Phantom Rickshaw. But before this collection he published his debut called The Departmental Ditties (1886), but then he became known as a writer of short stories. Kipling soon became a famous and recognized author. He became the poet of the British Empire.
In 1892 Kipling returned back to London where he married Caroline Starr Balestier. They decided to move to Vermont in United States where their daughter was born. But she soon died and Kipling decided to move back to London. The death of his daughter affected him very much and he withdrew from the scene. But he proceeded his writing and wrote some of his most famous stories such as the, Many Inventions (1893), The Jungle Book (1894), The Second Jungle Book (1895), and The Seven Seas (1896).
After the outbreak of the Boer War in 1899 he traveled to South Africa where he worked with the wounded and produced a newspaper for the army.
In 1901 Kipling published the best-selling novel, Kim. At this time Kipling becomes really popular and begins receiving prizes for his work. The most important is the Nobel Prize which he obtained in 1907. Kipling was the recipient of many honorary degrees and other awards. In 1926 he received the Gold Medal of the Royal Society of Literature.
Kipling died on January 18, 1936 in London, and was buried in Poet's Corner at Westminster Abbey. Kipling's autobiography, Something of Myself, appeared posthumously in 1937.
Author: Rudyard Kipling
Translator: Ada Kuzmányová – Bruothová
Editorship: Mladé letá, Bratislava, 1965
The Jungle Book and The Second Jungle Book
The Jungle book and The second Jungle book contain fifteen stories. Many of them are enacted in the jungle, except the story about white seal, which found a coast, where didn´t live any people and story about Eskimo boy, who saved his settlement from hunger. The most stories are is about Mowgli – a boy who was brought up by wolfs.
In the jungle, there lived father wolf and mother wolf, who had four wolf–cubs. One day came to their cave a small child. Father wolf brought him into cave and mother wolf was very pleased. But this child wanted Sher chan, too. Sher Chan was a tiger, who dropped on a leg, therefore he hunted only cattle and also people, although the law of jungle prohibited it. Mother wolf didn´t want to give him a child, so Sher Chan went away. But Sher Chan, before that promised, that he will kill this child later.
Mother wolf named him Mowgli, what means a little frog and she took care of him like of own cubs. When wolf–cubs and Mowgli were older, parents had to go with them on gathering of wolf´s clamp, to show cubs to other wolfs. Leader of clamp was a wolf Akela. Wolfs were deciding about Mowgli´s admission into the clamp. A bear Balu, who was a teacher, put in word for Mowgli and leopard Bagira promised to give one killed bull to the wolfs. Thus Mowgli was admissed into the clamp.
Later Bagira explained Mowgli, that he can´t eat beef, because he was admissed into the clamp at the price of bull. Such was the law of jungle. When was Mowgli older, Balu began to teach him the languages and magic passwords of various nations living in jungle.
One day monkeys kidnapped Mowgli. Monkeys didn´t have any leader therefore they decided for Mowgli. Fortunately Mowgli beheld a vulture and told him in his language,to tell Bagira and Balú, where monkeys kidnapped him. Balu and Bagira saved him with help of snake Kaa.
Then came dry season. All rivers dried, only in one river was water, therefore an elephant Háthí proclaimed an armistice., because water is more important than food. Every evening the animals went to the river to drink and they also talked tales and legends. According to legend, the first tiger in jungle didn´t have any stripes. But when he killed a man, the first elephant commanded to plants to coloured him, thus he punished him.
A few months later Bagira told Mowgli the other wolfs could kill him, when Akela will die, because they know, that he is a human being. Bagira adviced him to bring a fire from settlement of people. Mowgli went to settlement and he brought a fire.The next day there was a gathering of wolf´s clamp on Advisory rock. When Mowgli came there, Akela already wasn´t the leader and Sher Chan wanted to gain Mowgli from wolfs. Mowgli used a fire for defense and then he went away from wolfs. Mowgli decided that he went to people. When he came into settlement, people surrounded him. They knew, according to scars on hands and legs, that he grew up with wolfs. The priest gave him to educate to woman named Messua. Messua took care of him and Mowgli learned human speech very soon. Mowgli became a cow-boy.
When he grazed cattle he always met his brother wolf. One day came brother wolf with Akela and they told him, where Sher Chan was sleeping. Mowgli went there with a cattle and the cattle treaded down the tiger. Mowgli began to remove the tiger´s skin, when there suddenly came one villager and he wanted to gain this skin. Akela started to chase him. When the villager came into village, he decided to lie and told the people, that Mowgli is a wizard who can to change on wolf. When Mowgli came into village, villagers turned him out. Mowgli came back to wolfs and showed them the tiger´s skin. A few days later Mowgli heard that villagers want to kill Messua and her husband. Mowgli helped them to escape and he decided to punish the villagers. He told animals in jungle to go to the village and damage the harvest. When villagers didn´t have a food, they were obliged to go away. Then Mowgli spent all his time in jungle. Later mother wolf and father wolf died and Mowgli buried them. One day the red-haired wolfs invaded the jungle. Mowgli helped wolfs to vanquish them, but Akela died in this fight. Before death he told Mowgli to come back to people. Mowgli didn´t want to obey him, but two years later, when he was 17, and spring came to jungle, he started to feel unknow feelings. All animals was looking for partners and Mowgli felt very lonely . He decided to go to people. He ran whole night, while he came near the houses. One woman got out and she recognized Mowgli. This woman was Messua. She invited him into house and Mowgli decided to live with people.
This book contains many stories, which are very interesting not only for children, but also for adults. There are many truthful statements in these tales. This book teaches people how they shoud behave to nature and describes the bad charasteristics of people such is selfishness, greed and killing for fun.
Str. 11 „Aké je malinké! Aké holé a...smelé! –povedala nežne matka vlčica, keď dieťa odtískalo vĺčatá, aby sa dostalo bližšie k teplému kožuchu.“
Str. 29 Balú: „Je vari v džungli niečo také malé, že by ho nemohli zabiť? Nie. Nuž preto ho učím všetkým týmto veciam...“
Str. 26 „Och! Prac sa ty priškvarená mačka džungle! A vy, vlci pamätajte! Až najbližšie prídem na poradné skalisko, prídem ako chlap a ponesiem na hlave Šer Chánovu kožu. A napokon vedzte, že si Akela bude žiť, kde sa mu zapáči. Nezabijete ho, lebo je to moja vôľa.“
Str. 32 Opice: „Nemajú vlastnú reč, rapocú len ukradnuté slová, ktoré pochytia, keď načúvajú, nakúkajú a špehujú zhora, z konárov... Nemajú vodcov. Nemajú pamäť. Len sa vystatujú a klebetia, a namýšľajú si, že sú slávnym národom, čo má v džungli veľké poslanie, no keď im spadne orech, rozrehocú sa a na všetko ostatné zabudnú.“
Str. 186 „Ľudia musia podchvíľou nastavovať klepce iným ľuďom, ináč by azda ani nemohli byť spokojní.“ Hútal Maugli.
Str. 188 „Táraniny, táraniny. Rečičky, rečičky! Ľudia sú pokrvní bratia bandarov... Nikto nebude na stráži pri Messui, kým si uši nenapchajú Beldevovými bájkami.“
Str. 189 Čo si Maugli myslí o peniazoch: „Ach tak! To je to, čo ide z ruky do ruky, a nikdy sa nezohreje?“
Str. 192 Bagíra: „Ktože je človek, aby sme oňho tak dbali – nič, holý, hnedý tvor, čo sa prple v zemi, nemá srsti ani zubov a kŕmi sa prsťou.“
Str. 203 „O mesiac na mieste niekdajšej dediny zelenalo sa už len rozryté návršie, zarastené zelenou mladinou. A divá džungľa bujnela po dažďoch tam, kde sa ešte pred necelým polrokom zarýval do zeme pluh.“
Str. 228 Maugli: „A vše by som chcel, aby v dažďoch vysvitlo slnko a aby dažde zastreli slnko v horúcom lete. A zakaždým, keď som bol lačný, želal som si zabiť kozu. A keď som zabil kozu, ľutoval som, že to nie je srnec, a keď zasa srnca, chcel som, aby to bola antilopa. Ale takí sme všetci.“
Str. 228 Maugli: „Za čím by som ešte túžil? Mám džungľu a aj priazeň džungle!“
Str. 238 Maugli: „Ľudia nezabíjajú len preto, že si chcú zapoľovať. Zabíjajú z dlhej chvíle a pre potešenie.“
Str. 286 Akela: (po boji s ryšavými psami - dholmi) „Ale ty si človek, braček môj, vĺča vychované pod mojou opaterou. Si človek, ináč by bola svorka ušla pred dholmi. Vďačím ti za život, a dnes si zachránil život svorke, tak ako som ja kedysi zachránil tvoj. Teraz sú dlžoby zaplatené. Vráť sa k svojim rodným.“
Str. 287 Akela: „Maugli vyženie Maugliho.“
Str. 288 Maugli, keď už mal 17 rokov: „Obyvatelia džungle, ktorí sa ho vše predtým báli pre bystrý dôvtip, báli sa teraz už aj jeho sily, a keď kráčal pokojne džungľou, už pri zvuku jeho krokov sa vyprázdňovali lesné chodníčky. A jednako mu z očí žiarila iba láskavosť.“
Str. 292 Jar v džungli: „Obyvatelia džungle sú na jar veľmi zamestnaní a Maugli počul, ako chrochcú, škriekajú a hvízdajú, každý svojím spôsobom. Vydávajú teda celkom iné zvuky ako v ostatných obdobiach roku, a preto v džungli nazývajú jar časom nových zvukov.“
Str. 293 Maugli sa cíti veľmi zvláštne: „Veď som jedol dobrú potravu,“ hútal si. „Pil som dobrú vodu. A predsa mám ťažký žalúdok.“
Str. 293 Maugli: „Vše mi je horúco, vše zima, a teraz mi nieje ani horúco, ani zima, len som hrozne nahnevaný, sám neviem prečo.“
Str. 306 Na poradnom skalisku; Balú: „Choď svojou cestou, Žabka moja. Založ si hniezdo so svojou vlastnou krvou, s vlastnou svorkou a národom. Keby si však potreboval nohy, zuby alebo oči, alebo by si chcel poslať nocou rýchly odkaz, pamätaj pán džungle, že stačí len zavolať a celá džungľa ja tvoja.“
Str. 306 Maugli: Lúči sa so svojimi priateľmi v džungli; ide k ľuďom. „Neviem čo chcem. Nechce sa mi odísť, ale ťahajú ma obe nohy. Ako len zabudnem na tieto noci?“
Str. 306 Balú: „Nemáš sa za čo hanbiť. Keď sme vyjedli med, prázdny plást zahodíme.“
Kaa: „A keď si zvliekneme kožu, nemôžeme do nej vliezť znovu.“
Balú: „Nie si už ľudským mláďaťom, čo žiada svorku o dovolenie, si pánom džungle, ktorý si volí novú cestu.“
Str. 307 „Ťažko je zvliecť starú kožu“, -povedal Kaa, keď Maugli neprestával nariekať a túliť sa k starému, slepému medveďovi...
