Page:Rudyard Kipling's verse - Inclusive Edition 1885-1918.djvu/644

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626
RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE

626 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE

Bless and praise we famous men

Men of little showing For their work continued, And their work continueth. Broad and deep continueth, Great beyond their knowing !

THE LAW OF THE JUNGLE

this is the Law of the Jungle as old and as true as the sky;

And the Wolf that shall keep it may prosper, but the Wolf that shall break it must die.

As the creeper that girdles the tree-trunk the Law runneth for- ward and back

For the strength of the Pack is the Wolf, and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack.

Wash daily from nose-tip to tail-tip; drink deeply, but never

too deep; And remember the night is for hunting, and forget not the day

is for sleep.

The Jackal may follow the Tiger, but, Cub, when thy whisk- ers are grown,

Remember the Wolf is a hunter go forth and get food of thine own.

Keep peace with the Lords of the Jungle the Tiger, the

Panther, the Bear; And trouble not Hathi the Silent, and mock not the Boar in

his lair.
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