A black shadow dropped down among the wolves. It was Bagheera the Black Panther,. He was black as ink all over. He had the same markings that ordinary panthers have, but he was so black you couldn't see them properly. Everybody knew Bagheera, and nobody liked to make him angry. He was as clever as Tabaqui the jackal. He was very brave, and he did things that you didn't expect him to do because they were so dangerous. But his skin was very soft and his voice was very smooth . " Akela, and you Free People," he said, "I don't belong here with you. But the Law of the Jungle says that if you are not sure if a cub should join you, someone can buy the life of that cub. And the Law does not say who the person must be. Am I right?"

"Yes! Yes!" said the young wolves, who were hoping that Bagheera was going to buy Mowgli's life with food. "Listen to Bagheera. He can pay for the cub with food. It is the Law."

"So I can speak some more? Good. It is a bad thing to kill a little cub. If you want to kill him, why not wait until he is older, and it is more fun? Baloo has said he should join you. Now I will pay for him with a bull. It is a fat one, and I killed it about half a mile from here. You can have it if you will let the man's cub join you. Is it difficult to decide?"

The wolves all spoke together, saying: "It's not so important. The cub will die in the winter. Or the sun will be too hot for him in the summer. He is just a little thing. He is not dangerous. He can join us. Where is the bull, Bagheera? We will let the man's cub join us."