How I like my short stories

It's like asking the question, how do you like your eggs? I like my short stories to be just that; short and with a good story. Once I had recovered from the shock of discovering that The Jungle Books were not in fact novels, but a collection of short stories, I soon found that they fitted my categories for a good short story. On the whole. ( I just read one that I didn't like that much.)

The book starts off with a couple of stories about Mowgli, who I was pleased to discover has little in common with the Mowgli from the Disney adaptation. My favourite character is Kaa, and I may not like his method of killing his prey but I did enjoy the way that Kipling described it. Shere Khan also makes his appearance and ultimately meets his demise, but what I like about this book is the way it portrays the relationships between animals and man. No animal can meet Mowgli's gaze and no matter what animal you may be you have to follow the law of the jungle (well apart from the Bandar-log). 

Reading this book is making me think about God's creation and how unrandom it is. I'm not saying that Kipling is right all the time in how he portrays the animal kingdom but it has got me thinking. And they say that's what makes a good book.