Jungle Tales of Tarzan · Chapters
Chapters explained
Chapter companions for Jungle Tales of Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs.
Chapter 1
Tarzan's First Love
Tarzan, now a young adult, finds himself drawn to Teeka, a she-ape from his tribe. He admires her beauty and feels a new, confusing attraction, contrasting her hairy, powerful form with his own smooth, hairless body. His rival, Taug, also pursues Teeka, leading to tension. When Sheeta the panther attacks, Tarzan bravely fights it off, earning Teeka's favor. However, Taug later becomes trapped by black warriors, and Tarzan, seeing an opportunity to eliminate his rival, watches as Taug is taken away.
Chapter 2
The Capture of Tarzan
Black warriors dig a pit trap on a game trail, which Tarzan observes from the trees. He is later captured by the villagers, but escapes his bonds during the death dance. Tantor the elephant bursts through the palisade, scattering the attackers. Tarzan later reflects on his friendship with Tantor and realizes the pit was meant for the elephant, rushing to warn him.
Chapter 3
III: The Fight for the Balu
Teeka becomes a mother, and Tarzan's attempts to see her newborn balu are met with fierce maternal aggression. After a confrontation with Taug, Tarzan uses his rope to hang the bull from a tree. Meanwhile, Sheeta the panther stalks Teeka, and Tarzan intervenes to protect Taug from another ape's attack.
Chapter 4
IV: The God of Tarzan
Tarzan, having learned to read from his father's books, becomes obsessed with understanding the word 'God'. He questions the apes Mumga and Numgo, but their answers are unsatisfactory. Numgo suggests God might be Goro, the moon, but Tarzan's attempt to reach the moon fails. Following Numgo's advice to consult the Gomangani (blacks), Tarzan spies on Mbonga's village and witnesses a witch-doctor ceremony, mistaking the witch-doctor for God. Later, he hears Gazan, Teeka's baby, screaming and rushes to find Histah the snake attacking. Despite his own deep fear of snakes, Tarzan joins Teeka in attacking Histah to save Gazan.
Chapter 5
Tarzan and the Black Boy
Tarzan captures a black boy named Tibo, whom he calls Go-bu-balu, and attempts to raise him among the ape tribe, but the child remains terrified of the jungle and its inhabitants. Meanwhile, Tarzan fashions a new rope and cares for Teeka's infant Gazan, while Tibo's mother Momaya, grieving and frustrated with the witch-doctor, considers seeking help from the outcast Bukawai.
Chapter 6
The Witch-Doctor Seeks Vengeance
Tarzan rescues little Tibo from the clutches of the witch-doctor Bukawai, who had kidnapped him and imprisoned him in a cave with two hyenas. After saving the boy and returning him to his mother Momaya, Tarzan later visits the village to stop her wailing, but spares her life upon recognizing her as Tibo's mother. Meanwhile, Bukawai flees into the jungle to avoid Momaya's wrath.
Chapter 7
VII: The End of Bukawai
Tarzan, now approaching maturity, often hunts alone and reflects on his solitude. During a violent storm, he is struck by lightning and left unconscious. Meanwhile, Bukawai the witch-doctor, who harbors a grudge against Tarzan for humiliating him, sees an opportunity for revenge. The chapter also recounts Tarzan's childhood invention of swinging on a rope, a near-fatal fall, and his developing sense of humor, which sets him apart from the apes.
Chapter 8
The Lion
Tarzan devises a plan to teach Numa the lion that killing apes brings punishment. With Taug's help, he distracts Numa to retrieve the body of Mamka, then leads the apes in hurling rocks at the lion to drive him away. Later, Tarzan steals from Mbonga's village and uses the experience to teach the tribe a lesson in preparedness.
Chapter 9
IX: The Nightmare
Tarzan, starving after a poor hunt, watches the blacks of Mbonga's village feast on elephant meat. He waits until they are stupefied, then kills an old warrior and steals meat. After eating, he falls ill and experiences a feverish nightmare in which a lion climbs a tree and a gorilla attacks him in the cabin, blurring the line between dream and reality.
Chapter 10
X: The Battle for Teeka
Tarzan and Taug pursue the stranger bull Toog, who has stolen Teeka and injured Gazan. They track him to his tribe's grove, where a fierce battle ensues. Teeka, recovering from a blow, picks up Tarzan's knife and pouch. When Toog's tribe arrives, she hurls the shiny cylinders from the pouch, causing a loud explosion that frightens the enemy apes away. Tarzan and Taug are saved, but neither understands what the cylinders are.
Chapter 11
XI: A Jungle Joke
Tarzan, now full-grown, observes the black warriors of Mbonga setting a trap to capture Numa the lion alive for later torture. He decides to free the lion and, after cutting his hair with a sharpened shell, retrieves the lion hide he stole from the witch-doctor. He returns to the village at dusk and waits for the night's festivities to begin before executing his plan.
Chapter 12
XII: Tarzan Rescues the Moon
Tarzan explores the nocturnal jungle, driven by curiosity and the joy of living. He observes a party of black warriors from Mbonga's village huddled around a fire, terrified of Numa and Sabor. Despite their attempts to ward off the lions with firebrands, Numa charges, kills one warrior, and drags him away. Earlier, Tarzan had defended a Gomangani (Bulabantu) from the ape tribe, with Taug's support, facing hostility from Gunto and others. The chapter highlights Tarzan's reflections on the moon (Goro) and sun (Kudu) as living entities, his pride in being a man, and the constant dangers of the jungle.
