Jungle Tales of Tarzan · Chapter
III: The Fight for the Balu explained
Teeka becomes a mother, and Tarzan's attempts to see her newborn balu are met with fierce maternal aggression.
What happens
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.
Themes in this chapter
Survival and Instinct
Teeka's maternal instinct overrides her friendship with Tarzan; Sheeta's predatory instinct drives him to stalk the balu.
Love and Affection
Tarzan's yearning to cuddle the balu and his past affection for Teeka contrast with her protective aggression.
Characters to notice
- Tarzan
Curious and hurt by Teeka's aggression; uses rope to subdue Taug; defends Taug from another ape.
- Teeka
New mother, fiercely protective of her balu, bares fangs at Tarzan and bites him.
- Taug
Father of the balu, charges Tarzan but is caught and hung by the rope.
- Sheeta
Panther that stalks Teeka and her balu from the bushes.
- Mumga
Old, half-blind ape searching for grubworms, viewed suspiciously by Teeka.
Key passages
“Teeka had become a mother. Tarzan of the Apes was intensely interested, much more so, in fact, than Taug, the father.”
Teeka gave birth, and Tarzan was far more curious about the baby than Taug was.
Highlights Tarzan's fascination with the newborn.
“Tarzan reached forth a hand, cautiously, to touch the thing which Teeka held, and Teeka, with a hideous growl, turned suddenly upon him. Her teeth sank into the flesh of his forearm before the ape-man could snatch it away.”
When Tarzan tried to touch the baby, Teeka growled and bit his arm.
Shows Teeka's fierce maternal defense.
“Tarzan's hand shot suddenly outward, a widening noose dropped swiftly through the air, there was a quick jerk as it settled about Taug, falling to his knees, a jerk that tightened it securely about the hairy legs of the anthropoid.”
Tarzan threw his rope and caught Taug around the legs, pulling him off balance.
Demonstrates Tarzan's skill with the rope.