Treasure of the White Cobra

In the Jungle Books, the White Cobra was an old blind snake that guarded the treasures of the old city.  Mowgli tricked the cobra and took some of the treasure although he returned it later.

This game is played in a darkened room.  One cub will be the White Cobra and will sit blindfolded in the centre of the room.  All the other cubs will form a large circle around him.  The cub who is the cobra will carry a flashlight and will have the treasure in front of him.  The treasure is typically something that will make noise when picked up.  We've used a cat food tin with marbles in it.

The leaders will pick one cub from the circle who is now expected to sneak up on the cobra and steal the treasure.  If he makes it back to the circle without being caught by the cobra then he wins and becomes the next cobra.  The cobra will listen for the cubs coming to steal his treasure and will catch them by shining his flashlight at them.  If a cub is caught then he returns to the circle and the leaders pick another cub.

Variation:  For a big circle, have two cobras back to back, each one with their own treasure.

Naming Game

Cubs stand in a circle with one cub holding a ball.  That cub calls out the name of someone else in the circle and throws the ball to that person.  That person then calls out the name of someone who hasn't had the ball yet and throws it to them.  When the ball has been thrown to everyone once then follow the same order again.  When the cubs get comfortable with this then add a second ball so they have to keep track of more than one.

This is a good game to get everyone familiar with everyone else's names.

The Dance of Kaa

The leader will be Kaa's head, and the rest of the Pack will tail on behind him, each holding the Cub in front of him, and will follow the head wherever
it goes, moving as slowly as possible, and keeping step with the Cub in front of him.

The head will quietly glide along on a track like the figure of eight, and will then wind his tail up into a circle, gradually getting smaller and smaller, until he turns round and works his way out again in the figure which the Scouts call the "Spiral".

Every Cub will keep on hissing during the whole performance, and will walk on the tips of his toes without making the slightest noise, so that the
whole body sounds like a snake rustling through the grass, making occasionally the louder hiss which is a snake's way of calling to his friends.

When Kaa has thus coiled and uncoiled himself, the leader gives the command "Bandarlog," and at once the snake breaks up and each Cub runs about in his
own way, imitating the monkeys.

One will run as if on urgent business in a certain direction and will suddenly stop, sit down, and look at the sky.  Another will dance on all fours round and round without any real object.  Another will hunt his own tail.  Others will climb imaginary branches and sit down and scratch in the middle of it.  One will keep running round in a figure of eight.  Another will creep on all fours up to some imaginary enemy and then suddenly sit down and look up at the stars.  Another runs after his own tail, walks a few paces, and then runs after his tail again.  Another will keep prancing,
pick up an imaginary straw and examine it and prance again.  Another turns head over heels, sits up and scratches himself.  Another will walk very hurriedly for a few paces as if on important business, stop, forget what he was going for, scratch his head and walk rapidly again in a new direction, and do the same thing over again.

In fact, do any silly thing you like such as monkeys do -- but don't take any interest in what anybody else is doing.  Be very busy all the time and do all the different things in turn.  The whole time you keep on giving the monkey's call.  All will be in a state of confusion doing aimlessly silly things, and all will at the same time give the monkey's cry -- "Goorrukk, goorrukk how, how, goorrukk."

Suddenly, the leader shouts "Kaa."  The monkeys freeze with horror, for they know, only too well, what their terrible enemy will do to them.

The Cub who forms Kaa's head stands up with arms outstretched, thumbs clasped, head down, and slowly swings his body to and fro.  He hisses once, and all the monkeys take an unwilling step forward.  He points out one of them.  The frightened victim crawls forward between his legs and is "swallowed," and then tails on behind the leader, as in the first part of the Dance.

Zip Zap

All cubs stand in a circle and a leader calls out a name of one of the cubs to start the game.  The cubs on either side of the named cub turn towards him, stick out their fingers and yell "Zap!".  If the cub is still standing there then he's zapped.  If he ducks quickly enough then the "zap" hits the person on the other side of him.  The first person to be zapped is now out and this cub will call the name of another cub.

Variation: Have two circles and as someone is zapped, instead of being out, they join the other circle.  This results in nobody being left out and constant moving between the circles.

Jungle chase

Note: I learned this with antelope, cheetah and grass but have changed it to be Jungle Book characters.

The cubs are split into two teams.  Each team will decide whether they want to be Baghera, Kaa or Banderlog for this round in the same way that you'd pick rock, paper or scissors for that game.  They do not let the other team know which they've picked.

Once they've chosen, each team lines up about five feet apart and on the leaders signal, each team will show what they picked.  If they picked Baghera (Panther) then they'll make snarling, pouncing motions.  If they picked Kaa (Rock Snake) then they'll wave their bodies back and forth.  If they picked Banderlog (Monkey) then they'll scratch themselves and make screeching sounds.

Then they run.  Which way they run depends on which character they chose.  Baghera will chase Kaa.  Kaa will chase Banderlog.  Banderlog will chase Baghera.  If both teams chose the same character then it's a tie and they go back and pick again.

The team that is being chased now has to run away from the other team, back towards their own safe zone.  If they're touched before they reach the safe zone then they join the opposite team for the next round.  The team doing the chasing has to touch as many of their prey as they can.

Everyone goes back to their lines now and the game starts again.