Life in modern India comes vividly alive against the real atmosphere and mystery of the deep jungle in this memorable story of a young Hindu boy—a quietly satisfying story full of authentic background and characterization that carries the reader into the heart of the jungle. Thirteen-year-old Rodmika finds adventure among the wild animals and discovers the mystery of the tattooed cobra mark on his chest when he tries to find a way through the jungle swamps that have been impassable for as long as anyone can remember.

With a small bag of rice, a tin of salt, his sheath knife and fire striker, Rodmika begins a journey that is to change his life and make possible a highway from his native village to the American Foundation on the other side of the jungle. He knows the ways of the wild animals, talking to them quietly but never showing his teeth because that is a sign of unfriendliness; when he reaches the swamps, he makes a raft of bamboo canes so that he can continue his trail—a trail many times lost, but marked by occasional old paving stones like those used for the walls of his home. It leads to the grasslands and finally to the ruins of a palace where he discovers a wooden shield, axe blades, a copper chest and a plaque with the same seven-headed cobra mark that is on his chest.

Our enthusiasm for this beautifully old and appealing story is shared by the award judges who called it "memorable" and "one of the best jungle stories I have read"; they found in it the same satisfying qualities that made Kim and The Yearling such popular classics. Readers of all ages will be thrilled by Rodmika's jungle adventure which links India's past with her future.

From the dust jacket