Cub Rank - Wolf: The Strength of the Pack
| Category: | Advancement |
|---|---|
| Notes: | For second-grade Wolves, at the start of the Wolf year or when they earn the rank. Tells a little of Cub Scouting's roots in Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book. Specific requirements change, so check the current Wolf handbook. See also the wolf minute, and the rest of the Cub rank series: cub-rank-lion, cub-rank-tiger, cub-rank-bear, cub-rank-webelos, and cub-rank-arrow-of-light. |
Wolves, I want to tell you a story about where Cub Scouts came from.
A long time ago, a writer named Rudyard Kipling wrote a book called The Jungle Book. It's about a boy named Mowgli who is raised in the jungle by a pack of wolves. The leader of that wolf pack is a wise old wolf named Akela.
When Robert Baden-Powell started Scouting for younger kids, he loved that story so much that he used it. That's why a group of Cub Scouts is called a pack. That's why Cub Scouts have dens, like wolves do. And that's why we still call our leaders Akela.
Here's what the wolves in that story knew: a wolf is strongest when it's part of a pack. Wolves look out for each other. They hunt together, travel together, and protect the young ones. One wolf alone has a hard time. A pack can do almost anything.
That's true for us too. This year, help the other Wolves in your den. Listen to your Akela. Look out for each other.
Because the strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack.