Spectator Competition: Lore of the jungle

Competition 3366 took inspiration from the Bandar-log in The Jungle Book, those monkeys who chant: ‘We are great. We are free. We are wonderful. We are the most wonderful people in all the jungle! We all say so, and so it must be true.’ You were invited to riff on this last sentence. Donald Trump cropped up a bit, presumably because his utterances have a Bandar-log ring to them. There were a lot of excellent entries, and too many runners-up to namecheck everyone, but the winners get £25.

Like wolves we keep within the pack,

Cohesion’s our priority,

We’ve no desire to stray off track

Or break from the majority.

We think as one, we act en bloc

And follow where the others go,

It’s never wise to run amok

Or fight against the status quo.

Kipling’s ‘If’ is not for us,

We’re safer sticking with the clan,

Why risk one’s neck and cause a fuss

In order to be called a man?

Best toe the line, go with the flow

And never take one’s own sweet way.