One of my favorite movies as a child and to this day is Disney’s original animated movie, The Jungle Book, released in 1967. A memorable image from this movie is Kaa, the python, seeking the trust of the main character Mowgli— using his hypnotic eyes while repeating the refrain of “Trussst in Me” in his very snake-like manner. Of course, Kaa’s ultimate goal was to make Mowgli his next meal. When I first learned about the source content for this movie, Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book, penned in 1894, I was very surprised to discover that in the original text ...