Some more questions from 'The Jungle Book'

[Haihao]

Hi,

Again have I got some questions from the book I am reading now. Could you help me with:

[Mister Micawber]

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1. Are 'balancing and wheeling' with a sense of 'flying in a curving way while keeping itself balanced'?-- wheeling is circling; balancing is adjusting to the wind currents. Have you ever watched a kite (the bird) or another raptor hovering, Haihao?

2. Should 'as he kept watch over the jungle' be reworded to: 'as he kept watching over the jungle' as the current form? -- No. 'To keep watch' is idiomatic: it means to act as watchman or sentinel.

3. Should 'give the Kite call for' be reworded as: give the Kite a call for'? -- No. The 'kite call' is the vocabulary in kite language for the subsequent quotation ('We be... etc')

4. Does 'mark' in 'Mark my trail!' mean 'watch' or 'notice'? -- Yes, 'notice and remember'.

5. Does 'a fair length' mean 'fairly long'? -- Yes, with the added meaning of 'attractive': Kaa is a python with vanity.

6. Could 'falling on my last hunt' be reworded as: falling on the prey at my last hunt? -- No; just falling from the tree. And quit trying to reword Kipling, Haihao. He is a competent writer.
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_________________
Canadian-American native speaker
who teaches English for a living at Mister Micawber's
ESL cafe: Interview with Mister Micawber

[Haihao]

Hi Mister Micawber, Konbanwa!

I got everything I needed from you again with both my hands full! Thank you very much indeed, Mr. Micawber.

[Mister Micawber]

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What? You've never seen a Tobi (Black Kite)? Yes, like a big seagull, but wheeling and balancing with an eye out for someone's sandwich.
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_________________
Canadian-American native speaker
who teaches English for a living at Mister Micawber's
ESL cafe: Interview with Mister Micawber

[Haihao]

Hi Mr. Micawber, Ohayougozaimasu!

I am sorry for my ignorance but I am afriad I have to confess that I still can't clearly tell a Tobi from other similar birds. I must have seen some of them more than a few times in Ueno Zoo or somewhere else but perhaps due to my 'mukanshin' with birds and there are too many 'Karasu' (crow or raven?) here in Tokyo, I really haven't got the confidence of recognizing a kite.... One more reason is perhaps my prejudice against those raptors has turned me being blind to them while fond of others such as seagulls.

Haihao