The Call of the Wild

The Call of the Wild

By Jack London 

Originally written in 1905

Adapted to CEFR A1 level using Google Gemeni

5200 words

Chapter I:

One day, people found gold way up north in the land between Canada and Alaska. So, many people wanted to go there. They needed strong dogs with warm coats for the cold.

Buck was a dog. He lived in a big house in California. The owner was Judge Miller. There were other dogs, but they were not like Buck. Buck was big and strong. He was like a king there. He played with the Judge's children. He went hunting. He was happy.

Manuel worked as a gardener at the house. One day Manuel needed a lot of money, so he stole Buck. Buck thought they were going for a walk, but they went to a small train station. Manuel met another man. The man gave Manuel money.

The man put a rope on Buck’s neck. Buck did not like it, but he trusted men. Then the rope got very tight. Buck could not breathe. He was angry. He jumped at the man, but the man was strong. He threw Buck down. The man choked Buck with the rope. Buck was very angry and tired. He felt weak. The men put him in a train car.

Buck woke up. He was in a metal box. He felt bad. His tongue and throat hurt. The train was moving. There was a man in the car who tried to touch Buck. Buck bit the man's hand, but he was still stuck in the box.

For two days, Buck did not eat or drink. He was angry. He was in a box. The men on the train laughed at him. They were cruel.[1] Buck was so angry. His eyes were red. He was not the same dog anymore.

The train stopped. Four men took Buck's box to a yard. A man in a red sweater came. Buck was angry. He thought this man would hurt him too. The man took a club[2]. He opened Buck’s box. Buck jumped at him, but the man hit him with the club. Buck fell down. He got up and jumped again. The man hit him again and again. Buck was hurt. Blood came from his nose and mouth. He was tired and weak. He learned a new lesson. He could not fight a man with a club. The man was his master now.

After the fight, the man gave Buck water and food. Buck drank and ate. He was beaten[3], but not broken. He knew he had to listen to the man with the club. Other dogs came. They were also beaten. Buck watched them. He saw that a man with a club was the law.

Later, a short man came. His name was Perrault. He bought Buck. Perrault and a strong man named François took Buck and another dog, Curly. They went on a ship called the Narwhal. They left the warm land behind.

The ship went north. It got colder every day. One morning, the ship stopped. Buck walked out. His feet touched something strange. It was cold and white. It was snow. He had never seen snow before. He tried to eat it, but it was cold and then it was gone. He was very confused[4]. The men laughed at him. He did not know why. He had much to learn in this new, cold world.

Chapter II:

Buck learned a hard lesson right away. Curly, was now Buck’s friend. She was friendly to a big husky dog. The husky dog suddenly attacked her and he bit her face. Then, many other dogs came. They surrounded Curly. They jumped on her and bit her. The men came and used clubs to stop them, but it was too late. Curly was dead. Buck saw it all. He understood the rule. "Once down, that is the end of you." He promised himself he would never fall down in a fight. He also saw another dog, Spitz, who looked like he laughed at what happened. From that moment, Buck hated Spitz.

The men put a harness on Buck. It was like the ones horses wore. Buck had to pull a sled[5]. He was not happy about it. He was a proud dog. But he was smart. He did his best. He learned to listen to the man, François. He also learned from the other dogs, Dave and Spitz. He learned when to stop and when to go. He learned to pull the sled well. François said Buck was a very good dog.

Two more dogs joined the team. Their names were Billee and Joe. Billee was nice, but Joe was always angry. Spitz tried to fight them. He made Billee run away. Joe was ready to fight. Spitz left him alone. Later, another dog named Sol-leks joined. He was an old, serious dog. He did not like anyone to come from his blind side[6]. Buck learned this quickly after Sol-leks bit him.

That night, Buck could not find a place to sleep. He tried to go into the men's tent, but they made him leave. He was cold and sad. He saw the other dogs had disappeared. Where were they? He walked around the camp, looking for them. Suddenly, his feet went into the snow. He found Billee sleeping under the snow. Billee had dug a hole to stay warm. Buck learned another new lesson; he dug a hole for himself. It was a warm place. He slept well.

When he woke up, he was covered in snow. He was scared for a moment. But then he remembered everything. He was a dog for pulling a sled now. The men were happy with him. They added three more dogs to the team. Now there were nine dogs. They began their long journey.

Buck worked hard. He liked it. The other dogs, Dave and Sol-leks, were happy to work, too. They wanted the work to go well. They taught Buck what to do. The team went up a big mountain. They traveled for many days. The work was hard, and Buck was always hungry. He got a small amount of fish to eat each day.

Buck had to change. In the South, he was like a gentleman. Here, he had to fight for food. He learned to eat fast. He also learned to steal. He saw another dog, Pike, steal food. So Buck did it too. He was not a gentle dog anymore. He was becoming wild. He was learning to live by the law of the North.

His body changed. His muscles got hard. He could eat anything. His senses became sharp. He could hear and smell things from far away. He also started to feel like the wild dogs that came before him. Sometimes, at night, he would howl[7] at the moon like a wolf. He was becoming his true self. This all happened because men found gold in the North and because Manuel needed money.

Chapter III:

Buck was now a wild dog. He learned many things from living on the trail. He became smart and careful. He did not look for fights, but he hated Spitz. Spitz was the team's leader. He was a mean dog and wanted to fight Buck all the time.

One day, they made a camp by a frozen lake. It was a very cold night. Buck made a warm bed for himself under a big rock. He went to get some food. When he came back, Spitz was in his bed. Buck was very angry. He felt like a wild animal. He ran at Spitz to fight him. But just then, something else happened.

Suddenly, many wild dogs came to the camp. They were very thin and looked like skeletons. They were starving and wanted food. They ran to the men’s food box. The men, Perrault and François, hit the dogs with clubs. But the wild dogs were too many. They ate all the food.

Then, the hungry dogs attacked the sled dogs. The team dogs were scared and fought back. Buck was bitten by many dogs. His head and shoulders were bleeding[8]. Spitz used this chance to attack Buck. Buck was fighting the other dogs, and Spitz bit him from the side. The team dogs ran to the forest to be safe. They were all hurt. Their fur was full of blood.

The journey was very hard. They had to cross a river with thin ice. The ice broke many times. The men and dogs fell into the cold water. The weather was very cold. The dogs were often wet and frozen.

Buck’s feet were not like the feet of the other dogs. His feet were soft. They hurt very much. He could not walk. François saw this. He made special shoes for Buck from his own boots. Buck wore the shoes. His feet felt better. One morning, François forgot the shoes. Buck lay on his back and did not move. He showed his feet. He wanted his shoes. Everyone laughed.

One morning, a dog named Dolly went insane[9]. She ran after Buck. Buck was very scared. He ran and ran. He could hear her behind him. François called to Buck. Buck ran to him. As Buck ran past, François hit Dolly with an axe[10]. She fell down.

Buck was very tired. This was a good time for Spitz to attack. He ran at Buck and bit him. But François gave Spitz a hard beating with his whip. He said, “That Buck is a devil. He will kill Spitz one day.” And a war started between Buck and Spitz.

Buck was very smart. He did not fight Spitz in the open. He made trouble for him. When other dogs made a mistake, Buck protected them. The team became unhappy. They no longer listened to Spitz.

One night, the team chased a rabbit. It was a long chase. The dogs ran fast. Buck was in front, but Spitz was smart. He took a shortcut and caught the rabbit.

Now the time had come. The last fight started. Buck and Spitz were ready. The other dogs watched in a circle. Spitz was a good fighter, but Buck was smarter. Buck pretended to go for Spitz’s neck. Instead, he quickly bit Spitz’s front legs and broke both of them. Spitz could not stand. Buck then jumped on him. Buck won the fight. Spitz was dead. Buck was the new leader of the team. He was the most powerful animal.

Chapter IV:

“Hey! What did I say? I spoke the truth when I said that Buck is two devils.” This is what François said the next morning. He saw that Spitz was gone and that Buck had many wounds.

Buck went to the front of the team, where the leader dog works, but François put Sol-leks in the leader's spot. Buck got angry and pushed Sol-leks away. He stood in the leader's place.

François laughed. “Look at that Buck! He killed Spitz and now he wants the job!”

He tried to make Buck move, but Buck did not want to leave. François was angry and came back with a club. Buck remembered the man in the red sweater, but he did not run away. He stayed close, just out of the club's reach. He wanted to be the leader. It was his right[11].

Perrault and François tried to catch him for a long time. They yelled and threw clubs at him. But Buck was smart. He dodged[12] the clubs and just waited. He showed them that he would come back only if he got the leader’s job.

Finally, the men were tired. They needed to go. François put Sol-leks back in his place. Buck then walked to the front of the team. They put the harness on him. The sled started, and Buck was the new leader.

Buck was a very good leader. He was better than Spitz. He was smart and fast. He made the other dogs work hard. The team became strong again. They pulled together like one dog. Two new dogs joined the team, and Buck quickly taught them to work well.

François was very happy. “This Buck is the best dog! He is worth a thousand dollars!” he said.

They traveled very fast. They made a new record[13]. They reached the town of Skaguay. Their journey was over. Perrault and François hugged Buck and then left. They were told that they had a new job somewhere far away, so they sold the dogs to a new man. Buck would never see them again.

A new man took the team. The dogs now carried mail. The work was hard and boring. Every day was the same. They worked hard, ate, and slept. Buck was still the leader. He made sure every dog did his job.

At night, Buck liked to lie by the fire. He sometimes thought of his old home in the South. But most of the time, he thought of his new life. He often had strange dreams by the fire. He saw a hairy man from thousands of years ago. The man was scared of the dark and the wild animals. This man was a memory from Buck's past ancestors[14]. Buck felt a part of him was going back in time.

The long work made the dogs very tired. They were all weak, but Dave was the most tired. Something was wrong with him inside. He was in great pain. The men tried to help, but they could not find what was wrong.

Finally, Dave was too weak to walk. The man took him out of the harness. He wanted to let Dave rest. But Dave did not want to rest. He wanted to work. He cried and tried to get back to the sled. He bit through the rope of another dog to stand in his old place. The men saw how sad he was. They put him back in the harness so he could die doing the work he loved.

Dave pulled the sled until they stopped for the night. The next morning, he could not move. He tried to crawl to the team, but he was too weak. He lay in the snow, watching his friends. The team left. A little later, they heard a gunshot. The man came back, and the team moved on. Dave was gone forever.

Chapter V:

The dogs were very tired. For a month, they traveled on the trail. Buck was not as big as before because he lost a lot of weight. All the dogs were tired and had sore[15] feet. Their bodies were weak. They had no energy left. They had worked and traveled for a very long time without rest.

They came to a town called Skaguay. The driver said, “Mush[16] on, you poor dogs. This is the last time. Then we can rest.” But the dogs did not get a rest. The mail was very important. Since the dogs were too tired to pull mail, they were sold to new people.

Two new men came. Their names were Hal and Charles. They were young and did not know about the North. Charles had a mustache. Hal had a big gun and a knife. They also had a woman with them whose name was Mercedes. She was Charles's wife and Hal's sister. They were not ready for this hard life.

The new people were not good at packing[17] the sled. They put too many things on it. The sled was very big and heavy. It was like a mountain of things.

A man from another camp saw them. He said, "You have too many things. Don't take the tent. It is spring now." But Mercedes said, "How can I live without a tent?" They did not listen. They put everything on the sled.

Hal shouted, "Mush!" The dogs tried to pull. They pulled and pulled, but the sled did not move. It was too heavy. The dogs were also very tired.

Hal got angry. He took his whip[18] to hit the dogs. But Mercedes stopped him. She cried, "Oh, Hal, don't! The poor dogs!"

A man from the other camp told them, "The sled is frozen to the snow. You must hit it to break the ice." They did this. The sled started to move. The dogs pulled very hard. Hal hit them with the whip. The sled was not balanced[19]. It turned over and things fell out.

The dogs did not stop. They were angry. They ran away with the empty sled. People in the town laughed. Kind people caught the dogs and helped the new owners. They told Hal and Charles to take fewer things. Hal and Mercedes cried, but they threw many things away. Still, the load was too big.

They bought six more dogs. They now had 14 dogs! But the new dogs were not strong like huskies. They were not good for the North. They were tired and scared.

The team started again. They were all very, very tired. Buck felt sad. He knew the trail was long. The three people were not good owners. They were slow. They did not know how to camp. It took them a long time to get ready. They did not travel far each day. They were always fighting with each other.

Soon, the dogs had less food. They were starving. They became very thin. You could see their bones. They were like bags of bones.

Dub was the first to die. His shoulder was hurt. Hal shot him. Then the new dogs died because they were too weak. Only five dogs from the old team were left, plus Buck. They were all very tired and in pain. They were almost dead.

It was spring. The sun was out. The ice was melting. The river ice was thin and weak. It was very dangerous to walk on. The three people and the dogs walked on the melting ice. They did not know about the danger.

They came to a camp where a man named John Thornton lived. He was making an axe handle[20]. Hal told him they were going to Dawson. John Thornton told them, "The ice is bad. It can break. It is not safe." Hal did not listen. He said, "We are going on."

He told the dogs to go. The dogs tried to get up, but they were so tired. They could not move. Hal took his club and started to beat them. He hit Buck, but Buck did not move. He was too tired and knew the ice was bad.

John Thornton became very, very angry. He ran and pushed Hal. He said, "If you hit that dog again, I will kill you!"

Hal took out a knife. Mercedes screamed. John Thornton hit Hal's hand with the axe handle. The knife fell. He then cut Buck's harness.

Hal and the others went away. They started to walk on the ice. Buck and John Thornton watched them. They saw the ice break. The sled, the people, and the dogs all fell into the water. They were gone. The ice was not safe, just as John Thornton had said.

Buck was safe. He was with his new friend John Thornton. Buck licked his hand. He knew he was finally safe.

Chapter VI:

A few months ago, John Thornton had hurt his feet. He was still not well when he found Buck. But soon, his feet were good again. Buck was also very hurt and tired. He rested with John Thornton. He ate good food. His body became strong again. His muscles grew big, and he was not thin anymore.

John Thornton had two other dogs. Their names were Skeet and Nig. Skeet was a small dog. She was kind to Buck. She cleaned his wounds [21]with her tongue. Nig was a big black dog. He was very friendly. He had happy eyes.

Buck was surprised. These dogs were not mean. They were kind. They played games with Buck. John Thornton also played with them. Buck felt happy. He learned to love John Thornton. It was a new feeling for him.

At Judge Miller's house, Buck was a friend. But with John Thornton, it was true love. John Thornton was a good owner. He took care of the dogs like they were his children. He would hug Buck and talk to him. Buck loved it when John Thornton put his hands on his head. Buck would put his teeth on Thornton's hand, but it was a gentle bite. It was his way of showing love.

Buck never wanted to leave John Thornton. He was afraid Thornton would leave like the other men. Buck followed him everywhere. Even at night, he would listen to make sure Thornton was still there. Buck loved the man, but he also remembered the wild. He was still a wild dog inside. He knew how to steal and how to fight, but he would never steal from John Thornton.

Buck was very loyal to John Thornton. One day, a bad man named Burton hit John Thornton. Buck saw this. He jumped and attacked the man. He bit the man's arm. The crowd pulled Buck away. The man was hurt. The people said that Buck was right to do this. After that, everyone knew Buck's name.

Another time, John Thornton was on a boat. The boat was in the river and turned over[22]. John Thornton fell into the fast, cold water. He was in danger. Buck saw him. He jumped into the river. He swam to his master. John Thornton held onto Buck’s tail, but the water was too strong. It pulled them down the river.

Thornton held onto a big rock. He told Buck to go to the land. Buck did not want to leave, but he listened and swam to the land. Two other men, Hans and Pete, were there. They threw a rope to Buck. They tied the rope to Buck and sent him back to John Thornton. Buck swam and swam. He was very tired. He finally reached John Thornton. John Thornton held onto Buck, and the men pulled them to the land. John Thornton was safe. But Buck was hurt. He had three broken ribs[23]. They stayed in camp until he was better.

In the town of Dawson, men talked about their dogs. One man said his dog could pull a sled with 700 pounds. John Thornton said, "Buck can pull 1,000 pounds!"

A rich man named Matthewson heard this. He said, "I have 1,000 dollars that says he can't!" He put a bag of gold on the table. John Thornton did not have that much money, but his friends helped him.

They went outside to see. A sled had 1,000 pounds[24] of flour on it. The sled was frozen to the snow. The men said Buck could not do it. The people placed their bets.

John Thornton spoke to Buck. He put his hands on Buck's head. He whispered, "As you love me, Buck. As you love me." Buck felt the love. He gently took Thornton's hand in his mouth.

Then, John Thornton said, “Mush!” Buck pulled. He pulled so hard. His body was low. His muscles were big. He pulled. The sled moved a little. Then it moved more. It moved! Buck pulled the sled for 100 yards[25]! The crowd cheered loudly.

John Thornton was so happy. He hugged Buck. The man who had bet against him offered 1,200 dollars for Buck. But John Thornton said, "No, sir. You can go to hell."

Buck had won a lot of money for John Thornton. The money would let them travel to new places.

Chapter VII:

Buck had won a lot of money for John Thornton. With the money, John Thornton and his friends, Hans and Pete, could go on a big journey. They went into a very old and wild part of the country. They wanted to find a mine with a lot of gold. People had looked for this mine for many years. Some people never came back.

John Thornton was not afraid of the wild. He and his friends had dogs to pull the sled. They took a rifle[26] and some salt. They went for many months. They had no map. They did not hurry. They hunted for their food every day.

Buck was very happy. He loved this life. They traveled through many different places. They went over mountains with snow and into valleys with flowers. The weather was hot, then cold. They saw many different animals.

The months passed. They did not find the old mine, but they found a new place with a lot of gold. The gold was easy to get. They worked every day. They took the gold and put it in bags. Each bag was very heavy. They became very rich.

Now, there was not much work for the dogs. They had a lot of free time. They rested and ate a lot of meat. Buck sat by the fire for a long time.

He had dreams of a strange man. The man was hairy and had short legs. The man was afraid of the dark. He would sit by the fire and look into the trees. Buck felt a part of him was this man. He felt the old wild feelings.

The forest called to Buck. He felt a need to go into the woods. He did not know why. He just felt it.

He would run and run for hours. He loved to watch the birds and the squirrels. He loved to be in the quiet forest. He felt a strong pull to the wild. He wanted to go where the call came from.

One night, he heard a sound he knew. It was a long howl. It was like a dog's howl, but different. It was the call. He ran into the forest. He found a wolf. The wolf was thin and wild.

The wolf was scared of Buck. Buck was much bigger. Buck did not attack. He wanted to be friends. The wolf ran, and Buck followed. They ran for a long time. The wolf saw that Buck was friendly. They touched noses. Then they played.

The wolf started to run. He looked at Buck, telling him to come. They ran side by side all day. Buck was so happy. He was running with his wild brother. He felt free.

But then, Buck remembered John Thornton. He stopped. The wolf whined[27] and asked him to come. But Buck turned back. The wolf howled sadly as Buck went back to the camp.

For two days, Buck stayed with John Thornton. He did not leave him. But then the call came back. He wanted to be with the wild animals. He started to go into the forest again. He stayed away for days. He hunted. He killed a big black bear and other animals. He was a wild killer. He felt proud of himself. His body changed. He looked like a big wolf. He was strong and fast.

After many days, Buck went back to camp. He felt that something was wrong. The forest was very quiet. He smelled something strange. He found one of his friends, Nig, dead. There was an arrow in his body. He found his other friend, Hans, also dead with many arrows.

Buck went to the camp. He saw the fire was out. The tent was broken. He saw men dancing. They were the Yeehat tribe.

Buck saw the men. He was filled with a terrible anger. He was not a dog anymore. He was a wild animal. He let out a loud sound and ran at the men. He was a storm of anger. He attacked the first man. He bit him on the neck and killed him. He attacked another man. He did not stop. The men were scared. They shot arrows at him, but Buck was too fast. He killed many men. The others ran away. They thought he was a bad spirit.

Buck went back to the camp. He found Pete dead. He looked for John Thornton. He followed his scent[28] to a pool of water. He saw his friend Skeet dead by the water. The water was not clear. Buck knew John Thornton was in the water. John Thornton was dead.

Buck was sad. He felt an empty space inside. But then, he felt proud. He had killed men. He was strong.

That night, a group of wild wolves came. They were looking for food. They came into the camp. Buck stood very still. The wolves were afraid. One wolf was brave. It ran at Buck. Buck was faster. He broke the wolf's neck. The other wolves ran at him. He hurt them all.

The wolves saw that Buck was very strong. The wolf he had met before came to him. He was the "wild brother." The two wolves touched noses. Buck saw that this was his family now.

John Thornton was gone. The last tie was broken. Buck did not have a master. He was free. He walked with his wild brother into the forest. He joined the wolf pack. He answered the call of the wild for the last time.

Epilogue:

After Buck joined the wolves, the local people saw a big change. Some of the wolves had brown and white marks, like a dog. The people were scared of one wolf. It was a big dog that led the pack. They called him the "Ghost Dog" because he was so smart. He could steal food from their camps and was too strong for their hunters.

Sometimes, a hunter would not come back from the forest. The people said the Ghost Dog was the reason.

Every summer, a big wolf goes to the valley where John Thornton died. The wolf stands there and makes a long, sad sound. This wolf is Buck. He still remembers his friend.

In the winter, Buck is the leader of the wolf pack. He runs with them under the moon and sings the song of the wild. It is his new life.

[1] Cruel: mean

[2] Club: a stick used to hit someone

[3] Beaten: hit badly

[4] Confused: not understanding what is happening

[5] Sled: a vehicle similar to a cart that people ride in the snow

[6] Blind side: the side that someone can not see from

[7] Howl: A yelling douns a dog makes

[8] Bleeding: blood coming out

[9] Insane: very mentally unstable

[10] Axe: A metal weapon used to cut down trees

[11] Right: something that someone deserves

[12] Dodged: ran away from

[13] Record: the most or least of all time

[14] Ancestors: family who came a long time before

[15] Sore: painful

[16] Mush: a command a sled driver tells dogs to make them go

[17] Packing: putting things in

[18] Whip: what people use to hit dogs to make them go

[19] Balanced: with equal weight on both sides

[20] Handle: the part people hold on to

[21] A part of a body that is hurt

[22] Turned over: went upside down

[23] Ribs: bones inside the chest

[24] Pound: about half a kilogram

[25] Yard: about a meter

[26] Rifle: a large gun

[27] Whine: a sad sound

[28] Sent: smell