Ken has a great way of writing, although it might help if you knew what sounds the birds made, as his onomatopea are original attempts to write bird sounds.
Life was apparently cheap back then. Villagers are killed by tigers, and not too much fuss seemed to be made. I recommend the first part "The tiger roars", and only part of "Jungles long ago",, TBH, I skipped much of the second part.