Just So Stories

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Just So Stories for Little Children is a 1902 collection of origin stories by the British author Rudyard Kipling. Considered a classic of children's literature, the book is among Kipling's best known works.

Kipling began working on the book by telling the first three chapters as bedtime stories to his daughter Josephine. These had to be told "just so" (exactly in the words she was used to) or she would complain. The stories describe how one animal or another acquired its most distinctive features, such as how the Leopard got his spots. For the book, Kipling illustrated the stories himself.

The stories have appeared in a variety of adaptations including a musical and animated films. Evolutionary biologists have noted that what Kipling did in fiction, they have done in reality, providing explanations for the evolutionary development of animal features. (summary by Wikipedia)

Contents in this app:

How the Rhinoceros got his Skin, woodcut by Kipling

How the Whale Got His Throat — why the larger whales eat only small prey.

How the Camel Got His Hump — how the idle camel was punished and given a hump.

How the Rhinoceros Got His Skin — why rhinos have folds in their skin and bad tempers.

How the Leopard Got His Spots — why leopards have spots.

The Elephant's Child/How the Elephant got his Trunk — how the elephant's trunk became long.

The Sing-Song of Old Man Kangaroo — how the kangaroo assumed long legs and tail.

The Beginning of the Armadillos — how a hedgehog and tortoise transformed into the first armadillos.

How the First Letter Was Written — introduces the only characters who appear in more than one story: a family of cave-people, called Tegumai Bopsulai (the father), Teshumai Tewindrow (the mother), and Taffimai Metallumai, shortened to Taffy, (the daughter). Explains how Taffy delivered a picture message to her mother.

How the Alphabet Was Made — Taffy and her father invent an alphabet.

The Crab That Played with the Sea — explains the ebb and flow of the tides, as well as how the crab changed from a huge animal into a small one.

The Cat That Walked by Himself — the longest story, explains how man domesticated all the wild animals except the cat, which insisted on greater independence.

The Butterfly That Stamped — how Solomon saved the pride of a butterfly, and the Queen of Sheba used this to prevent his wives scolding him.