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 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.How the Alphabet Was Made - Taffimai and her father invent an alphabet.How the First Letter Was Written - introduces the onlyĬharacters who appear in more than one story: a family of cave-people,Ĭalled Tegumai Bopsulai (the father), Teshumai Tewindrow (the mother),Īnd Taffimai Metallumai, (the daughter).The Beginning of the Armadillos - how a hedgehog and tortoise transformed into the first armadillos.The Sing-Song of Old Man Kangaroo - how the kangaroo assumed long legs and tail.The Elephant's Child/How the Elephant got his Trunk - how the elephant's trunk became long.How the Leopard Got His Spots - why leopards have spots.How the Rhinoceros Got His Skin - why rhinos have folds in their skin and bad tempers.How the Camel Got His Hump - how the idle camel was punished and given a hump.How the Whale Got His Throat - why the larger whales eat only small prey.How the Rhinoceros got his Skin, woodcut by Kipling Other illustrators of the book include Joseph M. Kipling illustrated the original editions of the Just So Stories.

Powerful hind legs, long tail, and hopping gait after being chased allĭay by a dingo, sent by a minor god responding to the Kangaroo's request to be made different from all other animals. (after the Ethiopian painted himself black). The Camel has a hump given to himĪs punishment for the camel's refusing to work (the hump allows theĬamel to work longer between times of eating). Throat because he swallowed a mariner, who tied a raft inside to block The Just So Stories typically have the theme of a particularĪnimal being modified from an original form to its current form by theĪcts of man, or some magical being. In it, Mowgli hears the story of how the tiger got his stripes. These stories is Kipling's 'How Fear Came,' included in his The Second Jungle Book (1895). The stories, first published in 1902, are pourquoi (French for 'why') or origin stories,įantastic accounts of how various phenomena came about.

A just so story