Drawn from the enchanting tales told to Kipling as a child in India, Just So Stories reveals the magic of the dawn of the world, when animals could talk and think like people. Cats and dogs, kangaroos and tortoises, hedgehogs and jaguars, whales and leopards, and many others are brought to life in an exotic Eastern landscape of "high and far times ago." Children will discover how the leopard got his spots, the elephant his trunk, and the camel his hump, through clever tales that subtly hint at the pitfalls of arrogance and the importance of creativity. Kipling composed these twelve stories and twelve poems to be read aloud, and their whimsical imagery and rhythmic language are sure to delight both children and adults for another hundred years.

Table of Contents

1. "How the Whale Got His Throat" 2. "How the Camel Got His Hump" 3. "How the Rhinoceros Got His Skin" 4. "How the Leopard Got His Spots" 5. "The Elephant's Child" 6. "The Sing Song of Old Man Kangaroo" 7. "The Beginning of the Armadillos" 8. "How the First Letter Was Written" 9. "How the Alphabet Was Made" 10. "The Crab That Played with the Sea" 11. "The Cat That Walked by Himself" 12. "The Butterfly That Stamped"