# Just So Stories — Chapters explained

> Chapter companions for Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling.

- [How the Whale Got His Throat](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/just_so_stories_se/chapters/how-the-whale-got-his-throat.md): A whale eats all the fish in the sea except a small 'Stute Fish, who tricks the whale into swallowing a shipwrecked Mariner. The resourceful Mariner, inside the whale, causes such a disturbance that the whale agrees to t
- [How the Camel Got His Hump](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/just_so_stories_se/chapters/how-the-camel-got-his-hump.md): In the beginning of years, the Camel lived in the middle of a Howling Desert, refusing to work and only saying 'Humph!' When the Horse, Dog, and Ox tried to enlist his help, he refused each time, forcing them to work dou
- [How the Rhinoceros Got His Skin](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/just_so_stories_se/chapters/how-the-rhinoceros-got-his-skin.md): A Parsee living on an uninhabited island in the Red Sea bakes a large cake, but a rude Rhinoceros steals and eats it. Later, when the Rhinoceros sheds his skin to bathe, the Parsee fills it with stale cake-crumbs. When t
- [How the Leopard Got His Spots](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/just_so_stories_se/chapters/how-the-leopard-got-his-spots.md): The Leopard and the Ethiopian find that the Giraffe and Zebra have adapted to the forest by developing spots and stripes, making them invisible. After failing to hunt them, the Ethiopian changes his skin to black and giv
- [The Elephant's Child](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/just_so_stories_se/chapters/the-elephant-s-child.md): The Elephant's Child, driven by insatiable curiosity, travels to the Limpopo River to discover what the Crocodile eats. After being spanked by various animals for asking questions, he meets the Crocodile, who seizes his 
- [The Singsong of Old Man Kangaroo](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/just_so_stories_se/chapters/the-singsong-of-old-man-kangaroo.md): Old Man Kangaroo, proud and dissatisfied with his appearance, asks three gods to make him different and popular. The first two gods dismiss him, but the third, Nqong, sets Dingo to chase him. The relentless pursuit force
- [The Beginning of the Armadillos](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/just_so_stories_se/chapters/the-beginning-of-the-armadillos.md): In the High and Far-Off Times, Stickly-Prickly Hedgehog and Slow-Solid Tortoise live on the banks of the turbid Amazon. Painted Jaguar, following his mother's advice, tries to eat them but is confused by their clever wor
- [How the First Letter Was Written](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/just_so_stories_se/chapters/how-the-first-letter-was-written.md): Taffy, the daughter of Tegumai Bopsulai, attempts to send a message to her mother via a Stranger-man by drawing a picture on birch-bark. The picture is misinterpreted by Teshumai Tewindrow, who believes it depicts an att
- [How the Alphabet Was Made](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/just_so_stories_se/chapters/how-the-alphabet-was-made.md): Taffy and her father Tegumai invent the first alphabet by creating picture-symbols for sounds, starting with a carp-fish mouth for 'ah' and a carp tail for 'yer', then adding symbols for 'oh', 'ssh', and others. They com
- [The Crab That Played with the Sea](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/just_so_stories_se/chapters/the-crab-that-played-with-the-sea.md): In the time of the Very Beginnings, the Eldest Magician sets the Earth and Sea in order and assigns each animal its role. The Man, with his little girl-daughter, demands that all animals obey him, but Pau Amma the Crab s
- [The Cat That Walked by Himself](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/just_so_stories_se/chapters/the-cat-that-walked-by-himself.md): The chapter tells how the Cat, the wildest of all animals, chooses to remain independent while other wild animals like the Dog, Horse, and Cow become domesticated by the Woman. The Cat makes a bargain with the Woman to g
- [The Butterfly That Stamped](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/just_so_stories_se/chapters/the-butterfly-that-stamped.md): Suleiman-bin-Daoud, the wise king who understands all languages, is troubled by his 999 quarrelsome wives. While seeking peace in his garden, he overhears a tiny butterfly boasting to his wife that he can make the entire
- [List of Illustrations](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/just_so_stories_se/chapters/list-of-illustrations.md): This chapter provides a descriptive list of illustrations that accompany the stories in the book, each caption hinting at key scenes and characters from the tales.

HTML index: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/just_so_stories_se/chapters