Just So Stories · Chapters

Chapters explained

Chapter companions for Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling.

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Chapter 1
How the Whale Got His Throat
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 take him home. Before leaving, the Mariner constructs a grating from his raft and suspenders, lodging it in the whale's throat to prevent him from eating large creatures ever again.
Chapter 2
How the Camel Got His Hump
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 double. The Djinn in charge of All Deserts confronted the Camel and, after the Camel said 'Humph!' once too often, caused a great hump to grow on his back. The Djinn explained that the hump would allow the Camel to work for three days without eating, making up for the three days he had missed. The Camel then joined the others, but has never caught up on the lost time or learned to behave properly.
Chapter 3
How the Rhinoceros Got His Skin
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 the Rhinoceros puts the skin back on, the crumbs cause unbearable itching, and his frantic scratching creates permanent folds in his skin, explaining why rhinoceroses have wrinkled skin and bad tempers.
Chapter 4
How the Leopard Got His Spots
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 gives the Leopard spots, allowing them to blend into their environment and hunt successfully.
Chapter 5
The Elephant's Child
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 nose and pulls it into a trunk. With help from the Bi-Coloured-Python-Rock-Snake, the Elephant's Child escapes with a long trunk, which he then uses to spank his family and teach them the value of curiosity.

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How the Whale Got His Throat

How the Camel Got His Hump

How the Rhinoceros Got His Skin

How the Leopard Got His Spots

The Elephant's Child