# Old Man Kangaroo — Just So Stories character guide

> Old Man Kangaroo in Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Man, Kangaroo, Man Kangaroo, the Kangaroo, Old Man, the Man

**First appearance:** 0005-the-singsong-of-old-man-kangaroo

## Snapshot

A grey, woolly, inordinately proud animal with four short legs who demands to be made different and popular by five o'clock.

## Who they are

Old Man Kangaroo dances on an Australian outcrop and pesters Little God Nqa, Middle God Nquing, and Big God Nqong to remake him. Nqong grants the wish by loosing Yellow-Dog Dingo, and the chase across the Flinders and the Cinders stretches his legs and adds a pouch. His inordinate pride is both the engine of the tale and the reason he loses his real name, Boomer.

## Relationships

### [The Cat](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/just_so_stories_se/characters/the_cat)

_rivalry_

Old Man Kangaroo and The Cat are antagonists, often competing or clashing in the whimsical world of the stories.

### [Taffy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/just_so_stories_se/characters/taffy)

_social_

Old Man Kangaroo and Taffy are acquaintances from different story realms, interacting occasionally but without deep emotional ties.

### [Dingo](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/just_so_stories_se/characters/dingo)

_rivalry_

Dingo pursues Old Man Kangaroo relentlessly, embodying a predator-prey rivalry in the Australian outback setting.

### [Suleiman-bin-Daoud](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/just_so_stories_se/characters/suleiman_bin_daoud)

_social_

Old Man Kangaroo and Suleiman-bin-Daoud interact as characters from different tales, with no strong emotional bond.

### [Tegumai Bopsulai](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/just_so_stories_se/characters/tegumai_bopsulai)

_social_

Old Man Kangaroo and Tegumai Bopsulai are characters from separate stories who cross paths without deep connection.

### [The Cat](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/just_so_stories_se/characters/the_cat)

_rivalry_

Old Man Kangaroo and The Cat are antagonists, often competing or clashing in the whimsical world of the stories.

### [Taffy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/just_so_stories_se/characters/taffy)

_social_

Old Man Kangaroo and Taffy are acquaintances from different story realms, interacting occasionally but without deep emotional ties.

### [The Cat](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/just_so_stories_se/characters/the_cat)

_rivalry_

Old Man Kangaroo and The Cat are antagonists, often competing or clashing in the whimsical world of the stories.

### [Dingo](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/just_so_stories_se/characters/dingo)

_rivalry_

Dingo pursues Old Man Kangaroo relentlessly, embodying a predator-prey rivalry in the Australian outback setting.

### [Tegumai Bopsulai](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/just_so_stories_se/characters/tegumai_bopsulai)

_social_

Old Man Kangaroo and Tegumai Bopsulai are characters from separate stories who cross paths without deep connection.

### [Suleiman-bin-Daoud](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/just_so_stories_se/characters/suleiman_bin_daoud)

_social_

Old Man Kangaroo and Suleiman-bin-Daoud interact as characters from different tales, with no strong emotional bond.

### [Suleiman-bin-Daoud](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/just_so_stories_se/characters/suleiman_bin_daoud)

_social_

Old Man Kangaroo and Suleiman-bin-Daoud interact as characters from different tales, with no strong emotional bond.

## In the story

### [The Singsong of Old Man Kangaroo](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/just_so_stories_se/chapters/the-singsong-of-old-man-kangaroo)

Proud and dissatisfied, he seeks transformation from the gods and is fundamentally changed by Dingo's chase.

### [List of Illustrations](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/just_so_stories_se/chapters/list-of-illustrations)

Depicted as the Different Animal with four short legs and later with his beautiful hind legs.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/just_so_stories_se/characters/old_man_kangaroo
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/just_so_stories_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/just_so_stories_se/characters