# Taffy — Just So Stories character guide

> Taffy in Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Yah, Ya

**First appearance:** 0007-how-the-first-letter-was-written

## Snapshot

A Neolithic girl with no manners and a quick mind, Taffy turns a drawing accident into the world's first written sentence.

## Who they are

Taffy trails her father Tegumai everywhere, dirty and unspanked, until a broken spear and a stranger's misunderstanding push her to draw pictures that speak. She is impatient with silly beaver sketches but sharp enough to catch the sounds hiding inside words like shu-ya and las. Her playful leap from picture to letter is the hinge on which the whole invention of writing turns.

## Relationships

### [Daddy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/just_so_stories_se/characters/daddy)

_family_

Daddy is Taffy's father, a loving and protective parent who interacts with her frequently in their prehistoric family setting.

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

_family_

Taffy is Tegumai Bopsulai's daughter, and they share a close, collaborative bond as they navigate early human life together.

### [Old Man Kangaroo](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/just_so_stories_se/characters/old_man_kangaroo)

_social_

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

### [Mummy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/just_so_stories_se/characters/mummy)

_family_

Mummy is Taffy's mother, providing care and nurturing in their prehistoric family unit.

### [Daddy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/just_so_stories_se/characters/daddy)

_family_

Daddy is Taffy's father, a loving and protective parent who interacts with her frequently in their prehistoric family setting.

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

_family_

Taffy is Tegumai Bopsulai's daughter, and they share a close, collaborative bond as they navigate early human life together.

### [Mummy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/just_so_stories_se/characters/mummy)

_family_

Mummy is Taffy's mother, providing care and nurturing in their prehistoric family unit.

### [Daddy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/just_so_stories_se/characters/daddy)

_family_

Daddy is Taffy's father, a loving and protective parent who interacts with her frequently in their prehistoric family setting.

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

_family_

Taffy is Tegumai Bopsulai's daughter, and they share a close, collaborative bond as they navigate early human life together.

### [Old Man Kangaroo](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/just_so_stories_se/characters/old_man_kangaroo)

_social_

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

### [Old Man Kangaroo](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/just_so_stories_se/characters/old_man_kangaroo)

_social_

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

### [Mummy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/just_so_stories_se/characters/mummy)

_family_

Mummy is Taffy's mother, providing care and nurturing in their prehistoric family unit.

## In the story

### [How the First Letter Was Written](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/just_so_stories_se/chapters/how-the-first-letter-was-written)

Taffy draws the first picture letter to request her father's spear, inadvertently inventing writing.

## Links

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