The Just So Project

Contents:

How the Camel Got his Hump
The Cat that Walked by Himself
How the Whale Got his Throat
How the Rhinoceros Got his Skin

These are four of Rudyard Kipling’s twelve Just So Stories that can still be read by even the most sensitive souls, because they offend no one in particular. It would seem that the Just So Stories were written for this Nobel Prize winner's daughter, addressing her without shame as "My Best Beloved." A curious child, she required of him explanations for things. However, she was satisfied with the fanciful tales concocted by Kipling since they were both especially sweet and highly informative.

Most nitty-gritty details are true and factual, touching upon politics, geography, economics, science, math, and history, while the premises of the stories were so fantastical that no one would mistake their intent. Camels stare at themselves in the mirrored pond and refuse to work, whales communicate their needs to other fish, cats become sentient beings, and humans even in their primitive state become much wiser than they could possibly be.

Because these stories take place on a fanciful plane and their characters are mainly animals and magicians, they are timeless. Their references to customs and attitudes of their day turn them into anthropological goldmines. Included here is a piece from one of Kipling’s stories NOT included in this carefully selected grouping. Can you find ten reasons why we felt it might be better to leave it out! Can you think of an equal number of reasons we should have included it! (PS: We will include it in a future compendium.)

THE CRAB THAT PLAYED WITH THE SEA
By Rudyard Kipling

BEFORE the High and Far-Off Times,
O my Best Beloved,
came the Time of the Very Beginnings;
and that was in the days
when the Eldest Magician was getting Things ready.
First he got the Earth ready;
then he got the Sea ready;
and then he told all the Animals
that they could come out and play.
And the Animals said,
'O Eldest Magician, what shall we play at?'
and he said, 'I will show you.

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