Just So Stories (version 3) - Free Audiobook

Just So Stories is a collection of children's tales by Rudyard Kipling, published in 1902 and illustrated with Kipling's own drawings. The stories began as bedtime tales he told his daughter Josephine, who insisted they be repeated exactly the same way each time, "just so," which gave the book its title.

Most of the stories are invented origin myths that explain, with mock seriousness, how a creature came to look or behave as it does. Readers learn how the whale ended up with a narrow throat, how the camel got his hump, how the leopard acquired his spots, how the elephant came by his long trunk, and how the cat chose to walk by himself. Others, such as the tales of the girl Taffy and her father in prehistoric times, imagine how the first letter and the alphabet were invented. Each story is followed by a short poem.

Kipling writes directly to a child listener, addressing them as "Best Beloved" and filling the text with invented words, repetitions and rhythmic phrases designed to be read aloud. Some of the language reflects attitudes of its era, but the collection remains among the best-known works of English children's literature. It suits families looking for funny, imaginative stories to share, and adults curious about Kipling's lighter side.