num_pages: 160
description: The Just So Stories have a typical theme of a particular animal being modified from an original form to its current form by the acts of man, or some magical being. For example, the Whale has a tiny throat from a swallowed mariner who tied a raft in there to block the whale from swallowing others. The Camel has a hump given to him by a djinn as punishment for the camel refusing to work (the hump allows the camel to work longer between eating). The Leopard has spots painted on him by an Ethiopian (after the Ethiopian painted himself black). The Kangaroo gets its powerful hind legs, long tail, and hopping gait after being chased all day by a dingo, who was sent after the Kangaroo by a minor god whom the Kangaroo had asked to make him different from all other animals.
language: English
title: Just So Stories
titlecomplete: Just So Stories
characters: Aunt Ostrich, Dingo—Yellow-Dog, Tired-Dog, Poor-Dog, Elephant's Child, Wild Cow, Stute fish, Mariner, Wild Man, Little girl-daughter, Pau Amma, Man, aka Son of Adam, Kangaroo, Old Man Kangaroo, Tired Old Kangaroo, Slow-Solid Tortoise, Kolokolo Bird, Ethiopian, Solomon the Son of David, aka The Most Wise Sovreign Suleiman-bin-Daoud, Painted Jaguar, Aunt Hippopotamus, Stickly-Prickly Hedgehog, Wild Horse, Wild Dog, Rhinoceros, All-the-Turtle-there-was, Nqong, Bi-Colored-Python-Rock-Snake, The Most Beautiful Queen Balkis, Uncle Giraffe, Wild Cat, Uncle Baboon
genres: Literature, Young Adult, Childrens, Classics, India, Animals, Short Stories, Fiction, Fantasy, British Literature
ratings_count: 47721
series: Password Readers Leveled Stories
awards: awardedAt: -94665600000
name: Lewis Carroll Shelf Award
publisher: Penguin Publishers