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How did the leopard get its spots? Why do the tides ebb and flow? How did the elephant get its trunk? And how was the alphabet made?

Rudyard Kipling´s classic collection of fables answers the great questions of animal- and humankind, in a fun, eloquent, and magical way - for children and adults alike. Kipling´s beautifully imaginative answers echo the animal fables he heard during his childhood in India, paired with the folk tales he collected throughout his life.

Kipling´s enjoyment in playing with language, as well as his own delight in fatherhood, makes these stories a joy to read aloud, and children will request these tales as bedtime stories again and again. However, adults will also revel in Kipling´s fanciful storytelling and gift for language, as every reading uncovers a new joke, subtext, or fascinating embellishment. From the author of The Jungle Book and Kim, Just So Stories is the newest addition to the available canon of Kipling´s work available in the handy format of Collins Classics!

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Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936), wurde in Bombay geboren, wuchs aber - wie es damals üblich war - in Großbritannien auf. Im Alter von 17 Jahren kehrte er nach Indien zurück und begann als Journalist für anglo-indische Zeitungen zu arbeiten. Seine literarische Karriere begann 1886 mit Kurzgeschichten. Zu der Zeit, als die Dschungelbücher veröffentlicht wurden (1894/95) war er bereits einer der berühmtesten lebenden Schriftsteller Großbritanniens. Er erhielt 1907 im Alter von nur 42 Jahren den Nobelpreis für Literatur.

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