How the Rhinoceros Got His Skin

From Just So Stories, by Rudyard Kipling

This story comes from Just So Stories, first published in 1902 by Rudyard Kipling, who wrote tales explaining how animals got their distinctive features through playful, imaginative adventures. A Parsee is a member of a Zoroastrian community that settled in India; Kipling uses fantastical place names and a storyteller's voice full of humour and rhythm. This text reflects its era; a few period terms have been modernised. The story is worth a child's time because it teaches that actions have consequences—the Rhinoceros's rudeness and greed bring him discomfort that lasts forever, while the Parsee's clever revenge becomes legend.

Band

Green · Independent readers, early, about 8 to 10

Length

medium · about 791 words in 6 sections · 3 pictures

Source

Just so stories, Rudyard Kipling · Project Gutenberg

First published

1902

Regions

Canada · United States

Included formats

• · Web reader and PDF
• · EPUB for e-readers
• · Home-print sheet
• · Folded booklet
• · Binder edition (8.5 × 11)
• · Worksheet
• · Quick Check (10 questions) with answer key
• · Read-aloud script

Readers are engineered from the original public-domain text with AI under HummingRead’s published canon and Content Philosophy, checked by automated audit and sampled by a person. Pictures are made with AI to HummingRead’s brief for each story. How a reader is made.