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How the First Letter Was Written

From Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling

This story comes from Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories, first published in 1902. Kipling wrote these playful tales to explain, in an imaginative way, how things in the world came to be. In 'How the First Letter Was Written', he invents a Neolithic family and shows how a simple misunderstanding led to the idea of writing. The text reflects its era; a few period terms have been modernised. Kipling's storytelling is full of affection, humour and vivid detail, and this tale reminds young readers that even the greatest inventions — like writing itself — often begin with a mistake and a laugh.

Band

Green · Independent readers, earlyTypical starting range: ages 9–11

Length

medium · about 809 words in 6 sections · 3 pictures

Source

Just so stories, Rudyard Kipling

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
• · Teacher’s Edition (members)

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.

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