Rudyard Kipling

The short story “How the Leopard Got His Spots” by Rudyard Kipling starts out in a time when all animals in the High Veldt were very plain. The leopard was the most plain and blended in with the yellowish sand color of the desert the best. This enabled him to hide and kill the other animals like the zebra and giraffe with ease. There was also an Ethiopian man, who lived on the High Veldt with the Leopard; and the two would hunt together. Eventually the other animals realized they needed a change if they were going to survive, so they traveled to a new forest full of trees and leaves. Due to the shadows in the forest, the giraffe developed spots and the zebra developed stripes, which allowed them to blend in with their new environment. The leopard and the Ethiopian grew very hungry after all the animals leave so they decide to go in search of their missing breakfast. They encounter a baboon that tells them where to look and gives them the advice that they must “change as soon as they can”. Their journey ultimately that takes them to the jungle where they can smell the zebra and the giraffe, but they can’t see them. They catch the animals in the dark, but then the giraffe and the zebra trick the leopard and the Ethiopian out of eating them. Faced with a changing environment both leopard and human struggle to adapt and hunt successfully, however the Ethiopian is willing to take advice and changes his skin according to the baboon’s suggestion. He realizes that following the baboon’s advice is the best way to become a strong hunter again. The leopard is a little more stubborn, but the Ethiopian convinces him to change as well. The Ethiopian man uses the black left on his skin to makes the spots on the leopard.

Lesson:
When faced with change, the educated and experienced individual will make it quickly. It does not take much hardship to make a person want to make an improvement in their life.

Emotions: * Silly/Nonsensical * Compassionate *