Good evening, ladies and gentlemen and welcome to the Mickey Mouse show! I am your host, Mickey Mouse. This evening we will be exploring a few works from Rudyard Kipling’s Just So Stories. In this book, first published in 1902, the famous author Rudyard Kipling tells us what happened to animals that made them the way they are today. But, before we are introduced to our guests, we will need a little more background on the author himself, Rudyard Kipling. Kipling faced many hardships as a child which could be why he continued to write children’s books even after winning the Nobel Prize for literature. He enjoyed making children happy. He began writing children’s books when his daughter was born in 1892 and still continued to write them even after she passed away in 1899. He must have loved children very much. Just So Stories was one of his most popular children's books and this evening we will speak to four of his characters who are not very happy with the way Kipling chose to explain the origin of their physical features.

Our first guest is a very hard worker but this wasn’t always the case for him. Calvin Camel learned the hard way that there are no rewards for laziness. He enjoyed his life; He loved it, actually. But when Mr. Kipling came along and changed Calvin’s appearance, Calvin’s life became a burden and he hasn’t had a lazy day since.

After Calvin Camel will come Russell Rhinoceros. Russell is a former thief who, not unlike Calvin Camel, also learned that there are consequences for every action. He is very uncomfortable in his own skin, a situation he will explain to us later.  Russell has also developed some allergies along with his new deformity that all in all have caused him to have a very grumpy disposition.

Next will come Leon Leopard. Leon was a great hunter when he was younger but now he is not very happy with the way his life has turned out. Kipling changed him as well. At first it seemed like a good change that would benefit his profession but it has damaged his personal life beyond repair. His partner has deserted him, plus his wife left him and took their cubs. His story is not a happy one.

Our last guest of the evening will be Fred Elephant. Now this poor guy is very self-conscious about his very prominant new physical feature so we will have to be sensitive towards his predicament.  As a child he was a curious fellow. While talking with us, Fred will explain how his curiosity eventually got him into some serious trouble. Ladies and gentlemen, please understand that I am not saying that curiosity is always a bad thing. This segment will teach us when it is okay to be curious and when it is best to just let it go. We will also find out if it is true that elephants really are afraid of mice like me. (Laughter)

I will introduce our first guest right after this break. Please stay tuned. (Applause)

 Image: Mickey Mouse. Web source: Telegraph.