AUDIO STORY: HOW THE

LEOPARD GOT HIS SPOTS

story length: 12 mins, 37 secs
by Rudyard Kipling
read by Chuck Brown
In the days when everybody started fair, Best Beloved, the Leopard lived
in a place called the High Veldt. 'Member it wasn't the Low Veldt, or the
Bush Veldt, or the our Veldt, but the 'sclusively bare, hot, shiny High
Veldt, where there was sand and sandy!coloured roc" and 'sclusively tufts
of sandy! yellowish grass. #he $iraffe and the %ebra and the &land and
the 'oodoo and the Hartebeest lived there( and they were 'sclusively
sandy!yellow!brownish all over( but the Leopard, he was the 'sclusivest
sandiest!yellowish!brownest of them all!!a greyish!yellowish catty!shaped
"ind of beast, and he matched the 'sclusively yellowish!greyish!brownish
colour of the High Veldt to one hair. #his was very bad for the $iraffe and
the %ebra and the rest of them( for he would lie down by a 'sclusively
yellowish!greyish!brownish stone or clump of grass, and when the $iraffe
or the %ebra or the &land or the 'oodoo or the Bush!Buc" or the Bonte!
Buc" came by he would surprise them out of their )umpsome lives. He
would indeed* +nd, also, there was an &thiopian with bows and arrows ,a
'sclusively greyish!brownish!yellowish man he was then-, who lived on the
High Veldt with the Leopard( and the two used to hunt together!!the
&thiopian with his bows and arrows, and the Leopard 'sclusively with his
teeth and claws!!till the $iraffe and the &land and the 'oodoo and the
.uagga and all the rest of them didn't "now which way to )ump, Best
Beloved. #hey didn't indeed*
+fter a long time!!things lived for ever so long in those days!!they learned
to avoid anything that loo"ed li"e a Leopard or an &thiopian( and bit by
bit!!the $iraffe began it, because his legs were the longest!!they went
away from the High Veldt. #hey scuttled for days and days and days till
they came to a great forest, 'sclusively full of trees and bushes and stripy,
spec"ly, patchy!blatchy shadows, and there they hid/ and after another
long time, what with standing half in the shade and half out of it, and what
with the slippery!slidy shadows of the trees falling on them, the $iraffe
grew blotchy, and the %ebra grew stripy, and the &land and the 'oodoo
grew dar"er, with little wavy grey lines on their bac"s li"e bar" on a tree
trun"( and so, though you could hear them and smell them, you could very
seldom see them, and then only when you "new precisely where to loo".
#hey had a beautiful time in the 'sclusively spec"ly!spic"ly shadows of the
forest, while the Leopard and the &thiopian ran about over the 'sclusively
greyish!yellowish!reddish High Veldt outside, wondering where all their
brea"fasts and their dinners and their teas had gone. +t last they were so
hungry that they ate rats and beetles and roc"!rabbits, the Leopard and
the &thiopian, and then they had the Big #ummy!ache, both together( and
then they met Baviaan!!the dog!headed, bar"ing Baboon, who is .uite the
0isest +nimal in +ll outh +frica.
aid Leopard to Baviaan ,and it was a very hot day-, '0here has all the
game gone1'
+nd Baviaan win"ed. He "new.
aid the &thiopian to Baviaan, '2an you tell me the present habitat of the
aboriginal 3auna1' ,#hat meant )ust the same thing, but the &thiopian
always used long words. He was a grown!up.-
+nd Baviaan win"ed. He "new.
#hen said Baviaan, '#he game has gone into other spots( and my advice
to you, Leopard, is to go into other spots as soon as you can.'
+nd the &thiopian said, '#hat is all very fine, but I wish to "now whither the
aboriginal 3auna has migrated.'
#hen said Baviaan, '#he aboriginal 3auna has )oined the aboriginal 3lora
because it was high time for a change( and my advice to you, &thiopian, is
to change as soon as you can.'
#hat pu44led the Leopard and the &thiopian, but they set off to loo" for the
aboriginal 3lora, and presently, after ever so many days, they saw a great,
high, tall forest full of tree trun"s all 'sclusively spec"led and sprottled and
spottled, dotted and splashed and slashed and hatched and cross!hatched
with shadows. ,ay that 5uic"ly aloud, and you will see how very shadowy
the forest must have been.-
'0hat is this,' said the Leopard, 'that is so 'sclusively dar", and yet so full
of little pieces of light1'
'I don't "now, said the &thiopian, 'but it ought to be the aboriginal 3lora. I
can smell $iraffe, and I can hear $iraffe, but I can't see $iraffe.'
'#hat's curious,' said the Leopard. 'I suppose it is because we have )ust
come in out of the sunshine. I can smell %ebra, and I can hear %ebra, but I
can't see %ebra.'
'0ait a bit, said the &thiopian. 'It's a long time since we've hunted 'em.
6erhaps we've forgotten what they were li"e.'
'3iddle*' said the Leopard. 'I remember them perfectly on the High Veldt,
especially their marrow!bones. $iraffe is about seventeen feet high, of a
'sclusively fulvous golden!yellow from head to heel( and %ebra is about
four and a half feet high, of a'sclusively grey!fawn colour from head to
heel.'
'7mm, said the &thiopian, loo"ing into the spec"ly!spic"ly shadows of the
aboriginal 3lora!forest. '#hen they ought to show up in this dar" place li"e
ripe bananas in a smo"ehouse.'
But they didn't. #he Leopard and the &thiopian hunted all day( and though
they could smell them and hear them, they never saw one of them.
'3or goodness' sa"e,' said the Leopard at tea!time, 'let us wait till it gets
dar". #his daylight hunting is a perfect scandal.'
o they waited till dar", and then the Leopard heard something breathing
sniffily in the starlight that fell all stripy through the branches, and he
)umped at the noise, and it smelt li"e %ebra, and it felt li"e %ebra, and
when he "noc"ed it down it "ic"ed li"e %ebra, but he couldn't see it. o he
said, 'Be 5uiet, 8 you person without any form. I am going to sit on your
head till morning, because there is something about you that I don't
understand.'
6resently he heard a grunt and a crash and a scramble, and the &thiopian
called out, 'I've caught a thing that I can't see. It smells li"e $iraffe, and it
"ic"s li"e $iraffe, but it hasn't any form.'
'9on't you trust it,' said the Leopard. 'it on its head till the morning!!same
as me. #hey haven't any form!!any of 'em.'
o they sat down on them hard till bright morning!time, and then Leopard
said, '0hat have you at your end of the table, Brother1'
#he &thiopian scratched his head and said, 'It ought to be 'sclusively a rich
fulvous orange!tawny from head to heel, and it ought to be $iraffe( but it is
covered all over with chestnut blotches. 0hat have you at your end of the
table, Brother1'
+nd the Leopard scratched his head and said, 'It ought to be 'sclusively a
delicate greyish!fawn, and it ought to be %ebra( but it is covered all over
with blac" and purple stripes. 0hat in the world have you been doing to
yourself, %ebra1 9on't you "now that if you were on the High Veldt I could
see you ten miles off1 :ou haven't any form.'
':es,' said the %ebra, 'but this isn't the High Veldt. 2an't you see1'
'I can now,' said the Leopard. 'But I couldn't all yesterday. How is it done1'
'Let us up,' said the %ebra, 'and we will show you.
#hey let the %ebra and the $iraffe get up( and %ebra moved away to some
little thorn!bushes where the sunlight fell all stripy, and $iraffe moved off to
some tallish trees where the shadows fell all blotchy.
';ow watch,' said the %ebra and the $iraffe. '#his is the way it's done.
8ne!!two!!three* +nd where's your brea"fast1'
Leopard stared, and &thiopian stared, but all they could see were stripy
shadows and blotched shadows in the forest, but never a sign of %ebra
and $iraffe. #hey had )ust wal"ed off and hidden themselves in the
shadowy forest.
'Hi* Hi*' said the &thiopian. '#hat's a tric" worth learning. #a"e a lesson by
it, Leopard. :ou show up in this dar" place li"e a bar of soap in a coal!
scuttle.'
'Ho* Ho*' said the Leopard. '0ould it surprise you very much to "now that
you show up in this dar" place li"e a mustard!plaster on a sac" of coals1'
'0ell, calling names won't catch dinner, said the &thiopian. '#he long and
the little of it is that we don't match our bac"grounds. I'm going to ta"e
Baviaan's advice. He told me I ought to change( and as I've nothing to
change e<cept my s"in I'm going to change that.'
'0hat to1' said the Leopard, tremendously e<cited.
'#o a nice wor"ing blac"ish!brownish colour, with a little purple in it, and
touches of slaty!blue. It will be the very thing for hiding in hollows and
behind trees.'
o he changed his s"in then and there, and the Leopard was more e<cited
than ever( he had never seen a man change his s"in before.
'But what about me1' he said, when the &thiopian had wor"ed his last little
finger into his fine new blac" s"in.
':ou ta"e Baviaan's advice too. He told you to go into spots.'
'o I did,' said the Leopard. I went into other spots as fast as I could. I
went into this spot with you, and a lot of good it has done me.'
'8h,' said the &thiopian, 'Baviaan didn't mean spots in outh +frica. He
meant spots on your s"in.'
'0hat's the use of that1' said the Leopard.
'#hin" of $iraffe,' said the &thiopian. '8r if you prefer stripes, thin" of
%ebra. #hey find their spots and stripes give them per!feet satisfaction.'
'7mm,' said the Leopard. 'I wouldn't loo" li"e %ebra!!not for ever so.'
'0ell, ma"e up your mind,' said the &thiopian, 'because I'd hate to go
hunting without you, but I must if you insist on loo"ing li"e a sun!flower
against a tarred fence.'
'I'll ta"e spots, then,' said the Leopard( 'but don't ma"e 'em too vulgar!big. I
wouldn't loo" li"e $iraffe!!not for ever so.'
'I'll ma"e 'em with the tips of my fingers,' said the &thiopian. '#here's plenty
of blac" left on my s"in still. tand over*'
#hen the &thiopian put his five fingers close together ,there was plenty of
blac" left on his new s"in still- and pressed them all over the Leopard, and
wherever the five fingers touched they left five little blac" mar"s, all close
together. :ou can see them on any Leopard's s"in you li"e, Best Beloved.
ometimes the fingers slipped and the mar"s got a little blurred( but if you
loo" closely at any Leopard now you will see that there are always five
spots!!off five fat blac" finger!tips.
';ow you are a beauty*' said the &thiopian. ':ou can lie out on the bare
ground and loo" li"e a heap of pebbles. :ou can lie out on the na"ed roc"s
and loo" li"e a piece of pudding!stone. :ou can lie out on a leafy branch
and loo" li"e sunshine sifting through the leaves( and you can lie right
across the centre of a path and loo" li"e nothing in particular. #hin" of that
and purr*'
'But if I'm all this,' said the Leopard, 'why didn't you go spotty too1'
'8h, plain blac"'s best for a blac" man,' said the &thiopian. ';ow come
along and we'll see if we can't get even with Mr. 8ne!#wo! #hree!0here's!
your!Brea"fast*'
o they went away and lived happily ever afterward, Best Beloved. #hat is
all.
8h, now and then you will hear grown!ups say, '2an the &thiopian change
his s"in or the Leopard his spots1' I don't thin" even grown!ups would
"eep on saying such a silly thing if the Leopard and the &thiopian hadn't
done it once!!do you1 But they will never do it again, Best Beloved. #hey
are 5uite contented as they are.