The Listening Grove · Just So Stories
Chapter 7: The Beginning of the Armadillos
A Charlotte Mason read-aloud lesson. Press play, with the lesson.
What is Just So Stories Chapter 7, The Beginning of the Armadillos, about?Parent review
Just So Stories Chapter 7, The Beginning of the Armadillos, is Rudyard Kipling’s tale of two friends on the banks of the turbid Amazon: Stickly-Prickly Hedgehog and Slow-Solid Tortoise. Painted Jaguar’s mother had told him to drop a Hedgehog into the water so he would uncoil, and to scoop a Tortoise out of his shell with his paw. But the two friends muddled her directions so thoroughly that Jaguar got a paw full of prickles, and the Tortoise escaped by diving into the river. Knowing Jaguar would learn the difference in time, the friends spent the night helping each other: the Hedgehog learned to swim, and the Tortoise learned to curl up. By morning, they had turned into scaly new animals that were a little bit of both. Mother Jaguar said to call them “Armadillo” until he found out their real name, and to leave them alone, and Armadillos they have been ever since.
Say what you remember!
Tell what you remember from the last story.
What happened in Just So Stories Chapter 6, The Sing-song of Old Man Kangaroo?Have a look
In Chapter 6, The Sing-Song of Old Man Kangaroo, the proud Kangaroo asked the Big God Nqong to make him different from all other animals and wonderfully run after. Nqong sent Yellow-Dog Dingo to chase him all across Australia, and the Kangaroo had to hop on his hind legs until they grew long and strong. By five o’clock he was different from all other animals, but he wasn’t grateful, and he and Dingo were both left hungry.
Read the previous lesson: The Sing-song of Old Man Kangaroo →Show what you know!
Say what you think each word means, then click to check your answers and learn some new words today.
What are the difficult or advanced vocabulary words in Just So Stories Chapter 7, The Beginning of the Armadillos?turbid, lodgings, uncoil, cautiousHave a look
- turbid: thick and cloudy with stirred-up mud
- lodgings: a room in someone else's house to live in
- uncoil: to unwind from a coiled shape
- cautious: careful about avoiding danger or risk
The Books come Alive!
Read or listen to Chapter 7 of Just So Stories, the Kindred Thicket Classic Edition.
Read by Phil Chenevert for LibriVox (public domain), adjusted and trimmed by Kindred Thicket.
Memory becomes Action!
Use the names below to remember and spell tricky names. Choose one way to narrate.
What is the list of names, people, characters, and places that are important in Chapter 7 of Just So Stories?Stickly-Prickly Hedgehog, Slow-Solid Tortoise, Painted Jaguar, Mother Jaguar, The turbid Amazon, ArmadilloHave a look
- Stickly-Prickly Hedgehog: The snail-eating Hedgehog of the turbid Amazon, a first Armadillo.
- Slow-Solid Tortoise: The lettuce-eating Tortoise of the turbid Amazon, a first Armadillo.
- Painted Jaguar: The young spotted hunter of the turbid Amazon.
- Mother Jaguar: Painted Jaguar's mother, the teacher of his hunting lessons.
- The turbid Amazon: The muddy river whose banks are home to all these creatures.
- Armadillo: Mother Jaguar's name for the new scaly animal of the Amazon.
Chapter 7 Q & A
This is a Kindred Thicket Classic Edition, with Kipling’s words kept as he wrote them. Here are answers to questions families often ask about this story.
How did the armadillo come to be?
In Kipling’s story, Stickly-Prickly Hedgehog learned to swim and Slow-Solid Tortoise learned to curl up. They practised all night until their prickles and plates turned into scales, and they became a new animal, the Armadillo.
What did Mother Jaguar tell Painted Jaguar?
She told him that when he found a Hedgehog he must drop him into the water so he would uncoil, and when he caught a Tortoise he must scoop him out of his shell with his paw.
How did the Hedgehog and the Tortoise trick Painted Jaguar?
They mixed up his mother’s directions until he did not know which of them was which. He scooped at the Hedgehog and got a paw full of prickles, then dropped the Tortoise into the river, where he swam away.
What does “turbid” mean?
Turbid means muddy or cloudy, with stirred-up earth in the water. Kipling calls the river “the turbid Amazon” all through the story.
Why were they called Armadillos?
Mother Jaguar said everything has its proper name, and that she would call the new animal “Armadillo” till she found out the real one. From that day on, no one on the banks of the Amazon called them anything else.