How the leopard got his spots

This is my retelling of Rudyard Kipling’s Just so story ‘How the leopard got his Spots’

Long time ago, very long ago in the high veldt (not the lowveld aka Chiredzi or the bush veldt aka Matobo) everybody was fair and sandy coloured and blended in with the ‘sclusively sandy coloured yellowy, reddish, greyish high veldt.  The Giraffe had no patches and the Zebra no stripes, and they lived there and the Hartebeest, Eland and Kudu lived there and they were all ‘sclusively sandy, yellowish brownish.

How the Camel got his Hump

My retelling of Rudyard Kipling’s Just so Story.

Really, really long ago when the world was brand new, and all the animals were working with man to help get it all started there was a Camel, but he didn’t want to work. He was, in the words of Kipling ‘scruciating idle, which is Kipling’s way of saying he was really, really lazy!  And he was rude it seems, because when anyone spoke to him he just said ‘Humph’, imagine ‘Humph’ and nothing more.

How The Rhinoceros Got His Skin

This is my retelling of Rudyard Kiplings Just So Story, 'How the Rhino Got His Skin'

Long time ago, there was an uninhabited island (well  almost uninhabited save for a sole man named Pestonjee Bomonjee who was a Parsee and who ate cake). The island was on the shores of the red sea and the sun shone bright all year long. Because of this the Parsee, Pestonjee Bomonjee wore a brightly coloured hat.  All he had was his brightly coloured hat, a knife and an oil stove for cooking (Rudyard Kipling says this stove was of the particular kind that you should never ever touch because it got very hot, I suspect and that made it dangerous) One day the Parsee made a large cake with

How the elephant got his trunk aka the Elephant’s Child

This is my re-telling of Rudyard Kipling’s tale from his Just So Stories

Long ago in the land of the tsetse fly and near the banks of the great, grey, green, greasy Limpopo river Elephants lived and way back then their noses were no bigger than a boot, and the best they could do, was wriggle it from side to side. There was one young Elephant-the elephant’s child who was very curious though-full of ‘satiable curtiosity’ as the story goes.

His curiosity got him into all kinds of trouble and although he was a very well mannered, polite and good natured little elephant with a stubby nose he was always being spanked and scolded because of his nosiness and curiosity.  He had been spanked and scolded by his Aunt the Ostrich and His Uncle the Giraffe, and his other Aunt the Broad Hippopotamus (imagine being scolded and spanked by a hippo?) and not to mention his uncle the cheeky baboon.

How Zebra Got his Stripes and how Baboons Bum became Bald

This is my re-telling of Rudyard Kipling's Story from his Just so Series.  These were stories I was loveingly told as a child and ones which seem particularly relevant to the range of Wooden Toy Animals sold here.

Long long ago, during a very hot spell in the Savannah, water became scarce and only small pools of it lay in pans and drinking holes. One of these pans was guarded by a cheeky baboon, who claimed the water hole to be his and his alone and he forbade anyone from drinking at his pool.

One evening a thirsty zebra and his son came down to have a drink, but the cheeky baboon, who was sitting by his fire, leapt up. 'Go away,' he barked. ‘I am the lord of the water and this is my pool.'  You are not welcome here!

'This water is for anyone, it falls freely from the sky. No it is not yours - ape-face!' retorted the zebra's son.

'Ha well then you will have to fight me for it,' said the cheeky baboon in a rage. The young Zebra and baboon locked in battle. Back and forth they grappled, kicking up dust and disturbing all the tsetse flies

‘I set up Toys Naturally after I was made redundant during maternity leave. Lots of naïve optimism was needed and still is. But I am enjoying it and learning exponentially. My daughter, nephew, niece and unborn child are very much my inspiration and drive. The focus is 100% on little people and their parents. I hold stock of EVERYTHING. If it’s not in stock, I say so clearly on the site. I believe in offering a really good service and offering quality products that offer enduring play value which ultimately leads to children learning and progressing independently.

I want to get orders out to people quickly, so everything

• 'He puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore' Dr Zeuss - The grinch                
• Puzzles are incredibly valuable for children to understand shape and develop their spatial awareness, fine motor skills and problem solving skills.

• Where children seem to be frustrated with a puzzle or ask for help by all means guide them however do not implore your adult interpretation of how a puzzle ‘SHOULD’ be done on a child.

• The work of childhood is exploration. A child will gain as much from placing a puzzle piece incorrectly as they will from ‘getting it right’ Allow children to gain their own sense of puzzling in their own time.

• Have a Toy ‘First Aid Box’ with the following items:
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• Kitchen scouring pad and sponge, plus a soft cloth or muslin

• Fine to extra fine grit sandpaper 300-360 and above

• Non toxic wood glue

• Set of small screw drivers and allen keys
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• Bees wax for polishing and protecting.
  

The Giving Tree

There is a story about a boy and his relationship with a tree as he goes through life. It was  written and illustrated by Shel Silverstein. It was first published in 1964 and has subsequently been translated into dozens of different languages.

The tree always provided the boy with what he needed:

As a boy he swung on its branches, and rested in its shade. He was nourished by its fruit. He whittled it’s branches and crafted fine wooden toys. As the boy grew older, he required more and more of the tree. The tree loved the boy unconditionally and gave him all he asked for. The ultimate act being