Just so stories

Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936)

Approximate level: B1
Length: 30,378 words
Reading time: 2 h 32 min
Chapters: 11
Language: English
On Project Gutenberg since: 2001

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Rudyard Kipling’s early twentieth-century stories retell animal origins as playful folk tales, beginning with a clever fish and a hungry whale. The narrator speaks directly to a child, and the rhythmic lists, repeated phrases, invented words, and comic rhyme make the language lively but sometimes unfamiliar. Most sentences are clear, though some are long and packed with details. You will meet old-fashioned expressions, animal names, and themes of cleverness, curiosity, and the natural world.

5,314 downloads on Project Gutenberg

Subjects

Short stories
Children's stories, English
Animals -- Fiction

Questions about this book

What level of English do I need for this book?

The estimate is B1, based on how common the words are and how long the sentences run. It is an approximation, not a test result. With a translation under every sentence you can start one level earlier than you would with a paper copy.

Is this book really free?

Yes. The text is in the public domain and comes from Project Gutenberg, so it costs nothing. In Lingo7 you open the book and read the first page for free; a subscription unlocks the whole library, the audio and the word practice.

How does reading with a translation work?

Lingo7 shows the original sentence and, right under it, the same sentence in your language. Tap a word to see what it means, hear it, and save it for practice. The translation is made while you read, so it works for any book and for 50 languages.

How long does it take to read?

About 2 h 32 min at a native pace, spread over 11 chapters. In a foreign language plan for more: half an hour a day finishes a book of this size in a few weeks.