The Beginning Of the Armadillos
by Rudyard Kipling
Stickly-Prickly the hedgehog and Slow-and-Solid the tortoise live along the banks of the Amazon River. Also living there is Painted Jaguar, whose mother teaches him how to eat hedgehogs and tortoises. He must drop hedgehogs into water and scoop tortoises out of their shells. But since he can't tell the two animals apart, Stickly-Prickly and Slow-and-Solid have no trouble getting away. To further ensure their safety, Stickly-Prickly practices how to swim and Slow-and-Solid practices how to curl up. Eventually, they both discover that they are no longer the same animals as they were before. They have become armadillos.
A very fanciful creation story told in uniquely affectionate prose. However, armadillos are actually not related to hedgehogs and turtles. Their closest relatives are sloths and anteaters! To learn more about armadillos, visit my other blog Interesting Nonfiction for Inquisitive Kids.
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