Just so stories [antikvár]

INTEODUCTION Teachers will agree with me that it is not easy to find suitable texts for pupils in their second year of English. In Switzerland, where English is the second or third foreign language, our beginners are old enough to feel the difference between a made-up text and a work of art; many of them, especially the girls, are very keen on getting to know a good English writer. Therefore, when asked by the publishers to compile a volume of short stories by Kipling, I tried to supply a text that can be understood and enjoyed by our beginners. 'Just so Stories for Little Children', from which these tales are taken, was published in 1902 and illustrated by the author himself. Kipling addresses himself to the children of England, to the heirs of the vast British Empire; he does not beat the drum of Imperialism, yet his stories breathe a spirit of boundlessness and world-wide range. Echoes of Indian folklore alternate with reminiscences of pre-historic Britain, place-names from the four points of the compass with modern abbreviations for shipping companies. Every one of these unassuming stories betrays the touch of the artist; 'The Cat that Walked by Himself calls up visions of austere beauty and is a masterpiece of its kind. M. S.