How the Leopard Got His Spots

In the days when everybody started fair, the Leopard lived on a wide, golden plain called the High Veldt. It was a sunny, sandy, yellow-brown sort of place, and the grass was yellow, and the rocks were yellow, and the earth was yellow.

And the animals who lived there, the Zebra, the Giraffe, the Eland, and all the rest, were yellow-brown too. And the Leopard was the yellowest of all, a proper sandy-yellow leopard, without a single spot.

He hunted together with his friend, the Hunter, who lived on the same plain. Because the Leopard matched the Veldt so perfectly, he only had to lie down beside a yellow rock, and any Zebra or Giraffe that came near got the surprise of their lives.

But after many months, the animals grew tired of being surprised. 'Enough,' said the Giraffe. 'We are moving.' And off they went, one by one, until they came to a great forest full of speckly, spickly, spotty shadows.

They stayed there in the shadowy forest, and something magical happened.

The Giraffe grew blotchy. Wherever the shadows fell on him, his skin darkened. Soon he had beautiful brown patches all over.

The Zebra grew stripy. Wherever the light and dark alternated across him, his fur darkened in stripes. Soon he was black and white all over.

Now, when the Leopard came looking for them, he could smell them, and he could hear them. But he could not SEE them.

'Where has everyone gone?' he cried to his friend the Hunter.

The Hunter shrugged. 'They must be here. But I cannot see them either.'

They went to the wise old Baboon and asked him.

'The animals have gone into other spots,' said the Baboon, 'and my advice to you is to go into other spots too.'

The Leopard scratched his head. 'I went into this spot!' he said. 'And it hasn't helped.'

'Not those kinds of spots, silly,' said the Baboon. 'Spots on your SKIN. Look at Giraffe. Look at Zebra. Their patterns hide them beautifully.'

'How do we do it?' asked the Leopard.

'I'll help you,' said the Hunter. He dipped his five fingertips into some dark paint. Then he pressed them, all together, all over the Leopard's yellow coat. And wherever his fingers touched, they left a print of five little dark spots, close together.

Sometimes the fingers slipped, and the marks got a little blurred. But if you look closely at any leopard's coat today, you will see that the spots always come in little groups, five at a time, where the Hunter's fingers pressed.

Now the Leopard could hide in the shadowy forest too. He could lie against a leafy branch and look just like sunshine through leaves. He could lie against dappled stones and look like more dappled stones.

And that is how, from that day to this, every leopard has been beautifully spotted, just perfect for hiding in the shadows.