Play Just So Stories — an interactive story where YOU are the hero

after the classic by Rudyard Kipling, 1902

Step into the beginning of the world, when the Camel had no hump and the Elephant no trunk. Play the curious creatures at the very moment their shapes are decided, and choose the clever, funny answer to 'how did it get to be that way?'

A moment from one playthrough

By the great grey-green, greasy Limpopo, the Crocodile has your little nose clamped in his teeth and is pulling — and it's already stretching, longer, into something that could one day pluck fruit and squirt water. The Bi-Coloured-Python-Rock-Snake offers to help you pull back. Pull with all your might for the old short nose, or let it stretch and see what you become?

Play Just So Stories now →

Start free — 10 diamonds when you confirm your email. No subscription; narrated aloud; plays in 26 languages.

The Somni Tales reader: an open book with two pages of a story, an ink illustration, and a “write what you do” bar below.

Live Just So Stories, don't just read it

In this interactive telling of Just So Stories, you don't read about the hero — you are the hero. The Storyteller keeps Rudyard Kipling's world true to the original — its characters, its places, its mood, all held as canon — then narrates every scene aloud and draws the moment you're in as an ink illustration. You type or speak what you do next, and the world answers: it remembers the promises you made, the things you took, and the people you crossed. Follow Rudyard Kipling's plot faithfully, or step off it and watch a brand-new version of Just So Stories unfold — one that still reaches a real ending.

How it works

The Storyteller holds the world of the book as canon — its characters, places and mood — and opens with you as the hero.
Type or speak anything: the world reacts, remembers, and stays true to the original's spirit.
Every playthrough is a brand-new story. Follow the plot — or break it and see what happens.

Common questions about playing Just So Stories

Is Just So Stories free to play on Somni Tales?

You get 10 diamonds free when you confirm your email — enough to open Just So Stories and step into the first scenes. After that, diamonds cost from $5 with no subscription, and unused diamonds are refundable within 14 days.

Do I have to follow Rudyard Kipling's original plot?

No. The Storyteller holds Just So Stories as canon so its world, characters and mood stay true — but your choices write a brand-new telling. Follow the classic beats, or break from them and see where the story goes.

Can I play Just So Stories aloud and in my own language?

Yes — every scene is narrated aloud word by word, and Just So Stories plays in 26 languages. Change the language, voice and reading speed any time from the reader's Settings.