Yoto Says: Part of our series of classic animal origin stories by Rudyard Kipling.
Most domestic or farm animals have to earn their place by the fire. Kipling's short story – from the Just So Stories – tells us why cats can drink milk from a bowl and live a semi-wild life by themselves.
It takes us back to the time when people lived in caves. As always with Kipling (who also wrote The Jungle Book), the language is sonorous and wonderful.