I really need someone to expalin to me why books are abridged. In particular the Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling. I read the scholastic version which greatly shortened the length of the novel. It left out tales such as the white seal. I really want to understand why they do this and how it can be legal to simply dumb down a classic story and publish it for profit. I'm studying to become a teacher and I'd really like to be able to explain to my student why I prefer that they read the original version. If anyone can help I'd really appreciate it.