HOW THE CAMEL GOT HIS

HUMP
Rudyard Kipling

(Supplementary Reader)
Rudyard Kipling - the author
• How the Camel got his hump” is a short story written by Rudyard Kipling .
• Rudyard Kipling was an English journalist, short-story writer, poet, and
novelist. He was born in India in 1865, which inspired much of his work.
• Kipling's works of fiction include The Jungle Book (1894), Kim (1901), and
many short stories, including "The Man Who Would Be King" (1888). His
poems include "Mandalay" (1890), "Gunga Din" (1890), "The Gods of the
Copybook Headings" (1919), "The White Man's Burden" (1899), and "If—"
(1910).
• He is seen as an innovator in the art of the short story. His children's books
are classics; one critic noted "a versatile and luminous narrative gift."
Theme:

•Importance of labour
- whether physical /mental or prominent /menial- all work is dignified.
The story:
• This story takes us back to the time when the animals began to work for
the Man. A Camel lived in the middle of a desert because he was lazy and
refused to help. The Dog, the Horse and the Ox, all urged him to join in
their work, but he only answered ‘Humph!’ They complained to the man,
who said he was sorry, but they would just have to work longer hours
themselves.
• Then they complained to the Djinn, who was in charge of all the deserts.
The Djinn went to see the camel and told him to work, but still all he would
say was ‘Humph!’ The Djinn used his magical powers to puff up the Camel’s
back into a humph (or hump) and condemned him to work for three days
without eating, living on his hump. He also advised him to make up for the
days he had missed. He still has his hump. But, he never did make up the
lost time, and he still behaves badly.
 Video Links:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQacqHIVpxc&t=17s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bE13T7qKLQ&t=107s
Asset Questions:
1. Which word is OPPOSITE in meaning 3. I shouldn’t say that again if I
to ‘idle’? _______you.
a. lazy Choose the appropriate word.
b. inactive a. were
c. industrious b. where
d. lax c. wear
2. The Djinn rolled himself up in his...... d. wore
The underlined word is a 4. “What does he say about it___” said
a. noun the DJinn.
b. adjective Fill in the correct punctuation.
c. pronoun a. !
d. adverb b. .
c. ?
d. :
Assignment:
I. Answer the following questions in 30-40 words:
1. Why did the man call the horse, dog and ox?
2. What was the camel doing when the Djinn went to meet him?

II. Answer the following question in 80-100 words:

1. How did the Djinn make the camel aware of his mistakes?