How The Camel Got His Hump – This article will tell you the short story and poem entitled, “How The Camel Got His Hump” by Rudyard Kipling with story analysis, summary and theme in English. What is the theme, summary, plot, setting, character and point of view of How The Camel Got His Hump by Rudyard Kipling?
How The Camel Got His Hump
In the beginning of years, when the world was so new and all, and the Animals were just beginning to work for Man, there was a Camel, and he lived in the middle of a Howling Desert because he did not want to work; and besides, he was a Howler himself. So he ate sticks and thorns and tamarisks and milkweed and prickles, most ‘scruciating idle; and when anybody spoke to him he said ‘Humph!’ Just ‘Humph!’ and no more.
Presently the Horse came to him on Monday morning, with a saddle on his back and a bit in his mouth, and said, ‘Camel, O Camel, come out and trot like the rest of us.’
‘Humph!’ said the Camel; and the Horse went away and told the Man.
Presently the Dog came to him, with a stick in his mouth, and said, ‘Camel, O Camel, come and fetch and carry like the rest of us.’
‘Humph!’ said the Camel; and the Dog went away and told the Man.
Presently the Ox came to him, with the yoke on his neck and said, ‘Camel, O Camel, come and plough like the rest of us.’
‘Humph!’ said the Camel; and the Ox went away and told the Man.
At the end of the day the Man called the Horse and the Dog and the Ox together, and said, ‘Three, O Three, I’m very sorry for you (with the world so new-and-all); but that Humph-thing in the Desert can’t work, or he would have been here by now, so I am going to leave him alone, and you must work double-time to make up for it.’
That made the Three very angry (with the world so new-and-all), and they held a palaver, and an indaba, and a punchayet, and a pow-wow on the edge of the Desert; and the Camel came chewing on milkweed most ‘scruciating idle, and laughed at them. Then he said ‘Humph!’ and went away again.
Presently there came along the Djinn in charge of All Deserts, rolling in a cloud of dust (Djinns always travel that way because it is Magic), and he stopped to palaver and pow-pow with the Three.
‘Djinn of All Deserts,’ said the Horse, ‘is it right for any one to be idle, with the world so new-and-all?’
‘Certainly not,’ said the Djinn.
‘Well,’ said the Horse, ‘there’s a thing in the middle of your Howling Desert (and he’s a Howler himself) with a long neck and long legs, and he hasn’t done a stroke of work since Monday morning. He won’t trot.’
‘Whew!’ said the Djinn, whistling, ‘that’s my Camel, for all the gold in Arabia! What does he say about it?’
‘He says “Humph!”‘ said the Dog; ‘and he won’t fetch and carry.’
‘Does he say anything else?’
‘Only “Humph!”; and he won’t plough,’ said the Ox.
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‘Very good,’ said the Djinn. ‘I’ll humph him if you will kindly wait a minute.’
The Djinn rolled himself up in his dust-cloak, and took a bearing across the desert, and found the Camel most ‘scruciatingly idle, looking at his own reflection in a pool of water.
‘My long and bubbling friend,’ said the Djinn, ‘what’s this I hear of your doing no work, with the world so new-and-all?’
‘Humph!’ said the Camel.
The Djinn sat down, with his chin in his hand, and began to think a Great Magic, while the Camel looked at his own reflection in the pool of water.
‘You’ve given the Three extra work ever since Monday morning, all on account of your ‘scruciating idleness,’ said the Djinn; and he went on thinking Magics, with his chin in his hand.
‘Humph!’ said the Camel.
‘I shouldn’t say that again if I were you,’ said the Djinn; you might say it once too often. Bubbles, I want you to work.’
And the Camel said ‘Humph!’ again; but no sooner had he said it than he saw his back, that he was so proud of, puffing up and puffing up into a great big lolloping humph.
‘Do you see that?’ said the Djinn. ‘That’s your very own humph that you’ve brought upon your very own self by not working. To-day is Thursday, and you’ve done no work since Monday, when the work began. Now you are going to work.’
‘How can I,’ said the Camel, ‘with this humph on my back?’
‘That’s made a-purpose,’ said the Djinn, ‘all because you missed those three days. You will be able to work now for three days without eating, because you can live on your humph; and don’t you ever say I never did anything for you. Come out of the Desert and go to the Three, and behave. Humph yourself!’
And the Camel humphed himself, humph and all, and went away to join the Three. And from that day to this the Camel always wears a humph (we call it ‘hump’ now, not to hurt his feelings); but he has never yet caught up with the three days that he missed at the beginning of the world, and he has never yet learned how to behave.
The Short story entitled, “How The Camel Got His Hump,” is from americanliterature.com
How The Camel Got His Hump Story Analysis
How the camel got his hump analysis is a precise analysis of the story to further understand its underlying message. Allow us to indulge ourselves by delving into the great story analysis.
| Title | How The Camel Got His Hump |
| Author | Rudyard Kipling |
| Publication Date | 1902 |
| Theme | The primary goal of this story is to instill in the audience the value of perseverance. It is impossible to succeed in life if we are lazy. (Laziness) |
| Genre | Short Story |
| Characters | Camel, Man, Ox, Horse, Dog, and Djinn |
| Summary | The story is from the time when the world had just started to use animals for their work. The fable tells the tale of a lazy camel who did not work and only said “Humph!” to everyone who asked him to work. Djinn punished him by making a huge hump that bulged out of the camel’s back. The Djinn said that he could now work for three days without food or water. This led the camel to start working like the other animals, and this is how the camel got his hump. |
How The Camel Got His Hump by Rudyard Kipling
During his lifetime, Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936) experienced several firsts. His Just So Stories are widely regarded as some of the best short stories ever written by a English author.
It was when Rudyard was five years old that he and his younger sister were sent to England so that they could go to school there. In 1878, Kipling was accepted into the United Services College at Westward Ho!, a college that taught young men how to be good in the army. Without money to pay for his education, it was decided that Rudyard should go back to India. That was when he started writing for real.
In 1888, he published six collections of short stories. He started writing while he was in India. After they left, they went back to England. In the early 1900s, the world saw a great writer at the top of his game. When he won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1907, he got it. A perforated ulcer killed him in 1936 when he was 70 years old.
How The Camel Got His Hump Poem
THE Camel’s hump is an ugly lump
Which well you may see at the Zoo;
But uglier yet is the hump we get
From having too little to do.Kiddies and grown-ups too-oo-oo,
If we haven’t enough to do-oo-oo,
We get the hump–
Cameelious hump–
The hump that is black and blue!We climb out of bed with a frouzly head
And a snarly-yarly voice.
We shiver and scowl and we grunt and we growl
At our bath and our boots and our toys;And there ought to be a corner for me
(And I know there is one for you)
When we get the hump–
Cameelious hump–
The hump that is black and blue!The cure for this ill is not to sit still,
Or frowst with a book by the fire;
But to take a large hoe and a shovel also,
And dig till you gently perspire;And then you will find that the sun and the wind.
And the Djinn of the Garden too,
Have lifted the hump–
The horrible hump–
The hump that is black and blue!I get it as well as you-oo-oo–
How The Camel Got His Hump Poem
If I haven’t enough to do-oo-oo–
We all get hump–
Cameelious hump–
Kiddies and grown-ups too!
How The Camel Got His Hump Theme
The primary goal of this story is to instill in the audience the value of perseverance. It is impossible to succeed in life if we are lazy. (Laziness)
How The Camel Got His Hump Genre
The short story called How The Camel Got His Hump that is also a Children’s Literature. If you go to Britannica.com, you can learn about children’s literature, which includes picture books and easy-to-read stories written just for kids. They also include fairy tales and other stories that are mostly told orally, like lullabies and folk songs.
It is a group of written works and illustrations that are made for young people to enjoy or learn about. People who write in this genre include some of the best-known books in the world.
How The Camel Got His Hump Characters
Time needed: 2 minutes
Here are the characters of How The Camel Got His Hump.
- Camel
The camel was a very lazy animal that lives in the Howling Desert.
- Man
The man was the one managing the animals to work.
- Horse
The horse was the first animal who asked the camel to help them work.
- Dog
He is the second animal who asked the camel to work.
- Ox
The ox was the third animal who also asked the camel to work.
- Djinn
The Djinn punished the camel by making a huge hump that bulged out of his back. The Djinn said that he could now work for three days without food or water.
How The Camel Got His Hump Summary
The story is from the time when the world had just started to use animals for their work. The fable tells the tale of a lazy camel who did not work and only said "Humph!" to everyone who asked him to work. Djinn punished him by making a huge hump that bulged out of the camel’s back. The Djinn said that he could now work for three days without food or water. This led the camel to start working like the other animals, and this is how the camel got his hump.
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Throughout the story, How The Camel Got His Hump Short Story and Poem Analysis With Summary and Theme by Rudyard Kipling effectively shows the point that being lazy is a bad thing, which is what makes it so good! Hard work is important, and this text is meant to show that. Laziness will not get us to where we want to go. In fact, if we don’t work, we’ll end up with more than we can handle.
Rudyard Kipling’s collection ‘Just So Stories’ contains the story ‘How the camel got his Hump.’ There are no humps on camels back in Arabia when the narrative takes place.
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