How the CamelGot His Hump

BEFORE YOU READ

THE CAMELRead this text about camels and complete the spaces.

There are two kinds of camels (1) ............... the world. The ArabianCamel or Dromedary has one hump. The Bactrian camel (2) ...............two humps. Camels live in the deserts (3) ............... Africa, the MiddleEast and parts of Asia. Camels are strong animals (4) ............... they can live three or four dayswithout food and water. They usually live for forty (5) ............... fifty yearsand eat green leaves, plants and grass. Some people like drinking their milk. People in the desert travel long distances (6) ............... camels. Theyare useful animals.

LISTENINGListen to the first part of the story. What does each character do?Match the picture with the correct description.

A He eats and sleeps and says ‘humph’.

B He guards the Farmer’s house.

C He carries men on his back and works hard.

D He works hard in the country all day.

E He talks to the animals about their problems.

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The Horse, the Dog and the Ox work for the Farmer, but theCamel does not. He has a long neck and long legs. He lives alonein the desert and doesn’t want to work. He eats and sleeps, andwhen someone speaks to him he says ‘Humph!’

On Monday morning the Horse goes to see the Camel.‘Camel!’ says the Horse, ‘come and work like all the other

animals. I carry men on my back and work hard all day.’‘Humph!’ says the Camel, and the Horse goes away.On Tuesday morning the Dog goes to see the Camel. ‘Camel!’ says the Dog, ‘come and work like all the other

animals. I guard 1 the Farmer’s house. I work hard day and night.’ ‘Humph!’ says the Camel, and the Dog goes away.On Wednesday the big Ox goes to see the Camel.‘Camel,’ says the big Ox, ‘come and work for the Farmer. I work

hard in the country all day.’‘Humph!’ says the Camel, and the Ox goes away.The animals go and tell the Farmer about the lazy 2 Camel.

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1. guard : protect, look after.

2. lazy : does not like to work or do anything.

‘The Camel is very lazy,’ says the Horse.‘He doesn’t want to work,’ says the Ox.‘He just eats and sleeps and says “humph”’, says the Dog.The Farmer thinks for a moment and then says, ‘You three

must work more then.’‘What!’ the animals say. ‘But we don’t want to work more.’‘You must work more because the Camel doesn’t want to work,’

says the farmer.The Horse, the Ox and the Dog are very angry and they start

talking. The Camel walks by and listens to them. ‘Humph!’ says the Camel and goes away laughing.The animals don’t know what to do.‘We need help,’ says the Horse.‘Yes,’ says the Dog sadly, ‘but who can help us?’Suddenly the Desert Magician arrives on a big cloud. He is a

great magician and lives in the desert. He is everyone’s friend.‘Hello!’ he says. ‘What are you talking about? Why are you angry?’‘Oh, Desert Magician,’ says the Horse, ‘we have a big problem.’‘What’s your problem?’ asks the Desert Magician. ‘Tell me about it.’‘The Camel in the desert doesn’t want to work,’ says the Horse.‘Why doesn’t he want to work?’ asks the Desert Magician.‘He’s lazy,’ says the Ox.‘Yes,’ says the Horse, ‘very lazy.’‘And we must do more work,’ says the Dog.‘We already work hard all day long,’ says the Ox.‘What does the Camel say?’ asks the Desert Magician.‘He always says “humph”’, says the Horse.‘I must go and talk to the Camel,’ says the Desert Magician.

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Just So Stories

END

The Desert Magician’s magic cloud carries him to the desertand he sees the Camel. He is standing near a pool 3 of water.

‘Why don’t you want to work, Camel?’ asks the Desert Magician.‘Humph!’ says the Camel, looking at the pool of water.‘The other animals must work more because you don’t work,’

says the Desert Magician.‘Humph!’ says the Camel.‘Don’t say “humph”!’ says the Desert Magician. ‘You must start

working.’The Camel looks at himself in the pool of water. ‘I’m a great magician,’ thinks the Desert Magician. ‘What

magic can I do? The Camel must work.’The Desert Magician sits down and thinks about something

magic. Suddenly the Camel has a big hump on his back. He looksin the pool of water and sees it. He is very surprised.

‘What’s that on my back?’ he asks the Desert Magician.‘It’s your humph!’ says the Desert Magician.‘I don’t like it and I don’t want it!’ says the Camel angrily. ‘How

can I work with this hump on my back?’ ‘Now you can work more than the other animals,’ says the

Desert Magician. ‘With your hump you don’t need to eat or drinkfor three days.’

‘What!’ says the Camel angrily. ‘I don’t want to work!’‘Now be quiet and start working!’ says the Desert Magician.The Camel walks away slowly and joins the other animals.

When the other animals see him they laugh and laugh. On thatday the Camel starts working but he still isn’t friendly.

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Just So Stories

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UNDERSTANDING THE TEXT

COMPREHENSION CHECKAre these sentences true (T) or false (F)? Correct the false ones.

T F

1 The Camel always says ‘Humph!’

2 The Ox carries men on his back all day.

3 The Ox is a small animal.

4 The Farmer wants the animals to work more.

5 The Dog, the Ox and the Horse are not happy.

6 No one likes the Desert Magician.

7 The Desert Magician wants to help the animals.

8 The Desert Magician rides the Horse to the desert.

WHO SAYS THIS?Match the sentence with the name of the character. Some names canbe used more than once.

1 I work hard in the country all day.

2 I guard the Man’s house.

3 What’s your problem?

4 You three must work more then.

5 I carry men on my back and work hard all day.

6 What’s that on my back?

7 You can work more than the other animals.

8 We need help.

A the Horse

B the Dog

C the Camel

D the Ox

E the Farmer

F the Desert Magician

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AFTER READING

COMPREHENSION CHECKAre the following sentences true (T) or false (F)? Correct the false ones.

T F

1 The Elephant’s Child and his friends live in the savannah.

2 All the elephants laugh at the Elephant Child’s long nose.

3 The Kangaroo wants to be different.

4 There is no bridge on the Wollgong River so the Kangaroo swims across it.

5 The Leopard and the Man are afraid of the Giraffe and the Zebra.

6 Baviaan the Baboon tells the Leopard to look for spots in the forest.

7 The Whale cannot eat men any more because he has got a raft in his throat.

8 The Sailor’s home is in England.

9 The Ox, the Horse and the Dog are good friends of the Camel.

10 The Desert Magician crosses the desert on a magic cloud.

CHARACTERSMatch the description to the correct name.

1 He likes hopping about.

2 He has got a trunk.

3 He can’t eat anything big.

4 He looks like a dog and he lives in Australia.

5 He has got stripes on his body.

6 He has got dark spots on his body.

7 He has got a very long neck and patches on his body.

8 He is very small and clever.

9 He has got a big hump.

10 He is a clever baboon.

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A Zebra

B Whale

C Little Fish

D Dingo

E Giraffe

F Elephant’s Child

G Baviaan

H Camel

I Leopard

J Kangaroo

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A CROSSWORDUse the clues to complete the crossword.

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Across

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Down

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2 A large area in hot countrieswhere there aren’t manytrees.

3 The area at the back of yourmouth.

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10 Look for, kill and eat animals.

CA B

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PICTURE SUMMARYLook at the pictures from the stories and say what is happening in eachone. In small groups, choose one of the stories and prepare a summary.

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