How the Camel Got His Hump

When the world was new and everything was fresh and shiny, the animals worked for the Man. The Horse trotted, the Dog fetched and carried, and the Ox pulled the plow.

But in the middle of the hot, howling Desert lived a Camel. He had long legs, a long neck, and soft, wide feet. All day he chewed prickly sticks and thorns and said only one thing to anyone who spoke to him: “Humph!”

On Monday morning, the Horse came to the Camel. “Camel,” said the Horse, “will you come and trot like the rest of us?”

“Humph!” said the Camel.

So the Horse went away and trotted for the Man all by himself.

On Tuesday, the Dog came. “Camel,” said the Dog, “will you help fetch and carry?”

“Humph!” said the Camel.

So the Dog went away and fetched and carried all by himself.

On Wednesday, the Ox came, hot and tired. “Camel,” said the Ox, “will you come and plow?”

“Humph!” said the Camel.

So the Ox went away and pulled the heavy plow all by himself.

By the end of Wednesday the Horse, the Dog, and the Ox were very tired. They went to the Man and said, “That Camel in the Desert won’t work. He only says ‘Humph!’”

The Man frowned. “Then you three must work double to make up for the Camel,” he said.

This made the Horse, the Dog, and the Ox very cross. They walked to the edge of the Desert to complain to someone else—the Djinn who was in charge of All Deserts. The wind began to whirl, and the sand began to dance, and the Djinn came riding on a puff of dust.

“What is this fuss?” asked the Djinn.

“There’s a great, humpy sort of animal in the Desert,” said the Horse. “He won’t trot.”

“He won’t fetch and carry,” said the Dog.

“He won’t plow,” said the Ox. “He only says, ‘Humph!’”

“Aha,” said the Djinn. “That sounds like my Camel.” And off he went, swooshing over the sand.

He found the Camel chewing thorns and staring at his own reflection in a little pool of water.

“Camel,” said the Djinn, “why aren’t you working?”

“Humph!” said the Camel.

“It’s Wednesday, and there is work to do,” said the Djinn. “Why won’t you help the Horse, the Dog, and the Ox?”

“Humph!” said the Camel.

“Do you mean to say,” said the Djinn, “that you will do nothing at all?”

“Humph!” said the Camel again.

“Very well,” said the Djinn. “You have said ‘Humph!’ three times. Now you shall have a thing that sounds like it.”

The Djinn puffed out his cheeks and blew a warm, whirling breath. The sand spun. The air hummed. Right then and there, something big and lumpy grew on the Camel’s back—a great, heavy hump!

“Look at me!” cried the Camel. “How can I work with this on my back?”

“That,” said the Djinn calmly, “is your hump. You missed Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. This hump holds the food and drink you skipped, so you can work for three days without stopping to eat. Now you will go and do your share.”

“But—” began the Camel.

“Don’t ‘Humph!’ at me,” said the Djinn. “Go to the Man, and help the Horse, the Dog, and the Ox. And don’t be lazy anymore.”

So the Camel went back to the Man. The Horse trotted beside him, the Dog bounded along, and the Ox pulled steady and strong. The Camel worked at last, but he never made up those first three days he had missed—and that is why, to this very day, the Camel still has a hump on his back.