HOW THE CAMEL GOT HIS HUMP
He says "Humph!" said the Dog; and he wont fetch and carry.
The hump that is black and blue!
Or frowst with a book by the fire;
And a snarly-yarly voice.
Only "Humph!"; and he wont plough, said the Ox.
We climb out of bed with a frouzly head
Do you see that? said the Djinn. Thats your very own humph that youve brought upon your very own self by not working. To-day is Thursday, and youve done no work since Monday, when the work began. Now you are going 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.
At the end of the day the Man called the Horse and the Dog and the Ox together, and said, Three, O Three, Im very sorry for you (with the world so new-and-all); but that Humph-thing in the Desert cant 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.
My long and bubbling friend, said the Djinn, whats this I hear of your doing no work, with the world so new-and-all?
Thats 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 dont you ever say I never did anything for you. Come out of the Desert and go to the Three, and behave. Humph yourself!
NOW this is the next tale, and it tells how the Camel got his big hump.
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.
Djinn of All Deserts, said the Horse, is it right for any one to be idle, with the world so new-and-all?
But uglier yet is the hump we get
We shiver and scowl and we grunt and we growl
Humph! said the Camel; andwww.99lib.net the Dog went away and told the Man.
If I havent enough to do-oo-oo--
Youve 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.
Whew! said the Djinn, whistling, thats my Camel, for all the gold in Arabia! What does he say about it?
THE Camels hump is an ugly lump
I get it as well as you-oo-oo--
At our bath and our boots and our toys;
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.
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.
We get the hump--
Humph! said the Camel; and the Ox went away and told the Man.
And the Camel
九_九_藏_书_网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.
Very good, said the Djinn. Ill humph him if you will kindly wait a minute.
Well, said the Horse, theres a thing in the middle of your Howling Desert (and hes a Howler himself) with a long neck and long legs, and he hasnt done a stroke of work since Monday morning. He wont trot.
The cure for this ill is not to sit still,
I shouldnt say that again if I were you, said the Djinn; you might say it once too often. Bubbles, I want you to work.
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.
And then y九九藏书网ou will find that the sun and the wind.
Kiddies and grown-ups too!
Which well you may see at the Zoo;
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.
Cameelious hump--
Kiddies and grown-ups too-oo-oo,
If we havent enough to do-oo-oo,
And the Djinn of the Garden too,
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.
And dig till you gently perspire;
Does he say anything else?
Humph! said the Camel.
(And I know there is one for you) When we get the hump--
The horrible hump--
How can I, said the Camel, with this humph on my
九-九-藏-书-网
back?Humph! said the Camel.
The hump that is black and blue!
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.
From having too little to do.
Humph! said the Camel; and the Horse went away and told the Man.
Have lifted the hump--
Cameelious hump--
We all get hump--
Certainly not, said the Djinn.
Cameelious hump--
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.
But to take a large hoe and a shovel also,
The hump that is black and blue!
And there ought to be a corner for me