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NCERT Class 8 English It So Happened Chapter 1 story ‘How Camel Got His Hump’ is a story by Rudyard Kipling. In this story, the authority creates an imaginary world in the backdrop of a desert, which is inhabited by a camel, a horse, a dog, an ox, and a man. Out of all these animals, the camel is the lazy one. As a result of his laziness, the Djinn gives him a hump. To know the details of this story go through the summary of the chapter in the subsequent section of the blog.
After walking through the summary, you will come across important word meanings in the chapter. It is then followed by the NCERT solutions, which are prepared by subject experts. Also, you can download the NCERT solutions PDF for revision during the examination. Keep reading!!
Also Read: History of English Literature PDF, Outline, Notes, Books
Table of Contents
Explore the Summary of all Chapters in Class 8 English It So Happened here:
| Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 |
| Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 |
Summary of NCERT Class 8 English It So Happened Chapter 1 ‘How Camel Got His Hump’
In Rudyard Kipling’s “How the Camel Got His Hump,” a lazy Camel resides in the desert, avoiding work and surviving on thorny vegetation. When prompted by other animals to contribute, he responds with a snotty “Humph!” The Man, noticing the Camel’s refusal to participate, decides to let him be and assigns extra work to the Horse, Dog, and Ox to compensate. This arrangement results in frustration among the other animals, who seek assistance from the Djinn, the desert spirit.
The Djinn confronts the Camel, warning him about the repercussions of his idleness. Despite the warnings, the Camel remains stubborn and refuses to yield. In response, the Djinn imposes a punishment: a massive hump on the Camel’s back, which will sustain him for three days without food. With the burden of his hump, the Camel unwillingly joins the others in their labour. However, he never manages to make up for the days of work he missed nor does he learn to behave responsibly.
Through this tale, Kipling imparts the moral lesson that idleness leads to consequences and responsibilities must be fulfilled. The Camel’s hump serves as a metaphor for the burdens one accumulates due to negligence or indolence. By comparing the Camel’s laziness with the hard work of the other animals, Kipling underscores the importance of effort and cooperation in achieving common goals. Ultimately, the Camel’s transformation highlights the necessity of contributing to society and the repercussions of avoiding one’s duties.
Also Read: Story Writing Format for Class 9 to 12
Important Words and Phrases and Their Meanings
In this part, we have enlisted words and phrases with meanings in NCERT Class 8 English It So Happened Chapter 1 ‘How Camel Got His Hump’ to help you understand the chapter better. Also, these might help you expand your English vocabulary.
| Words/Phrases | Meanings |
| Djinn (pronunciation: jin) | A spirit with supernatural powers. The spirit can take the form of humans, animals, or things |
| I’ll hump him | I will set him right |
| Remonstrated | Complained or protested |
Also Read: Useful Idioms with Examples, Sentences and Meanings
Download NCERT Solutions of all Chapters in Class 8 English It So Happened here:
| Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 |
| Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 |
NCERT Solutions Class 8 English It So Happened Chapter 1 ‘How Camel Got His Hump’
In the last section of the notes, we have important questions and answers in Class 8 English It So Happened Chapter 1 ‘How Camel Got His Hump’. All answers are as per the CBSE guidelines. Keep browsing.
Comprehension Check I (Page No. 3)
Ques 1. What tasks, do you think, were assigned to the dog and the ox?
Ans: Each animal was given a job based on what they were already doing. The Dog, who carried a stick in his mouth, was asked to fetch and carry sticks. On the other hand, the Ox, with a yoke on his neck, was told to plough the field.
Ques 2. Why did the camel live in the middle of the desert?
Ans: The Camel was the laziest animal. He didn’t like to work or help people, so he lived in the desert where it was very windy. He ate sticks, thorns, and prickles for food. When someone tried to talk to him, he just said “Humph!” and didn’t say anything else.
Ques 3. What made the dog, the horse and the ox very angry?
Ans: The man said to the Dog, Horse, and Ox that since the Camel could not work, he would leave it alone. Instead, the three of them would need to work twice as hard to make up for the Camel’s share of the work. This made the Dog, Horse, and Ox very upset.
Ques 4. How did the Djinn know the horse was complaining against the camel?
Ans: The Djinn understood that the Horse was complaining about the Camel because the Djinn was responsible for all deserts and knew everything that happened in them.
Comprehension Check II (Page No. 5)
Ques 1. The camel was looking at his own reflection in the pool. What does it suggest to you about the camel?
Ans: When the Camel looked at his reflection in the pool, it showed that he was proud of how he looked, especially his back. He enjoyed admiring himself.
Ques 2. The camel said, “Humph” repeatedly. How did it affect him?
Ans: The Djinn tried to remind the Camel about his work, which the lazy animal avoided due to his laziness. The Camel kept saying “Humph” repeatedly in an annoying way, which irritated the Djinn. Eventually, as a consequence of the Camel’s laziness and refusal to work, his back puffed up into a large hump.
Ques 3. What, according to the Djinn, was the use of the “humph”?
Ans: The Djinn reassured the Camel that his “humph” would not hinder him while working. Because the Camel had avoided work for three days, he could rely on his hump and work for three days without needing to eat. Essentially, the hump served as a food reserve for the Camel.
Ques 4. “…he has never yet learnt to behave”. In the light of this, what is the writer’s opinion about the camel?
Ans: According to the author, even after receiving the hump as a consequence of his laziness, the Camel remained a very lazy animal unwilling to work. Despite Djinn’s instructions to go out of the desert and help the other three animals, the Camel still behaved lazily and worked inefficiently within the desert itself. Consequently, he was unable to complete the pending work from the three missed days. As a result, he continued to carry the hump and live in the desert, never learning his lesson or improving his behaviour.
Exercise
Ques 1. Can this story be factually true?
Ans: No, this story ‘How the Camel Got His Hump’ is not factually correct. It is an imaginary story.
Ques 2. What according to you is the story about? Consider the following:
(i) How the world began.
(ii) Why everyone should do his/her share of work seriously
(iii) How animals are important to humans
(iv) How the camel got his hump
Ans: (iv) How the camel got his hump
You can also access notes and solutions of all Honeydew chapters here:
| Chapter 1: The Best Christmas Present in the World |
| Chapter 2: The Tsunami |
| Chapter 3: Glimpses of the Past |
| Chapter 4: Bepin Choudhury’s Lapse of Memory |
| Chapter 5: The Summit Within |
| Chapter 6: This is Jody’s Fawn |
| Chapter 7: A Visit to Cambridge |
| Chapter 8: A Short Monsoon Diary |
FAQs
Ans: The chapter is an abridged version of the same story by Rudyard Kipling.
Ans: Rudyard Kipling is a renowned English author who has written several short stories, poems, and novels. He is a British writer who is known for Departmental Ditties (a collection of verses), Plain Tales from the Hills (a collection of short stories), The Phantom Rickshaw, Soldiers Three, and Wee Willie Winkie.
Ans: A Djinn or a ‘gennie’ refers to a spirit which can take any form and possess supernatural powers.
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