How the Camel Got His Hump by Rudyard Kipling and Lisbeth Zwerger (Traditional/Folk Lit)

           

            Long ago, there was a Camel who didn’t want to help man kind work.  In hopes of getting out of work he lived in the middle of the Howling Desert where he ate sticks and brush. Whenever the camel was asked by the other animals to help them work the camel would always respond by saying “humph’. Over the next three days the camel refused to work when he was asked by the horse, dog, and ox; because the camel didn’t help the three animals had to work double time to make up for the camels’ slack.  In hopes of making the camel work the three animals told Djinn (who was in charge of all deserts) about the lazy camel who was living in his desert.  After hearing the animal’s point of view the Djinn decided that he must fix this problem by talking to the camel. The camel didn’t want to hear what the Djinn had to say so the Djinn preformed magic on the camel’s back; in hopes of teaching the camel a lesson. The Djinn explained to the camel that because he refused to work for three days he was given a humph that would store his food up to three days. Now it is impossible for the camel to have an excuse to work because he had his hump.

            After reading this book to the class, I would have them create a story of why an animal (of their choice) looks or acts the way they do. Once everybody has written their story, I would have them draw a picture that describes their explanation. After each student has had time to complete this assignment we would then come together as a class and share our short stories and pictures.