Ships of Deserts

We call camels ‘ships of desert’. Camels can live in desert without food or water for many days. They have big humps on their back. They store food and water for many days. They have big humps on their back. They store water and food in their humps in the form of fat.
The camel has thick hair on its body. It does not feel the heat of sun. The camel can work very hard on a hot day. It can walk a long distance without a rest.
Camels can carry heavy loads on their back. Peoples cross deserts on camel’s back.
The camel can store about 25 gallons of water at a time. It can walk through the desert for more than 15 days without food or drink.
Here is a story about a camel. Read the story and find out what happen to the camel’s hump.
Once a camel fell ill, he lay in bed without eating or drinking for many days. All his friends went to see him. The poor camel became weak. After a month, he was well again. He became out of his home and rested in the sunshine.
The elephant loved the camel very much. He invited the camel for dinner. The camel went with him. The elephant invited his other friends too. All of them came-the giraffe, the lion, the tiger, the fox and all others. It was a big dinner.
All the animals sat down to dinner. Suddenly, the donkey asked, “Oh! Camel, Camel where is your hump?” The camel turned round and looked—there was no hump on his back!
The camel was upset. “Where’s my hump? Where’s my hump?” he cried. He was very unhappy. How can a camel live without a hump?
He said, “Somebody stole my hump when I was ill. I don’t know who. There are thieves among animals too!”
All other animals looked for the camel’s hump. They couldn’t find it. Somebody ran off to camel’s house t look for the hump. It wasn’t there.
The elephant said, “Come let’s have diner first. Then we will look for the hump together. The food will be cold. Come”. All the animals agreed. They were very hungry. The camel also sat down. He was hungrier than all other animals. He hadn’t eaten anything for a month.
They started eating. The elephant and his wife served them a lot of food. The guests ate more and more, and the host and the hostess served more and more. The camel ate and drank a lot.
His belly was full and he fall asleep in a corner. After a long time, the elephant woke him up. All the animals were ready to leave. Suddenly, the donkey pointed to the camel’s back and brayed, “Look, there’s your hump.” Everybody turned to the camel. Yes, it was there right on his back! Everybody smiled. The camel also smiled. He said, “The thief put it back when I was asleep. An honest thief, indeed!”