NCERT Solutions for Class 8 English Chapter 1 – How The Camel Got His Hump is available for free download at CoolGyan’S for CBSE 8th Standard students. The NCERT Solutions for Class 8 English link of Chapter 1 is provided below, which is solved by our panel of expert teachers, according to the latest CBSE guidelines.
This chapter “How The Camel Got His Hump” is an imaginary tale written by Rudyard Kipling. The fictional story is set at a time when the world had just begun and different animals were working for humans except the camel, which was the laziest of all. We learn how an agitated Djinn gave the camel a hump due to his laziness, as he would spend days in an idle manner doing nothing and just said ‘Humph’.
Students of Class 8 can check the English Supplementary textbook – It So Happened for NCERT Solutions given here. All the textbook and additional exercise questions have been attempted in accordance with the updated CBSE English syllabus. To explore the other subjects of NCERT Solutions of Class 8, students can check the solutions page and have a wonderful learning experience.
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How The Camel Got His Hump
Comprehension Check (Page 3)
Question 1:
What tasks, do you think, were assigned to the dog and the ox?
Answer:
Different tasks were assigned to different animals. The dog was assigned to fetch and carry sticks since he was carrying a stick in his mouth. The ox was assigned to plough the field as there was a yoke on his neck.
Question 2:
Why did the camel live in the middle of the desert?
Answer:
Of all the animals, the camel was the laziest animal as he did not want to work and help man. Hence, he lived in the middle of a howling desert because he did not want to work. He ate sticks, thorns and prickles and whenever anybody came to speak to him he just said “Humph!” and nothing more.
Question 3:
What made the dog, the horse and the ox very angry?
Answer:
The dog, the horse and the ox were very angry because man assigned them the work of the camel too as he laid lazy in the middle of the desert. This meant that the three of them would need to work double-time in order to make up for the camel’s laziness.
Question 4:
How did the Djinn know the horse was complaining against the camel?
Answer:
While the other animals were assigned the camel’s work due to his laziness, the horse complained against the camel to the Djinn who was in charge of All Deserts. He told him that the animal which stayed in the middle of the desert with a long neck and long legs had not done a stroke of work since the beginning of the week. Hearing this, the Djinn instantly understood that the horse was referring to the camel for his idleness, who was not helping them in work.
Comprehension Check (Page 5)
Question 1:
The camel was looking at this own reflection in the pool. What does it suggest to you about the camel?
Answer:
The camel was looking at this own reflection in the pool which indicated that he was proud of his looks and appearance especially his back. Perhaps he assumed that he was the most handsome looking animal and was admiring himself upon seeing his own reflection in the pool.
Question 2:
The camel said, “Humph” repeatedly. How did it affect him?
Answer:
The Djinn was trying hard to remind the camel about his work which the lazy animal avoided due to his idleness. The camel kept saying “Humph” again and again in a repetitive tone which annoyed the Djinn. In no time, the camel’s back puffed up into a huge hump for repeating the word “Humph” over again and not performing the tasks assigned to him.
Question 3:
What, according to the Djinn, was the use of the “humph”?
Answer:
According to the Djinn, the camel missed his daily work for three continuous days. Hence, he said that the camel would be able to perform his tasks for three days without eating. The hump on his back would help him to store food and use the energy derived from it without eating food and work for a longer period.
Question 4:
“…he has never yet learnt to behave”. In the light of this, what is the writer’s opinion about the camel?
Answer:
As per the writer, the camel is a very lazy animal which loves sitting idle and avoids doing work. All day he would spend eating sticks, thorns and prickles. However, after he got the hump, the Djinn asked him to go out of the desert and help the other three animals – horse, ox and dog and also behave like others while working. It was due to his laziness that he missed performing tasks of three days. The Djinn told him that his hump would help him to store food and use the energy derived from it without eating food. It would also help him to finish the pending work and that he would continue carrying the hump and living in the desert forever.
Exercise (Page 6)
Discuss the following topics in groups.
Question 1:
Can this story be factually true?
Answer:
No, it is not a factually true story. It is an imaginative tale.
Question 2:
What, according to you, is the story about? Consider the following:
- How the world began.
- Why everyone should do his/her share of work seriously.
- How animals are important to humans.
- How the camel got his hump.
Answer:
(iv) How the camel got his hump.
Question 3:
What did you do over the weekend? Were you generally active or idle? Please check your back before starting to discuss or answer the question.
Answer:
The last weekend I woke up at 8 A.M. and did some physical exercise in the morning. I helped my mother in doing the household chores. By evening I played badminton with my sister. Overall, I spent my weekend in an active manner. Yes, I have checked my back and there is no hump.
Question 4:
There are broadly two categories of workers – those who prefer to do today what they can do tomorrow, and those who prefer to do tomorrow what they can do today. Where do you belong?
Answer:
I belong to the first category of workers, i.e. those who prefer to do today what they can do tomorrow. This implies that I prefer doling my work promptly on time rather than unnecessarily piling it up for the future.