NCERT Solutions Class 8, English, It So Happened, Chapter- 1, How the Camel got his hump.
Comprehension Check
1. What tasks, do you think, were assigned to the dog and the ox?
Solution:
The dog was assigned the task of fetching and carrying. The ox was made to plough the fields.
2. Why did the camel live in the middle of the desert?
Solution:
The camel lived in the middle of the desert because it didn’t want to work.
3. What made the dog, the horse and the ox very angry?
Solution:
The dog, the horse and the ox were angry because man, their master, told them to work double time to make up for the camel’s idleness.
4. How did the Djinn know the horse was complaining against the camel?
Solution:
The Djinn was the master of deserts. So he was able to know easily who the animal with a long neck and long legs was.
Comprehension Check
1. The camel was looking at this own reflection in the pool. What does it suggest to you about the camel?
Solution:
This statement suggests that the camel loved its own image in the pool. Perhaps he considered himself handsome looking.
2. The camel said, “Humph” repeatedly. How did it affect him?
Solution:
The word ‘Humph’ annoyed the Djinn. He turned ‘humph’ into the hump on the camel’s back.
3. What, according to the Djinn, was the use of the “humph”?
Solution:
The camel’s hump contained food material. It helped the desert animal go without
any food for three days.
4. “...he has never yet learnt to behave”. In the light of this, what is the writer’s opinion about the camel?
Solution:
The writer is of the opinion that the camel has not changed its nature and habits to this day.
EXERCISE
Discuss the following topics in groups.
1. Can this story be factually true?
Solution:
The Story will tell us that we must do our share of work diligently and Il work hard otherwise we will suffer like the camel. The camel did not work, so the Djinn turned his back into a big hump.
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.
The correct option is : (iv) How the camel got his hump.
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.
Solution:
Generally speaking, weekend is a relaxing period for most of us. But for me it is a busy period. On sunday, I play cricket with my friends. I also help my mummy in household work Besides it, I do the balance of homework which I could not do during weekdays. That is why perhaps I have no hump on my back!
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?
Solution:
I believe that the postponement of work is a bad policy. That is why I do not have to make excuses for delay. I do believe in doing today what I can do tomorrow.
