Derik the camel had the smallest hump of all the dromedaries that
lived in the desert, and he didn't like that at all. Once there was
a sandstorm that lasted for two days. When it finished, his master,
Ahmed, was able to find his other camels because their humps stuck
out of the sand; not Deriks. It took Ahmed four days to find him
because he was buried so deep, and he did have a very small hump.
All the other camels made fun of him. They laughed, "Derik,
Derik, has no hump. Derik, Derik, what a chump!"
Derik wanted a big hump so badly that he was always trying to trick
the others. One time when he was getting a drink from the only river
that flowed through the desert, his feet got covered with mud. He
looked down at them and got the idea that he could put mud all over
and around his little hump to make it look bigger. He spent an hour
carefully shaping the mud on his back. He even added some little
twigs to make it look like fur. But the other camels knew right away
that it was just another one of Derik's tricks.
Ali, the biggest of all the dromedaries, got all the others to join
in teasing Derik. "Derik, Derik, has no hump. Derik, Derik,
what a chump!"
Derik felt so sad. He went over to a giant pyramid and scraped the
mud off of his back by rubbing his hump against the rough bricks.
Another time, the master, Ahmed, was going to take the camels to an
oasis far away to deliver supplies. Derik took ten blankets that he
had found in a
tent and put them under his riding blanket. The other camels had
known it was yet another trick, but Ahmed had been fooled. He
climbed onto Derik's back and told everyone how his hump was the
most comfortable hump he had ever ridden on. Derik felt so proud,
until the master turned sharply, and all the blankets fell off.
Ahmed landed with a THUD! in the sand. He yelled at Derik in front
of all the other camels and was sent back home.
Ali and the others had called out, "Derik, Derik, has no hump.
Derik, Derik, what a chump!"
He had gone right over to the date palm and pulled the biggest dates
off, munching on them for hours. He tried to think of a way to get
his hump to grow bigger. "Some ship of the desert you
are," he pouted out loud to himself. "The others are like
Cleopatra's barge, and I am only a
canoe." Derik felt so sad.
About a week after the master had returned from the oasis with the
other camels, Derik overheard them talking about the camel races
that were coming up. Ali said that he thought he would win since he
was the biggest of all the camels. Omar said that he would win
because he was the oldest. Caliph said that he would definitely win
because he was the only white camel in Ahmed's herd, and everyone
knew that white camels were better than all the other camels. But
more than any of them, Derik wanted to win. He had been practicing a
lot while the others had been gone.
Ahmed came around to check the camels the very next day. He felt
their necks, legs, and humps. Ali hated to have his legs touched, so
when Ahmed came near him, he kicked him. Omar didn't like having his
neck touched, so he spit at Ahmed when he came by. Caliph, more than
anything, didn't like anyone rubbing his white fur, so he bit
Ahmed's hand.
Ahmed was very angry, and he called them all stupid camels. The last
to be checked was Derik. As Ahmed cautiously neared him, he slowly
raised his hand to feel Derik's neck. Derik didn't do anything. He
didn't kick, he didn't bite, and he didn't spit at his master. He
stood quietly. Ahmed was very pleased. He told Derik that he wanted
him to be in the camel race, even though his hump was not big.
For the next few days Derik practiced galloping while the others
lazed about, eating dates and scratching themselves. The day of the
big race came. The master put all the camels in a line, then he
walked far away to the finish line and sat in a tent to wait. The
desert sand was very
hot that day. "Derik, Derik, with no hump. Derik, Derik, you
chump! What makes you think you can win against us?" Omar
rudely asked. "We are bigger, older, and much nicer looking
than you are, and you have no hump!" Ali and Caliph laughed at
Derik too, but he stood calmly waiting
for the race to begin.
Someone shouted, "Ready, get set, go!" and the camels
galloped away.
Omar soon began to tire and slowed down to a trot. He was getting
too old for camel races. As Derik passed him up he said, "Omar,
just because I don't have a big hump, it doesn't mean I am not as
good as you."
Ali, the biggest, was the next to tire. He was too big for long
distance camel races. He slowed down to a trot and Derik passed him
saying, "Now who is the chump, Ali?"
There was only Derik and Caliph left now. The hot desert sun beat
down on Derik's dark brown fur, but he still ran as fast as he
could. He could see the master's tent now and ran as hard as he
could. He finally passed Caliph, and as he did he asked, "Too
many dates, Caliph?" Derik
galloped, and galloped, and reached the finish line first.
The master came out of the tent, smiled at Derik, then put a big
leafy wreath around his neck. Then he presented him with a new
riding blanket. It was the most beautiful one Derik had ever seen.
It had gold threads and red tassels. It fit perfectly on his back.
Derik was glad he didn't have a big hump now.
Ali, Omar, and Caliph came up to Derik later on that day. "We
are sorry for teasing you about your hump. You are a better camel
than all three of us. Can you forgive us?" Ali asked, speaking
for the others.
Derik thought about it for a minute. He was so happy. Nobody would
ever tease him again about his hump, and he would be wearing the
master's prized blanket proudly upon his back. "Come, my
friends. I forgive you. Let us go and have some dates."
