4 THE CAMEL AND THE PIG

I

One day a camel and a pig were talking.

The camel was proud because he was tall.

But the pig was proud because he was short.

“Just look at me! ”said the camel, “See how tall I am! It is better to be tall, like me.”

“Oh, no! ”said the pig, “Just look at me! See how short I am! It is better to be short, like me.”

“If I am not right, I will give up my hump.”said the camel.

“If I am not right, I will give up my snout.”said the pig.

Soon they came to a garden. All around it was a wall.

There was no gate in the wall.

The camel was so tall that he could see over the wall. He could see fine, ripe fruit in the garden.

His neck was so long that he could reach over the wall and get the fruit. He ate all he wanted.

But the poor pig was short. He could not reach over the wall. He could not get inside, because there was no gate.

“Ha, ha, ha! ”laughed the camel. “Now would you rather be tall or short? ”

II

Soon they came to another garden. All around it was a high wall. It was so high that the camel could not see over it. But there was a gate in the wall. The pig went through the gate.

This garden was full of fine, ripe fruit, too. The pig ate all he wanted.

But the camel was so tall that he could not get through the gate.

“Ha, ha, ha! ”laughed the pig. “Now would you rather be tall or short? ”

So the camel kept his hump, and the pig kept his snout.

For they said,

“Sometimes it's better to be tall,

And sometimes better to be small.”

(A Tale from India)

Word list

hump: a mound that looks like a hill on a camel's back

snout: a long mouth that some animals have

You Practice

A) Answer the following questions.

1) What was the camel proud of in the story?

2) What was the pig proud of in the story?

3) What did the animals say they would give up if they were not right?

4) Is this story real? Why do you think so?

5) Why did the camel keep his hump and the pig keep his snout?

B) Similarities and differences—Tell two ways that the camel and the pig are similar and two ways that the camel and the pig are different.

C) Opposites—Find the opposites to these words in the story.

1) short: t _ _ _

2) rotten: r _ _ _

3) under: o _ _ _

4) empty: f _ _ _

5) low: h _ _ _