SOMETHING ABOUT the CAMEL
by Charles E. Carryl · from The Admiral's Caravan
Adapted Version
Dot went back to the toy shop. It was full of magic! The bridge turned into a rocking horse. It was dappled and still. Dot found the Captain, Sir Walter, and Scot by a bench. They had a sad camel. The Captain held the camel. Sir Walter tried to give it glue. “Glue!” said the Captain. “It needs to be stiff.” Dot was upset. “Stop that!” she said. She took the camel away. It was a sad, lumpy toy. The camel climbed into a drawer. It closed the door. It hid. The Crew put up a sign. It said “CAMEL FOR SALE.” They were selling the camel. They closed the shop door. Dot felt small. She wanted to go home. She saw Bob. He was small like a robin now. He looked at toys. He wrote in a little red book. Bob saw a bird cage. It said “ALL SECURE.” He was surprised. He dropped his book. He ran away fast. Dot followed him. She saw the Crew looking worried. They rushed out of the shop. They had the camel with them. The toy shop was noisy! Toys ran all around. Dolls fell down. Marbles rolled. Soldiers shouted “Fire!” Dot was surprised. She ran and dodged the toys. She found a small door. She ran outside to the wood. She was safe. It was fun to look around. But things can be a shock.
Original Story
SOMETHING ABOUT THE CAMEL
The wood wasn't nearly so pleasant now as it had been before, and Dorothy was quite pleased when, after walking a little way, she came in sight again of the bank covered with rocking-chairs, and running up, she hurried through the little door into the toy-shop.
Everything was just as she had left it, and the stream was running merrily under the castle bridge; but just as she was going by, the bridge itself began hitching up in the middle and pawing, as it were, at the banks of the stream in such an extraordinary manner that she stopped to see what was going to happen.
"It's sure to be something wonderous," she said to herself, as she stood watching it, and she was quite right about this, for the bridge presently turned into a remarkably spirited rocking-horse (dappled, with black spots scattered about), and after rocking back and forth once or twice, as if to be sure it really was a horse, settled down perfectly still as if it never expected to be anything else. In fact, with the exception of a large fly, about as big as one of Dorothy's feet, that was buzzing about, everything in the window was now perfectly quiet, and drawing a long breath of relief, she walked away through the shop.
"AND FOUND THE CARAVAN SITTING IN A ROW ON A LITTLE BENCH AT THE DOOR."
As she walked along on the shelf, she presently came to the grocer's shop and found the Caravan sitting in a row on a little bench at the door. The Admiral had the Camel in his lap, and they were all gazing at it with an air of extreme solicitude. It was a frowsy little thing with lumpy legs that hung down in a dangling way from the Admiral's knees, and Sir Walter was busily employed trying to make it drink something out of a bottle.
"What are you giving him?" inquired Dorothy, curiously.
"Glue," said the Admiral, promptly. "He needs stiffening up, you see."
"Goodness gracious, what an awful dose!" said Dorothy, with a shudder.
"That doesn't make any difference so long as he won't take it," said Sir Walter; and here he flew into a tremendous passion, and began beating the Camel about the head so furiously with the bottle that Dorothy cried out, "Here—stop that instantly!"
"He doesn't mind it no more than if he was a bolster," put in the Highlander. "Set him up again and let's see him fall down," he added, rubbing his hands together with a relish.
"Indeed, you'll do nothing of the sort," exclaimed Dorothy, with great indignation; and, snatching the Camel from the Admiral's lap, she carried him into the grocer's shop and set him down upon the floor. The Camel looked about for a moment with a very mournful expression on his face, and then climbed into one of the drawers that was standing open, and pulled it to after him as a person might close a door, and Dorothy, after watching this remarkable performance with great wonderment, went out again.
The Caravan had lost no time, and were standing on the bench, putting up a little sign on the front of the shop with "CAMEL FOR SALE" on it, and Dorothy, trying not to laugh, said, "Is this your shop?"
"Yes," replied the Admiral, with an important air. "The grocer's been sold for a cook because he had an apron on, and we've taken the business."
"What are you going to keep?" asked Dorothy, who was vastly amused at this idea.
"Why, we're going to keep the shop," said the Admiral, climbing down from the bench and staring at her in great surprise.
"But you must certainly keep things to sell," said Dorothy.
"How can we keep things if we sell 'em?" inquired Sir Walter.
"Well, you can't sell anything unless you keep it in the shop, you know," persisted Dorothy, feeling that she was somehow or other getting the worst of the argument.
"Bosh!" said the Admiral, obstinately; "you can't keep things you sell—that is," he added, "not unless your customers are crazy"; and with this remark the Caravan went into the shop and shut the door in Dorothy's face, as if she wasn't worth talking to any longer.
Dorothy waited for a moment to see if they were coming out again, and then, as there was a noise inside as if they were piling up the drawers against the door by way of a barricade, she walked slowly away through the toy-shop.
"HE DROPPED HIS LITTLE BOOK, WITH AN APPEARANCE OF GREAT AGITATION, AND HURRIED AWAY."
She had had such a variety of adventures in the shop by this time that she was getting quite tired of the place, and she was walking along rather disconsolately, and wishing there was some way of growing to her natural size, and then getting back again to poor old Uncle Porticle and the Blue Admiral Inn, when, as she went around the corner of the little apothecary's shop, she came suddenly upon Bob Scarlet. To her great surprise, he was now just about the size of an ordinary robin; but he had on his red waistcoat, and had quite as important an air as ever, and he was strolling about examining the various toys, and putting down the price of everything in a little red book, as if he were thinking of going into the business himself.
"Now, I wonder how he ever got to be that size," thought Dorothy, as she hid behind a little pile of lead-pencils and watched him over the top of them. "I suppose he's eaten something, or drunk something, to make him grow, the way they do in fairy stories; because the Admiral certainly said he wasn't any bigger than an ant. And, oh! I wish I knew what it was," she added, mournfully, as the tears came into her eyes at the thought of how small she was, "I wish I knew what it was!"
"If I wasn't a little afraid of him," she went on, after she had had a little cry, "I'd ask him. But likely as not he'd peck at me—old peckjabber!" and here she laughed through her tears as she thought of the Caravan in their little sunbonnets. "Or p'r'aps he'd snap me up! I've often heard of snapping people up when they asked too many questions, but seems to me it never meant anything so awful as that before"; and she was rambling on in this way, laughing and crying by turns, when at this moment Bob Scarlet came suddenly upon a fine brass bird-cage, and, after staring at it in a stupefied way for an instant, he dropped his little book, with an appearance of great agitation, and hurried away without so much as looking behind him.
Dorothy ran after him, carefully keeping out of sight in case he should turn around, and as she went by the bird-cage she saw that it was marked "PERFECTLY SECURE" in large letters. "And that's what took the conceit out of you, mister," she said, laughing to herself, and hurried along after the Robin.
"A DOOR AT THE BACK OF THE SHOP OPENED AND THEY ALL RUSHED OUT."
As she caught sight of him again he was just scurrying by the grocer's shop, and she could see the faces of the Caravan watching him, over the top of a little half-blind in the window, with an expression of the greatest concern, and the next moment a door at the back of the shop opened and they all rushed out. They had on their sunbonnets and shawls, and Dorothy saw that the Admiral was carrying the Camel under his arm; but before she could say a word to them they had scampered away and were out of sight.
By this time the toy-shop itself was all in a commotion. Dolls were climbing down from the shelves and falling over each other; the big marbles had in some way got out of the basket and were rolling about in all directions; and Dorothy could see the old dame at the further end of the shop, running about and frantically striking at one thing after another with her spoon. To make matters worse, quite a little army of tin soldiers suddenly appeared, running confusedly about, with the drawers from the little grocer's shop upside down on their heads, and all calling "Fire!" at the top of their voices. As they couldn't see where anybody was going, or where they were going themselves, it made the situation very desperate indeed.
Dorothy was frightened almost out of her wits, but she ran on in a bewildered sort of a way, dodging the rolling marbles and upsetting the dolls and the soldiers in great numbers, until she fortunately caught sight of the little rat-hole of a door, and, rushing through it, she hurried down the bank, knocking the green rocking-chairs about in every direction, and ran off into the wood as fast as she could go.
CHAPTER IX
Story DNA
Plot Summary
Dorothy re-enters a magical toy-shop where a bridge transforms into a rocking-horse. She encounters a group of toy characters, the Caravan, attempting to 'stiffen' a lumpy camel with glue and then trying to sell it from a newly acquired grocer's shop. Later, she observes a robin-sized Bob Scarlet, who is startled by a bird-cage and flees, prompting the Caravan to also rush out with the camel. The entire toy-shop then erupts into chaos with all the toys moving wildly, frightening Dorothy, who ultimately escapes back into the wood.
Themes
Emotional Arc
curiosity to bewilderment to fright
Writing Style
Narrative Elements
Cultural Context
Reflects a period where children's literature often featured whimsical, nonsensical adventures, reminiscent of Lewis Carroll.
Plot Beats (12)
- Dorothy returns to the toy-shop, finding it as she left it, but then a bridge transforms into a rocking-horse.
- She finds the Caravan (Admiral, Sir Walter, Highlander) trying to force-feed glue to a lumpy camel to 'stiffen him up'.
- Dorothy intervenes, snatching the camel, which then climbs into a drawer and closes it.
- The Caravan puts up a 'CAMEL FOR SALE' sign, having 'sold' the grocer and taken over the shop, leading to an absurd discussion about keeping vs. selling.
- The Caravan shuts Dorothy out of the shop, barricading the door from inside.
- Dorothy wanders disconsolately, wishing to return to her normal size and home.
- She observes Bob Scarlet, now robin-sized, meticulously cataloging toys.
- Bob Scarlet is suddenly agitated by a bird-cage marked 'PERFECTLY SECURE' and flees.
- Dorothy follows Bob Scarlet and sees the Caravan watching him with concern from their shop.
- The Caravan, with the camel, rushes out of their shop and disappears.
- The entire toy-shop erupts into chaos: dolls falling, marbles rolling, and tin soldiers running about with drawers on their heads, shouting 'Fire!'.
- Dorothy, terrified, dodges the moving objects and escapes through a small door, running back into the wood.
Characters
Dorothy ★ protagonist
Small in stature, as she is currently shrunken to a tiny size, making her comparable to a robin or an ant in the toy shop. Her exact height and build are not specified beyond her current miniature state.
Attire: Not explicitly described, but likely simple, comfortable clothing appropriate for a young girl exploring, given her active movements.
Wants: To understand the strange world of the toy shop, to help those in need (like the Camel), and ultimately, to return to her normal size and go home.
Flaw: Her small size makes her vulnerable and easily frightened by the chaos around her. She also feels helpless at times.
In this segment, she continues to navigate the challenges of her small size, learning to assert herself and showing increasing bravery in the face of chaos.
Curious, empathetic, indignant, easily frightened, and resourceful. She shows a strong sense of right and wrong, intervening when she sees injustice.
Image Prompt & Upload
A young girl standing upright, facing forward, full body visible from head to toe. She has a curious and slightly concerned expression. She is very small, appearing no taller than a toy, with her clothes appearing slightly oversized for her current miniature stature. Plain white background, full body visible head to toe, single figure, no watermark, no text, no signature.
The Admiral ◆ supporting
A toy figure, described as having an 'important air'. His specific build is not detailed, but he is capable of carrying the Camel under his arm.
Attire: Likely a toy admiral's uniform, though not explicitly detailed. He is later seen wearing a 'sunbonnet' and 'shawl' as part of the Caravan.
Wants: To manage the Caravan's affairs, even if illogically, and to care for the Camel in his own peculiar way.
Flaw: His obstinacy and illogical reasoning often lead to absurd situations.
He remains consistent in his self-important and illogical nature throughout his appearances.
Obstinate, self-important, somewhat illogical, and prone to quick decisions (like selling the grocer). He shows solicitude for the Camel but also a willingness to use harsh methods.
Image Prompt & Upload
A toy admiral figure, standing upright, facing forward, full body visible head to toe. He has a stern, self-important expression. He wears a miniature naval uniform with gold trim and brass buttons, a small white sunbonnet, and a simple shawl draped over his shoulders. He holds a small, frowsy toy camel under one arm. Plain white background, full body visible head to toe, single figure, no watermark, no text, no signature.
The Camel ◆ supporting
A 'frowsy little thing with lumpy legs that hung down in a dangling way'. It has a 'very mournful expression on his face'.
Attire: None, as it is a toy animal.
Wants: To find a quiet place, perhaps to escape the Caravan's ministrations.
Flaw: Its 'lumpy legs' and general 'frowsy' state suggest a physical fragility or lack of proper construction.
Initially a passive object of concern and abuse, it briefly asserts its agency by hiding in a drawer.
Mournful, passive, seemingly resilient to physical abuse (described as not minding being beaten 'no more than if he was a bolster'). It shows a surprising ability to act independently by climbing into a drawer.
Image Prompt & Upload
A small, frowsy toy camel, standing on four lumpy, dangling legs. It has a perpetually mournful expression on its face, with large, sad eyes. Its fur appears disheveled and worn. Plain white background, full body visible head to toe, single figure, no watermark, no text, no signature.
Sir Walter ◆ supporting
A toy figure, not explicitly detailed beyond being part of the Caravan. He is capable of beating the Camel with a bottle.
Attire: Not explicitly detailed, but he is part of the Caravan and later wears a 'sunbonnet' and 'shawl'.
Wants: To participate in the Caravan's activities and to 'help' the Camel in his own way.
Flaw: His quick temper and inability to grasp simple concepts.
He remains consistent in his hot-headed and illogical nature.
Hot-tempered, illogical, and somewhat cruel (beating the Camel). He is as confused by basic business logic as the Admiral.
Image Prompt & Upload
A toy figure, standing upright, facing forward, full body visible head to toe. He has a scowling, easily agitated expression. He wears a simple, old-fashioned suit of indeterminate color, a small white sunbonnet, and a simple shawl draped over his shoulders. He holds a miniature glass bottle in one hand. Plain white background, full body visible head to toe, single figure, no watermark, no text, no signature.
The Highlander ◆ supporting
A toy figure, not explicitly detailed beyond being part of the Caravan. He is capable of rubbing his hands together with relish.
Attire: Likely a toy Highlander's attire, though not explicitly detailed. He is later seen wearing a 'sunbonnet' and 'shawl' as part of the Caravan.
Wants: To find amusement in the Caravan's activities, particularly at the expense of the Camel.
Flaw: His enjoyment of others' misfortune.
He remains consistent in his mischievous and somewhat cruel nature.
Mischievous, somewhat cruel, and enjoys seeing things fall down. He is less involved in the logical arguments than the Admiral or Sir Walter.
Image Prompt & Upload
A toy Highlander figure, standing upright, facing forward, full body visible head to toe. He has a mischievous grin and a glint in his eye. He wears a miniature tartan kilt, a simple jacket, a small white sunbonnet, and a simple shawl draped over his shoulders. His hands are clasped together as if rubbing them with anticipation. Plain white background, full body visible head to toe, single figure, no watermark, no text, no signature.
Bob Scarlet ◆ supporting
Currently the size of an ordinary robin. He has a 'red waistcoat'. His original size is not specified, but he is now small. He is capable of examining toys and writing in a book.
Attire: A 'red waistcoat' is his most distinguishing garment. His other clothing is not specified, but would be appropriate for a human of his 'important air'.
Wants: To assess the value of toys, possibly for a business venture, and to avoid perceived threats.
Flaw: His fear of being trapped or confined, as evidenced by his reaction to the bird-cage.
He is introduced as a methodical, important figure, but his composure is shattered by the sight of the bird-cage, revealing a hidden vulnerability.
Important, business-minded (or pretending to be), easily startled, and prone to panic when faced with a perceived threat (the bird-cage). Dorothy perceives him as a 'peckjabber' and potentially dangerous.
Image Prompt & Upload
A man, the size of a robin, standing upright, facing forward, full body visible head to toe. He has an important, slightly stern expression, but with a hint of agitation. He wears a bright red waistcoat over a white shirt, dark trousers, and small, polished shoes. He holds a tiny red book in one hand. Plain white background, full body visible head to toe, single figure, no watermark, no text, no signature.
Locations
The Toy-Shop Window
A section of the toy-shop, likely a display window, where a stream runs under a castle bridge. The bridge transforms into a dappled rocking-horse with black spots. A large fly, the size of Dorothy's foot, buzzes about.
Mood: Magical, whimsical, initially calm then surprising with transformations.
Dorothy witnesses the castle bridge transform into a rocking-horse.
Image Prompt & Upload
A meticulously detailed toy-shop window display. A miniature, ornate wooden castle bridge spans a clear, flowing stream, reflecting soft, diffused light from above. The bridge is mid-transformation into a dappled rocking-horse, its carved wooden legs just beginning to paw at the stream banks. A single, oversized fly hovers near the horse. The background shows other blurred, colorful toys on shelves. no border, no frame, no watermark, no text, no signature, edge-to-edge illustration.
The Grocer's Shop (Toy-Shop Shelf)
A miniature grocer's shop located on a shelf within the larger toy-shop. It has a small bench at the door and drawers that can be opened and closed. Later, a 'CAMEL FOR SALE' sign is displayed.
Mood: Quirky, humorous, bustling with the Caravan's activities, later becomes a barricaded stronghold.
Dorothy finds the Caravan trying to stiffen the Camel with glue, and later they take over the shop, barricading themselves inside.
Image Prompt & Upload
A miniature, highly detailed grocer's shop, crafted from painted wood and tiny glass panes, sits on a dusty, wide wooden shelf. A small, weathered wooden bench is placed outside its door. Inside, tiny shelves are lined with miniature, colorful grocery items. One of the shop's small wooden drawers is slightly ajar. Later, a crudely made 'CAMEL FOR SALE' sign is tacked to the front. Soft, ambient light illuminates the scene from an unseen source. no border, no frame, no watermark, no text, no signature, edge-to-edge illustration.
The Apothecary's Shop Corner (Toy-Shop Shelf)
A corner of the toy-shop where a small apothecary's shop is located. Dorothy hides behind a pile of lead pencils. A fine brass bird-cage, marked 'PERFECTLY SECURE', is a prominent feature.
Mood: Observational, slightly tense, then humorous and a bit chaotic.
Dorothy observes Bob Scarlet, who is startled by the bird-cage and flees.
Image Prompt & Upload
A dimly lit corner of a vast, cluttered toy-shop shelf. A miniature apothecary's shop, with tiny glass bottles and drawers, forms the backdrop. In the foreground, a small, neat pile of oversized lead pencils creates a hiding spot. Prominently displayed is a gleaming, intricately designed brass bird-cage, its bars polished, with the words 'PERFECTLY SECURE' etched into a small plaque on its base. Soft, dusty light filters down from above, highlighting the brass. no border, no frame, no watermark, no text, no signature, edge-to-edge illustration.
The Commotion in the Toy-Shop
The entire toy-shop descends into chaos. Dolls climb and fall from shelves, large marbles roll everywhere, an old dame frantically strikes things with a spoon, and tin soldiers run about with drawers on their heads, shouting 'Fire!'.
Mood: Chaotic, frantic, frightening, overwhelming.
The entire toy-shop erupts into pandemonium, forcing Dorothy to escape through a small door.
Image Prompt & Upload
A wide, chaotic view of a vast, old-fashioned toy-shop interior. Wooden shelves, laden with toys, are in disarray, with dolls tumbling and scattered. Giant, colorful marbles roll across a polished wooden floor in every direction. In the background, an old woman with a white apron frantically swings a large wooden spoon at unseen targets. A small army of tin soldiers, some wearing miniature wooden drawers upside down on their heads, run in panicked confusion. The lighting is dim and dusty, emphasizing the disarray. no border, no frame, no watermark, no text, no signature, edge-to-edge illustration.
