Here Comes the Camel and Other Poems

Author: Prayag Shukla

Illustrator: Siraj Saxena

Translator: Manisha Chaudhry

Butterfly

I met a butterfly,

yellow, black and brown.

Hovering over flowers,

flying up and down.

She sits so near

I touch her with no fear.

At once she flies away,

she sits but doesn’t stay.

Thump Thump

Thump Thump goes the elephant!

Thump Thump the elephant comes!

He lifts his trunk, he lowers it.

Wading into the water,

his trunk becomes a shower.

Bump Bump goes the elephant!

Bump Bump the elephant comes!

Bananas for his big fat tum,

he eats ten and counts one!

Burp Burp goes the elephant!

Burp Burp the elephant comes!

Off to School

Leaves are green

and flowers red.

Ready for school

as you leave the bed.

Left your pencil,

dropped your book!

Pick them up

and off to school!

Flying High

Lovely little butterfly,

yellow and blue butterfly.

She looks like a petal on a flower,

crossing flowerbeds afar.

A wave of colour,

with her wings aflutter,

she looks so bright.

Her quiet flight,

in the morning light.

Here Comes the Camel

Here comes the camel

rocking gently down the road!

Such a tall animal!

Here comes the camel!

With a neck so tall,

and a back so high,

the camel gently goes by.

His feet like the sand,

carrying loads across the land,

walking quietly on the sand.

When he tires, he will sit.

On his right or his left?

That is his own SECRET!

Peacock

Look how the peacock dances,

on dainty steps he advances.

All his feathers in an arc,

glowing hues light and dark.

When the sky turns cloudy grey,

the peacock begins to sway.

Moving gently on his feet,

dancing to the rainy beat!

Food So Precious!

How about some idli-dosa,

or a nice hot samosa?

Let us eat some sweet mithai,

yummy rabri and malai!

Would you like some poori bhaji, or fried brinjal bhaaja?

Spongy fresh dhokla is nice,

to gobble up in a trice.

But do not hurry when you eat, careful not to spill any treat.

Because FOOD is so precious,

and also so DELICIOUS!

Drip Drop

Drip Drop raindrops!

Can I touch them as they Plop?

Eyes shut and face upturned,

for silver beads on curling lashes.

Eyes open to see what splashes!

Leaves and branches dripping wet.

Birds shedding little droplets!

Silver sheets on roofs and walls,

I see the rain as it falls!

The Race

A tumbling red tomato,

racing green peas!

Stumbling came the cauliflower,

not far behind is coriander!

Who will reach the finish line

in this race against time?

Swinging High

To and fro swings the doll,

pulled by the bird so small.

Uncle Monkey hides a smile,

in his hat of the latest style.

Aunty Kitten is also here

using her fat glasses to peer.

She also wants to have a go

to touch the sky, to and fro!

Umbrella

Who went to the market with Papa?

His dear old umbrella!

He is safe from the beating sun with his dear old umbrella!

His bag in his right hand,

guess what the left demands?

When the rain comes pouring down,

Umbrella-time all around!

It gets wet but keeps Papa dry.

Like a roof on his head that is not very high!

Paper Boat

Let us make a paper boat,

in the water it will float!

Away floats the paper boat

running to a river unknown.

Dancing on the swirling waves, a little speck as it sails away!

My Pencil

My pencil is so special,

it jots down letters neat.

In maths, it's hard to beat!

Leaves and flowers, plants and pots, lions and birds, it draws in a shot!

Drawing lines for a house so tall, my special pencil does it all!

Chugetty Chug

There goes the train,

Chugetty Chug!

On the tracks,

Chugetty Chug!

The longest whistle in the land, Chugetty Clack!

Not the slow passenger train,

the fastest sleekest streaking Mail!

Chugetty Clack

Goes the train!

My Ball

Bounce Bounce

goes my ball!

Run Run

runs my ball!

I like to run

for my ball!

Quickly hides

my naughty ball!

Bounce Bounce

comes my ball!

I'm happy

when I find my ball!

This book was made possible by Pratham Books' StoryWeaver platform. Content under Creative Commons licenses can be downloaded, translated and can even be used to create new stories provided you give appropriate credit, and indicate if changes were made. To know more about this, and the full terms of use and attribution, please visit the following link .

Story Attribution:

This story: Here Comes the Camel and Other Poems is translated by Manisha Chaudhry . The © for this translation lies with Pratham Books, 2012. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Based on Original story: ' ऊँट चला, भई! ऊँट चला ' , by Prayag Shukla . © Pratham Books , 2012. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.

Other Credits:

This book has been published on StoryWeaver by Pratham Books. Pratham Books is a not-for-profit organization that publishes books in multiple Indian languages to promote reading among children. www.prathambooks.org

Illustration Attributions:

Cover page: Two camels looking at each other , by Siraj Saxena © Pratham Books, 2012. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 2: Butterflies , by Siraj Saxena © Pratham Books, 2012. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 3: Elephants , by Siraj Saxena © Pratham Books, 2012. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 4: An elephant near a fence , by Siraj Saxena © Pratham Books, 2012. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 5: A school building , by Siraj Saxena © Pratham Books, 2012. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 6: Two butterflies flying , by Siraj Saxena © Pratham Books, 2012. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 7: A purple camel , by Siraj Saxena © Pratham Books, 2012. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 8: A blue camel , by Siraj Saxena © Pratham Books, 2012. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 9: Two peacocks , by Siraj Saxena © Pratham Books, 2012. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 10: Food , by Siraj Saxena © Pratham Books, 2012. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Disclaimer: https://www.storyweaver.org.in/terms_and_conditions

Some rights reserved. This book is CC-BY-4.0 licensed. You can copy, modify, distribute and perform the work, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. For full terms of use and attribution, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

This book was made possible by Pratham Books' StoryWeaver platform. Content under Creative Commons licenses can be downloaded, translated and can even be used to create new stories provided you give appropriate credit, and indicate if changes were made. To know more about this, and the full terms of use and attribution, please visit the following link .

Illustration Attributions:

Page 11: Samosa and dhokla , by Siraj Saxena © Pratham Books, 2012. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 12: Birds flying in the rain , by Siraj Saxena © Pratham Books, 2012. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 13: Tomato and peas , by Siraj Saxena © Pratham Books, 2012. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 14: Birds and cats , by Siraj Saxena © Pratham Books, 2012. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 15: Umbrellas , by Siraj Saxena © Pratham Books, 2012. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 16: Umbrellas in the rain , by Siraj Saxena © Pratham Books, 2012. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 17: Paper boats , by Siraj Saxena © Pratham Books, 2012. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 18: Pencils , by Siraj Saxena © Pratham Books, 2012. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 19: Butterflies flying over a train , by Siraj Saxena © Pratham Books, 2012. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 20: Blue balls , by Siraj Saxena © Pratham Books, 2012. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Disclaimer: https://www.storyweaver.org.in/terms_and_conditions

Some rights reserved. This book is CC-BY-4.0 licensed. You can copy, modify, distribute and perform the work, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. For full terms of use and attribution, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Here Comes the Camel and Other Poems (English)

Prayag Shukla's poems in Hindi have enchanted young and old alike. This collection of poems translated into English brings the joy of his writing to a new set of readers. Siraj Saxena's innovative artwork adds to the appeal of this classic collection.

This is a Level 2 book for children who recognize familiar words and can read new words with help.

Pratham Books goes digital to weave a whole new chapter in the realm of multilingual children's stories. Knitting together children, authors, illustrators and publishers. Folding in teachers, and translators. To create a rich fabric of openly licensed multilingual stories for the children of India and the world. Our unique online platform, StoryWeaver, is a playground where children, parents, teachers and librarians can get creative. Come, start weaving today, and help us get a book in every child's hand!