go any faster
than a man's walk; but the camel can keep on walking all day, with
just a short rest once in a while. Those used for riding cannot run as
fast as a horse, but they can keep on running at a steady trot much
longer than a horse, and then after a short rest can start running
again. So by the end of the day a camel can run twice as far as a
horse, and sometimes still farther.

_The Camel's Wonderful Gifts_

Now I am going to tell you of the most wonderful things a camel can
do.

First, I must tell you that no other animal could cross a desert at
all. To begin with, if such an animal as a horse tried to walk on the
sand, his hoofs would sink into the sand up to the ankles, and it
would be hard work for him to go even a mile. But a camel's foot is
different. It has a _soft pad of muscles_ under it, just like a
cushion; and when the camel walks or runs on the sand, the pad spreads
out under his foot, and that gives him a firm hold on the sand in
walking or running. So remember that the camel has padded feet.

I must tell you here that the feet of all animals are formed in the
way they can best use, in the country in which they live. Those
animals that have to walk on _hard ground_ have _hoofs_, and those
that have to walk on _soft ground_ have _padded feet_. The elephant is
the only animal that has to walk on hard ground, at least very often,
and yet has padded feet. Can you tell why? Because of his huge weight!
He is so heavy that if the bones under his feet were not covered with
a thick pad, he would jar the bones every time he put his foot down,
even if the ground were not very hard.

In the same way the camel's padded foot is very useful to him even
when he is not in the desert, but on hard ground; for he too is
rather heavy, though of course not so heavy as an elephant.

[Illustration: Sand Storm in the Desert]

There are other reasons why no other animal could cross a desert as
easily as a camel. In the desert there are sometimes fierce storms;
and as it is all sand there, the strong wind blows the sand about in
every direction. As there is no place there where one could get away
from the sand, any other animal would soon have a lot of sand blown
into his nostrils; then he would be choked. But a camel's nostrils are
made differently, so that whenever he likes he can _close his
nostrils_, as easily as you can close your mouths, and that keeps away
the sand. The camel is clever enough to lie down