Alice the Camel

A counting-down song that ends with a punchline and is a staple of circling time and camps, also sometimes known as "Sally the Camel," and is a popular children's song frequently sung at camps and as a nursery rhyme. The song gained significant popularity in 1991 after its appearance in Barney In Concert, and its melody is notably similar to that of the traditional song "Dry Bones" (also known as "Dem Bones"), though it's unclear if "Alice the Camel" existed in some form before its appearance with Barney. The primary educational purpose of "Alice the Camel" is to entertain children and assist them in learning numbers and practicing counting skills through a fun, interactive format, with the song typically beginning with Alice having five humps and each verse reducing the number by one. The central twist and engaging element occurs when the humps count down to zero, revealing in the final verse that "Alice the camel has no humps / Because Alice is a horse, of course!"—an unexpected conclusion that provides an element of surprise and reinforces the song's entertainment value. The song often includes actions such as showing fingers to represent the number of humps or pretending to run, with The Learning Station and other children's music groups offering versions that sometimes start the countdown from ten humps.