The Lost Camel

Once two merchants lost a camel. They met a traveller and asked him if he had seen it. The man replied he had not." But was your camel blind in the right eye?" Said he to them.

"Yes, he was", replied the merchants. "Was it lame in one left foot?" The man asked again. "Cer­tainly it was", said the merchants.

"Was its front tooth missing"? said he to them." Indeed I" said they. "Was it loaded with honey on one side and with wheat on the other?" "That is just how it was loaded," they answered. "Please take us to it."

"But I have not seen your camel," said the man "and I do not know where it is" the merchants got angry and said, "Then how could you tell us so exactly everything about our camel?" "That is my secret" said the man.

The merchants took him to the king who asked him where the camel was. The man replied that he had not seen it. At this the king asked him how he knew so much about it.

The man answered that the camel had eaten grass only on the left side of the path. So he knew that it was blind.

The marks of its one left foot were faint. This showed that the camel was lame. While eating grass, it had left a little turf in the middle.

So he learnt that it had lost front teeth. There were ants carrying grains of corn on one side of the path and flies eating honey on the other. The king was satisfied with his explanation and let him go.