Once upon a time, a long time ago, in a far away land, there lived a poor elderly nomad. He lived a long and happy life, but the time came when he was about to die. The poor, old man had three sons, and he wanted to distribute his belongings to them before he died. Among his possessions were 17 camels.
As his death grew close, he gathered his three sons around him to tell them what their inheritance would be.
He told his eldest son he was to get ½ of the camels.
He told his middle son he was to get 1/3 of the camels.
He told his youngest son he was to get 1/9 of the camels.
Then he died. The three sons were saddened and perplexed. They sincerely wanted to honor their father’s wishes, and they all wanted all of their inheritance. But how, they wondered, could they possibly divide 17 camels in accordance with their father’s wishes? How do you divide 17 camels in half, or by one/third, or one/ninth? It was impossible!
Then the youngest son remembered that out in the desert there lived a wise old man in a cave. He suggested they take their problem to him and let him solve it for them.
So, the next day they packed up their 17 camels and went to the cave where the wise old man lived. When they arrived, the old man welcomed them with open arms. That evening they all sat around the camp fire and the three boys told the old man their problem. How, they asked him, could they possibly honor their father’s last wish and divide the 17 camels in accordance with his direction? It was impossible!
The wise old man thought about their problem for a while, and after a long silence concluded that he could not help them. He told them they would have to solve this problem for themselves. However, the old man said he had a camel that he no longer needed and that he would be happy to give his camel to the boys if they wanted him.
The boys were happy to accept the additional camel. As they were preparing to leave the next day the eldest brother realized that now that they had 18 camels they could honor their father’s wishes.
The eldest son could now have ½ of the 18 camels = 9
The middle son could now have 1/3 of the camels = 6
And the youngest son could now have 1/9 of the camels = 2
Imagine their surprise when they divided up their inheritance and discovered that it came to 17 camels. They now had one extra camel. So they gave the wise old man his camel back which he accepted with a twinkle in his eye…
Boadicea's Chariot 
Levent, I’ve read this one somewhere before. It’s a nice story to end the evening. 😉
Thanks Isobel. Night night & sleep tight.
Goodnight Levent and have a good weekend. Did you enjoy your dinner ?
Good night Araminta. Yes I did. Thank you
The weather is lovely here, 17-20 degrees, in the afternoon. A typical nice spring weather. What’s it like there?
Wet and not very warm, Levent, sob.:)
Almost all the trees are blooming now. Poor ones will be probably hit by freeze.
Sorry Levent,
I couldn’t resist it.
WHY MUM?
A mother and baby camel are talking one day when the baby camel asks, “Mum why have I got these huge three toed feet?”
The mother replies, “Well son, when we trek across the desert your toes will help you to stay on top of the soft sand”.
“OK” said the baby camel. A few minutes later he asks, “Mum, why have I got these great long eyelashes?”
“They are there to keep the sand out of your eyes on the trips through the desert”, the camel mother answers.
“Thanks Mum” replies the son. After a short while, he returns and asks, “Mum, why have I got these great big humps on my back??”
The mother, now a little impatient with her baby son replies, “They are there to help us store water for our long treks across the desert, so we can go without drinking for long periods.”
“That’s great mum, so we have huge feet to stop us sinking and long eyelashes to keep the sand from our eyes and these humps to store water, but … Mum?”
“What!”
“What the f**k are we doing in London Zoo?”
Tocino, 🙂
Off to bed. Good night all!
Funny how …..
Middle Eastern stories are always about being wise
European Stories are always about monarchies
Chinese stories are about Confusius
African stories are always about hunting
American stories are about cowboys and Indians
South American stories are about God and Jesus
And Aussie stories are all bullshite 🙂
IS, such wisdom.
It’s the Buddha in me! 🙂
Great blog, Levent. I love hearing tales like this from other countries/cultures.Got any more?
Morning Claire. Plenty. I love stories. Here is another:
A man spoke with the Lord about heaven and hell. The Lord said to the man, “Come, I will show you hell.”
They entered a room where a group of people sat around a huge pot of stew. Everyone was famished, desperate and starving. Each held a spoon that reached the pot, but each spoon had a handle so much longer than their own arm that it could not be used to get the stew into their own mouths. The suffering was terrible.
“Come, now I will show you heaven,” the Lord said after a while. They entered another room, identical to the first — the pot of stew, the group of people, the same long-handled spoons. But there everyone was happy and well-nourished. “I don’t understand,” said the man. “Why are they happy here when they were miserable in the other room and everything was the same?”
The Lord smiled, “Ah, it is simple,” he said. “Here they have learned to feed each other.”
Turkish version is a bit different though.
Mornin’, Levent – a quick one for you and Tocino.
A polar bear cub went to his mother and asked, “Mummy, am I a polar bear?
“Of course you are, darling”
“But am I really a polar bear?”
“Yes, darling. You have white fur, big paws, claws and the cutest little black nose”
“But am I really, really a polar bear?”
“Look, I’m a polar bear and Daddy’s a polar bear, so you’re a polar bear too. We live here in the Arctic, eat seals and do all the things that polar bears do. Why do you keep asking?”
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“Because I’m bloody freezing!”
Taxi!
OZ
🙂 Oz, would you believe I thought of this joke when I read Tocino’s. Nice one.
Levent; very good! These little stories make me think of the French proverbs that my hubby comes up with every now and then.
Here are a few of my faves:
Chassez le naturel, il revient au galop= if you fight natural instincts, they come back with a vengence.
Dis-moi qui tu hantes, je te dirai qui tu es = tell me who your friends are, and I’ll tell you who you are.
Quand il y a de la place dans le coeur, il y en a dans la maison = when there’s room in the heart there’s room in the house.
And my personal, all time fave…
Ce que femme veut, Dieu le veut = whatever woman wants, God wants. Can’t say fairer than that 😉
As her Maj observes when she gives the Royal Assent to a bill, ‘La Reyne le veult’. No arguing with that. 😀
Ah, really? even better, Bearsy. 😉
Yup, it’s writ on every bill wot becomes an act – there’s a longer version, too, for supply bills. All in Norman French. Have a squiz at Wiki.
Claire, re the last one. I believe this kind of thinking is a gift of God to men. To make women better to nag less. 😆
Levent; like your logic! Right,must to be. Night night 😉
Night night, Claire. 🙂