Camels going without Water

While a camel can support thirst better than any beast of burden in the world, it has a very definite limit of endurance. Almost any camel can go three or four days without a drink, especially if it has had the opportunity to fill itself before starting.

Yet a camel which has been living in a fertile country, and has become “green.” Four days of thirst is its limit. On the fifth day, it will kneel down on the sand, and never get up again. It is useless to beat the animal or to prod him with the goad. Removing the load will make no difference. The creature will not try to get up. When a camel has once made up its mind to die, it will do so, even though water may be only an hour’s journey away. If the wells are not reached by the end of fifth day, most of the camels which are not desert-bred and desert-trained will succumb. For long trans-Saharan marches, therefore, camels from the northern parts of Algeria and Morocco are useless.

Usually, a camel which can endure five days can endure six, and the Bedouin Arabs have a tradition that if a camel dies on the sixth day it is a sign that an afreet has been sitting on the top of the load. A well-trained desert camel should always be able to reach the evening of the seventh day, without water.

This is the breaking point. On the morning of the eighth day, fully a third of the camels of a caravan will not even try to rise, and, at intervals, all day long, those which have started will drop to their knees, abandoning hope. A camel which, without food or water, has carried its load or its master until the evening of the ninth day, according to Bedouin tradition (though not of the Koran) has won for itself a human soul and will go to Paradise. Should the evening of the tenth day be reached and the camel still be able to travel, it is regarded as having been touched by the miraculous hand of Allah and may never be ridden again, save by a marabout in a Holy War.

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There is a legend, beloved by the Bedouins, which tells how the Angel Gabriel was saved by a camel.

“In the days of ignorance,” the legend runs, “before the Koran was revealed to Prophet, the Angel Gabriel came down to earth. As the Koran had yet been revealed, the earth was still in the hands of the demons who eat the evil thoughts of man for their food.

“When these demons saw the Angel Gabriel, they determined to capture of the hosts of the sky, to rob him of his thoughts, as one robs a caravan, and send him back to Heaven empty. Had they succeeded in catching the Angle, they might have done this, for was it not in the days of Ignorance?

“Now the Angel Gabriel had been given special powers by Allah, and, had he wished it, he could have blasted these demons by a Word of Might. But as his mission on earth was a secret one, escape seemed to him the best way to carry out the wishes of Allah.

“The Angel Gabriel summoned his mehari. This racing-camel was whiter than milk, faster than the fastest gazelle, its eyes could see a blade of cram-cram grass fully ten miles away, and it could smell an unpierced well of water at two days’ march distance. The angel leaped upon this mehari and the demons folled.

“That was a wild ride! “Every day, for exactly fourteen hours daily, the Angle Gabriel rode. He stopped, only, to give his mehari the four hours of grazing, the two hours of cud-chewing, and the four hours of sleep which the Creator-the All-Wise and the All-Powerful-has ordained for these sponge-footed racers over the desert miles.

“Yet, fast as the angle rode, the demons stayed close behind. Upon black meharis, whose breath was hotter then the simoon upon the Waste of A’i’iz, they followed him nearly. They could not advance while he rested, for never did the Angel delay a moment longer than the prescribed house of repose, and never did he rob his mehari of the rest which was its due.

“For nine days, the Angle Gabriel rode thus, and wide was the expanse of the desert that he crossed. And for nine days the demons maintained their pursuit, discouragement not yet having withered their harts. But when, upon the coming of the tenth day, the demons found that the mehari of the Angel Gabriel was still able to travel, those dark Sons of Eblis decided that the camel must have more than earthly powers, and gave up the chase. Thus by the endurance of a mehari to the tenth day, the Angel Gabriel was saved and the designs of Allah were not thwarted.”

By: Mahabir Prasad on http://www.whereincity.com/stories

Crooked neck of Camel

Akbar was very impressed with Birbal’s wit and wisdom. So one day Akbar promised him for many gifts. But it so happened that several days passed, but there was no sign of gift. Birbal was very disappointed. He didn’t know what to do?

One day when Akbar was taking a stroll at the bank of Yamuna with his dear minister Birbal, he happened to notice a camel. He asked Birbal, “Tell me Birbal, why the camel’s neck is crooked.”

Birbal thought this is good time, so he thought for a moment and spoke, “Your Majesty, it might be possible that the camel has forgotten to honour his promise made to somebody that is why his neck is crooked. Scriptures mention that whoever will forget their promises will have crooked neck. So this might seem the reason of his crooked neck.”

Akbar soon realized that he promised to give some gifts to Birbal, but has not yet done so. As soon as they arrived at the palace, the King gave him his reward.

So Birbal was so wise that he got what he wanted without asking for it.

The Camel

When Man first saw the Camel, he was so frightened at his vast size that he ran away.

After a time, perceiving the meekness and gentleness of the beast’s temper, he summoned courage enough to approach him.

Soon afterwards, observing that he was an animal altogether deficient in spirit, he assumed such boldness as to put a bridle in his mouth, and to let a child drive him.

Moral:
Use serves to overcome dread.

The Price of Indiscretion

In the city of Nagara, there was a carpenter whose name was Ujjwalaka and who was extremely poor. One day he was pained to realize that every one else in his profession was rich and happy and that he alone was very poor. He thought Nagara was not the proper place for him to prosper and that he must go out and seek his fortune elsewhere. Then he left that city and began his journey to a new country. When the sun was fading, he reached a cave in a forest.

There he saw a female camel that separated from her caravan and just then delivered a child. The carpenter gave up his plans to go to another country and went home taking the camel and her calf with him. Every day he would go into the forest and bring back with him bundles of tender leaves for the camel and her child to eat. The she camel regained and her strength and the calf now became an adult. The carpenter began selling camel milk and making good money.

Ujjwalaka loved the camel so much that he bought a bell and hung it to her neck. One day he thought to himself, “If one camel can bring so much money for me, how much more would I earn if I buy more camels and sell their milk?” He told his wife that he would borrow some money to go to Gujarat and buy a she camel and that she should take care of the she camel and her calf till he returned from Gujarat.

He went to Gujarat and returned home with a she camel. Slowly, the number of camels he had increased several times. He appointed a keeper to take care of the camel herd he had on the condition that he would give one camel to the keeper every year as remuneration. The keeper was also free to drink camel milk twice a day. Now, everything was fine for the carpenter and he and his wife thus lived happily ever after.

The camels used to go every day to a nearby forest to feed on the fresh green leaves available in plenty in the forest. After spending a lot of time in the forest, eating and playing, the camels trekked back home. But the senior she camel stayed on in the forest and joined the herd later. The other camels thought that the she camel was a fool to go her separate ways and what would she do if a wild animal attacked her.

One day a lion saw all the camels leaving the forest in a herd and the she camel staying back and loafing about. By the time she finished her leisurely grazing, the others left and reached home. The she camel lost her way and was in panic when the lion, which was following her, pounced on her and soon tore her to pieces.

Moral:
He (or she) who does not follow the advice of wise men perishes like the camel.
(This Panchatantra story is from Loss of Gains)

The Camel, the Jackal and the Crow

In a far off forest, there lived a lion named Madotkata served by a leopard, a jackal and a crow. One day they sighted Kradanaka, a camel who lost his way. Thinking the camel they saw was an unusual animal, the lion asked his assistants to find out if he was a wild animal or domestic animal.

The crow said that the camel was a domestic animal fit to be killed and eaten. Refusing to eat Kradanaka, the lion said:

“I shall not kill someone who came seeking hospitality. According to our elders, you cannot kill even an enemy who came trusting you. He who kills so commits the sin of killing hundred Brahmins. Assure him of safety and bring him to me.”

The three assistants brought the camel to the presence of the lion. On the lion asking the camel to relate his story, Kradanaka told him how he was part of a trade caravan and how he had lost his way. The lion told the camel, “Kradanaka, why do you go back to your village and become once again a beast of burden? Remain with us without any hesitation and feast on this tender grass.” Thereafter, the camel stayed on to live happily with the lion and his three assistants.

One day, the lion was locked in a battle with an elephant. The tusker gored Madotkata and badly injured him. He became too weak to hunt. Without food he was in no position to do anything. Then, the lion asked the assistants to go out and look for some animal for his meal. “Bring the animal here. I will kill him somehow and provide food for you all,” said the lion.

The leopard, the jackal, and the camel looked everywhere for an animal but could not find anyone. The jackal told the crow aside:

“Friend, what is the use of wasting time like this? We have Kradanaka, our lord’s loyal friend. Let us kill him and survive.” “That is fine. Yet we cannot kill him because our lord has assured him protection,” said the crow.”

“Leave it to me. I shall convince Madotkata to kill the camel. Wait here. I will meet the lord and get his permission,” said the jackal and left to meet the lion.

The jackal told his lord, “Oh, lord, we went to every nook and corner of the forest. We could not find a single animal. We are tired, weak and hungry. Since my lord is also in the same condition, I humbly suggest that we make a meal of this camel.”

Highly annoyed, the lion said, “You sinner, if you repeat these words, I shall first kill you. I have given him my word. How can I kill him? Haven’t our elders said that no gift of land or cow or food is greater than the gift of an assurance?”

“You are right my lord. It is a sin to kill him who has your word. But if the camel voluntarily offers himself as food it is no sin to accept the offer. If he does not volunteer, you can kill anyone of us. You are hungry and close to your end. If we are not of use to you at this time what value have our lives? If anything undesirable happens to our lord, we will immolate ourselves.”

“This seems to be more reasonable,” said the lion.

The jackal told the other two assistants, “Friends, our lord is in a pitiable condition. There is now no one to protect us from others. Instead of aimlessly searching the forest for food, let us offer our bodies to him. That will deliver us from the burden of debt. The servant who is witness to the helpless death of his master will go to hell.”

After the jackal’s plea, all of them called on the lion with tears in their eyes. “What’s the matter? Did you find an animal?” asked the lion.

“No, my lord. We searched every place, every inch of the forest. We are not lucky. We found nothing. But I request the lord to have me for his meal. That will mean two birds with one shot. The lord will survive and I will go to heaven. He who lays down his life to save his lord will have no rebirth,” said the crow.

It was now the turn of the jackal to show his loyalty. He said, “My friend, crow. Your body is too small to slake the hunger of my lord. It amounts to starving him and that is a sin. Get out of my way. I have to submit a plea to my lord.”

Addressing the lion, the jackal said, “Lord, I request you to have me for your meal and ensure me a place in heaven. The lord has rights of life and death over his servants. Therefore, it is no sin in exercising his rights.”

The leopard intervened and said, “You jackal, you are no great personality. Let me plead with the lord.” Addressing Madotkata, the leopard said, “Oh lord, let me give away my life to save your life. Please permit me to earn a permanent berth in heaven. My sacrifice will win fame for me on earth.”

All this set Kradanaka thinking, “All these servants of the lord have said what they wanted to say. Still, the lion did not kill anyone of them. Let me also offer to be the lord’s food today. I am sure my friends will support me.’ He then turned to the leopard and said, “What you have said is right and proper. But you are a carnivorous animal and belong to the same species as the master does. How can he kill you? Let me offer myself.”

The camel then came forward and requested the lion to have him for that day’s meal. At once, the jackal and the leopard pounced on him tore him to pieces and all of them had a sumptuous feast.

Moral:
Wicked people surround the king. Good men should not serve such masters.
(This Panchatantra story is from The Loss of Friends.)