“In all those tales of yours,” spoke the king, “justice prevails, so all is well in the end.” “Alas, Your Majesty, in tales the good often are rewarded, but in reality things happen more often as they did to the camel.”  “What happened to the camel?” asked the king.  The storyteller bowed and began again.

The camel and the lion. “One day a young camel escaped from his owner, who wanted to drill a hole through its nose to insert a brass ring, by which he would pull the camel along for the rest of its life.  Most camels that escape come back after some time and can be caught again because they are hungry, but this camel walked on and on until it arrived in the forest.  It went up to the king of the forest, the lion, who had never seen a camel, and asked him for permission to live in his domain.  The lion magnanimously granted the camel peace and security for life in his forest, after making sure that the camel ate only grass and other green things for which the lion had no taste.  For the camel, a golden time began: He had no work to do and more grass than he could eat.

“One bad day the lion was very hungry and attacked a buffalo.  The buffalo was skilled in the use of his horns, however, so he caught the lion and ripped open the royal belly. The lion limped home and lay down in his pride to be nursed by his mate.  It was clear that hunting would be out of the question for weeks.  Now at the lion’s court there lived a rat, a hyena, a jackal, and a vulture, all of whom sponged off the scraps of the lion’s dinners.

“Soon, they grew so hungry that they conspired together.  There you see how an emergency can drive people who thoroughly dislike one another into each other’s arms.  The jackal had a sound plan, which they all adopted.  He went up to the lion and spoke in his flattering manner: ‘Great king, we are all deeply pained to see how you suffer from loss of blood, which causes weakness.  It could be cured, says our learned friend the vulture, by the most health-giving food available, the heart of a camel.’ ‘Never!’ growled the lion.  ‘I have given my royal word to that camel.  I guaranteed his safety.  Do not come to me with sinful proposals, or I will have you dismissed from my court.’

“ ‘Far be it from me,’ resumed the jackal soothingly, ‘to suggest anything untoward or improper, but if any animal would offer itself to Your Majesty for consumption, then surely you would accept.’ ‘Call a meeting,’ said the lion.  That was all the jackal needed.  He went and fetched the camel without explaining what the reason for the haste was.  Soon all were there, because the others were never far from the lion’s den, just in case a meal appeared.