The Foolish Couple and Their Camel

A man and his wife led their camel to the river for water.

"Look!" the wife said, seeing the camel's reflection. "Now there are two camels. One here, and one there."

"I see them both!" her husband exclaimed. "This camel on the land, and that camel in the water."

"I'm hungry," said the wife. "Let's eat one of them."

"Good idea!" replied the husband.  "We'll lead this one home and come back later for that one."

So they led their camel back home and butchered it. 

But when they returned to the river for the other camel, it was gone.

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Inspired by: "Nagla and Naglatain" in Wisdom from the Nile by Ahmed Al-Shahi, Ahmed and F. C. T. Moore, 1978.
Notes: You can read the original story online. In the original story, their names are Nagla and Naglatain. The story goes on to describe a whole series of adventures in which they lose the camel meat to a thief, kill a judge, and in the end the husband kills his wife and thinks she is laughing at him when the mouth of her corpse gapes open.

camel