Sidi Baba and the Seventeen Camels

One day, a nomad named Sidi Baba was traversing the vast stretches of the Sahara Desert. He was journeying to a far-off town to attend to some affairs. The desert was scorching and parched, and Sidi Baba felt a sense of relief when he spotted a cluster of palm trees at a distance, as it signified the approach to an oasis, a rare refuge of water in the desert.

The Unexpected Encounter

As he reached the oasis, he was surprised to find a group of camels and three young men engrossed in a heated argument. As he got closer, he saw that the situation had escalated to a physical confrontation and the voices of the trio had become highly strident.

‘This won’t do,’ one cried out, while another retorted, ‘I certainly won’t agree.’ ‘You’re trying to cheat me out of my share,’ said the first. The third man expressed the gravity of the situation, highlighting their inability to find a solution to the problem.

Understanding the Problem

Driven by curiosity about the cause of the intense dispute, Sidi Baba decided to intervene. He dismounted his camel and approached the quarreling brothers.

The elder brother, looking absolutely distraught, explained the situation. He told Sidi that their father had recently passed away and had left them with seventeen camels. According to their father’s will, the camels were to be distributed among the three brothers – half to the eldest, a third to the second brother, and a ninth to the youngest. Despite much effort, they had been unable to figure out a way to appropriately divide the camels without resorting to an unthinkable action – cutting up a camel.

A Clever Solution

Sidi Baba retreated to a quiet spot in the brothers’ camp and contemplated the problem deeply. After substantial reflection, he came up with a solution. He proposed that they should add his own camel to their seventeen camels. Eager to resolve their predicament, the brothers agreed to his suggestion.

With eighteen camels, half of which equals to nine, were assigned to the eldest son. The second son, receiving a third of the total got six camels. The remaining ninth, equaling to two camels, was given to the youngest brother. Totally, they divided seventeen camels among themselves as per their father’s wish, with one camel left over. The eighteenth camel, he pointed out, belonged to him, and he reclaimed it.

The Departure

Overwhelmed with joy and relief, the three brothers expressed their gratitude to Sidi Baba for his clever solution. They offered him various gifts, but Sidi graciously accepted only a bag of dates for his generous assistance and wise counsel. With a nonchalant wave, he mounted his camel once again and disappeared into the vast desert, ready to resume his journey.