The Man and His Camel: A Gujarati Fable

Another story my parents told me as a child...hope you enjoy it:

THE MAN AND HIS CAMEL

Once upon a time, there was a man who lived in the desert. He owned, as most desert-dwellers do, a camel.

One night in the desert, it was very cold. The man bundled himself and went to sleep in his tent while his camel laid down to rest just outside.

Not long after, the camel poked his head into the tent and asked, "May I please put my nose in the tent? It is so terribly cold outside."

Now, the man thought for a moment. Generally, camels do not sleep in tents. They are usually perfectly fine in the out-of-doors. But it was, after all, a bitterly cold evening in the desert and what harm could be done with just allowing the camel to just put his nose in? So, much to the camel's delight, the man finally told him it was fine if he wanted to put his nose into the tent.

The camel happily warmed his cold nose in the man's tent as the man fell asleep. But slowly, slowly, over the course of the night, the camel inched his way into the tent until he was entirely in. And slowly, slowly, over the course of the night, the man was inched entirely out of the tent!

In the morning, when he awoke, the man was freezing while the camel lay blissfully in a warm slumber.

Angered, the man asked the camel, "Why did you come all the way into my tent when I told you to just put your nose in?!"

The camel could offer no good explanation. Thereafter, the man vowed never again to let the camel put his nose into his tent.

Moral: Give some people an inch and they'll take a yard.