Problem solving story: The missing eighteenth camel parable

Many years ago, in a small village, a wise man passed away after a long and fulfilling life. He had worked hard, built a good reputation, and accumulated wealth, including a herd of seventeen camels. Upon his passing, he left a will for his three sons, ensuring that his wealth would be equally distributed among them. However, there was one peculiar condition, before they could receive any part of their inheritance, they had to find a way to fairly divide the seventeen camels according to the instructions in the will. The will stated that the eldest son should receive one-half of the camels, the middle son should receive one-third, and the youngest son should receive one-ninth. The three brothers sat down to do the calculations, but soon, they realized they had a serious problem. The eldest son began to count. “One-half of seventeen is eight and a half,” he thought. “But how can we have half a camel?” The middle son then calculated one-third of seventeen. “That is five and two-thirds!” he exclaimed, shaking his head in frustration. The youngest son, trying to follow along, realized that one-ninth of seventeen was even more complicated. “It is one and eight-ninths,” he muttered. “That doesn’t make sense!”

A dispute quickly arose. The eldest son, being the strongest, argued that the will must be incorrect. “One-half, one-third, and one-ninth do not add up to a whole,” he insisted. “It is impossible to follow our father’s instructions. Since tradition says the eldest son inherits everything, I will take all the camels.” The middle son disagreed, pleading with his brothers. “My wife is very sick,” he said. “If I had just one extra camel, I could support my family better. Surely, I deserve more.” The youngest son, feeling cheated, insisted that there was a mistake. “I should be receiving one-sixth, not one-ninth! I will not accept anything less.” Their disagreement grew so heated that they stopped speaking to each other. Their families no longer visited one another, and even their children were forbidden from playing together. Anger and resentment grew, and in the darkness of his thoughts, one of the brothers even considered harming the others or the camels just to end the dispute. It was clear they could not solve the problem alone, and before their family bonds were broken beyond repair, they made a crucial decision, they would seek the wisdom of an old sage in the village.

The three brothers approached the wise old man, who listened carefully to their dilemma. He stroked his beard, deep in thought, and then, without a word, stood up, went to his stable, and retrieved a saddle. Placing it before them, he smiled gently and said, “I am old and no longer travel. I will give you my camel. Now, you have eighteen camels. Try your calculations again.” The brothers were puzzled, but they followed the old man’s instructions. With eighteen camels, the math was suddenly simple. The eldest son received one-half of eighteen which was nine camels. The middle son received one-third of eighteen which was six camels. And the youngest son received one-ninth of eighteen which is two camels. When they added it all up, they realized they had distributed exactly seventeen camels. There was one camel left, the one given by the old sage. Overcome with gratitude, the brothers finally understood their father’s lesson. They had been so focused on their differences that they could not see a simple solution. The eldest son, ashamed of his greed, apologized. The middle son, realizing fairness was more important than personal needs, felt humbled. The youngest son, understanding the importance of wisdom, thanked the old sage. Together, they decided to return the extra camel to the wise man.

As the old man took his camel back, he smiled knowingly. “Sometimes, problems seem impossible because we focus too much on what we lack instead of what we have. When we think beyond ourselves, solutions appear.” The brothers embraced, their feud forgotten. Their families reunited, their children played together again, and they honored their father’s final lesson: wisdom and unity are far greater than wealth. From that day on, they ruled their father’s land with fairness and kindness, teaching their own children the value of patience, cooperation, and perspective.