Bahlool and Counting Camels

One day, Bahlul was leading ten camels on a journey. After walking two or three miles on foot, he decided to ride one of the camels. He then counted the remaining camels and found only nine.

Surprised, he said, “I had ten camels! Where did one go?” He dismounted and ran in every direction, searching for the missing camel but found no trace.

Feeling dejected, he returned to the group and counted again. To his delight, there were ten camels. Relieved, he continued the journey.

After a few more miles, he mounted a camel again and counted the rest. Once more, there were only nine. Alarmed, he dismounted and searched, but the same thing happened repeatedly.

Finally, Bahlul said to himself, “It’s better to walk and have ten camels than to ride and only have nine.” He continued his journey on foot.