Page 94 - The Book of Rumi

Camel and Mouse

merchant had been traveling all day long, and it was late afternoon when
A he arrived at the caravansary, completely exhausted. He dismounted his
camel and vigilantly unloaded the burden it was carrying but was careless
when he tied the bridle to a post before walking inside the adjacent building
to rest for the night.
Soon afterward, the bridle loosened, and the camel began to walk away. A
little desert mouse spotted the bridle twisting like a snake on the ground and
quickly took it in her mouth and ran in front of the large beast. The camel,
who was bored, thought that the little mouse was entertaining and decided
not to whip his bridle out of her grip, allowing her to lead him on. The mouse
was chuffed, believing that she was in charge of guiding the mighty camel, and
began to feel proud of her unrivaled abilities.
“What a great hero I am!” she thought contentedly. “Just look at me pull-
ing such a huge animal behind me!”
The camel noticed that pride was rising in the mouse’s heart but feigned
ignorance and allowed her to arrogantly continue pulling his bridle.
“I’ll let her enjoy her moment of splendor; who knows what the future
holds,” he said to himself philosophically.
The pair continued their journey for some time until they arrived at a
wide stream, which seemed like an endless river to the mouse. She climbed
upon a mound of dirt to see if she could spot the opposite bank, but it was
too far away to be visible. The camel was well aware of why the mouse was
stalling but pretended not to have noticed.
“Hey, little mouse, why have you stopped?” he asked her smugly. “Don’t
be a halfway friend, let’s get going,” he urged her on.
“My friend, the water is too deep and too fast! I’m afraid of drowning,”
she exclaimed helplessly.
“Let me check it out,” said the camel gallantly as he stepped into the
water. “You’re such a twat; this water isn’t deep at all! Look, it only comes up
to my knees!”

70