The Strange Will

Art: Manjiri Bhave, India

An old Arab had three sons and 17 camels. 

When he passed away, his sons read his will. It stated that the eldest son should be given half of the 17 camels, the middle son should be given 1/3^rd of the 17 camels, and the youngest son should be given 1/9^th of the 17 camels. 

As it is not possible to divide 17 by 2, or by 3, or by 9, the sons began to fight with each other.

An elderly wise Arab, who was passing by with his caravan, saw them. He asked them about their dispute. They told him about their father’s strange will and he listened patiently. 

After giving the matter some thought, he brought one of his own camels and added it to the 17. That increased the total number of camels to 18. 

Then he read their father’s will.

Half of 18 = 9

So he gave 9 camels to the eldest son.

1/3^rd of 18 = 6

So he gave 6 camels to the middle son.

1/9^th of 18 = 2

He gave 2 camels to the youngest son. 

After adding up the number of camels, they found that

9+6+2=17

This left them with 1 camel. The wise Arab took this camel.

The sons thanked him and praised him for his wisdom. 

Lesson: The art of negotiation is like finding the 18^th camel, i.e, a common ground. Once a person is able to find a common ground, the issue is resolved. 

The first step to solve a problem is to believe that there is a solution. If we think that there is no solution, we won’t be able to reach any. 

(Retold)