LEARN THE ART OF  ADDING THE 18^TH CAMEL

A father in Syria died! He had 17 camels as an asset for his three sons.

His sons opened up the ‘will’. The will of the father stated that the eldest son should get half of 17 camels while the middle son should be given 1/3^rd (one-third).The youngest son should be given 1/9^th (one-ninth) of the 17 camels.

They tried and tried but it was not possible to divide 17 into half or 17 by 3 or 17 by 9. Since no one was willing to give in, they started to fight with each other.

So, the three sons decided to go to a wise man.

The wise man listened patiently about the will. He, after giving due thought, brought one of his camels and added the same to 17. That increased the total to 18 camels.

                                                                                                      

Now, he started reading the deceased father’s will: half of 18 is 9; so he gave the eldest son 9 camels. Since 1/3rd of 18 is 6, he gave the middle son 6 camels. The youngest son got 2 since 1/9th of 18 is 2.

Now, when added this up: 9 plus 6 plus 2 is 17 and this leaves one camel, which the wise man took back. Thus a seemingly herculean task was solved!

There is no problem which cannot be solved. But the art of adding the 18^th camel is important. An attitude of negotiation and problem solving; an attempt to find the common ground is very essential.  

                                                     

It is difficult at times. However, to reach a solution, the first step is to believe that there is a solution. If we think that there is no solution, we won’t be able to reach any!

When you come to the ‘dead ends’ in life, remember that there shall be a way; if not, as the wise man did, make a way.