Once upon a time a great king ruled over a large, prosperous land. The king was known far and wide for his wisdom and his generosity, and all the people of his land loved and admired him. During this good king's reign, the cow and the jaguar drank side by side at cool, shady pools, and the butterfly and snake lay eggs in the same nest. When the land was dry, rain fell, and when the fields were thick with mud, the sun burst through the clouds and dried the earth. Flowers and plants and people blossomed and bloomed.
Now one day a merchant lost his prize possession. He lost his favorite camel. He searched high and low for his beast. He searched day after day. Alas, after many, many weeks, having no luck, he ventured out across the borders of the land. "Perhaps she has wandered far away," he said to himself, and off he went.After many days he came upon four men walking in the opposite direction. "Ho there," said the merchant, as he crossed the men's path. "Where do you travel?"
"We are unhappy men," said the first man. "We are ministers in our own land, but our land is ruled by a cruel and unjust king. We have decided to seek another place to live."
"I see," said the merchant.
"And you?" they asked. "Why is it you are wandering?" the first minister asked.
"I have lost my poor camel," said the merchant. "I am off to see if I can find her somewhere in this great, wide world. Let me ask you this, kind sirs. Have any of you seen a camel in your journeying? I doubt it, of course, and soon I think I will give up my search."
The ministers gathered together. They bowed their heads and spoke together, in whispers. The merchant stood nearby. He leaned forward to try to hear what the men said.
"Have you seen her?" he asked again. "Tell me what you whisper about. Tell me please what it is that you know."
"My name is Bodhadita," said the first minister. "And I wish to ask you something, kind sir."
"Anything," said the merchant. His heart began to beat wildly, for the four men seemed to be wise and good and fair.
"Was your animal, your camel, lame, good sir?" asked Bodhadita.
"Yes, she was!" cried the merchant. Now he was truly excited. "Yes, yes, yes! Oh, where have you seen my camel?"
But Bodhadita simply closed his eyes and fell silent, and the second minister stepped forward to speak. "And was your camel blind in one eye?" asked Bodhachandra, for that was the second man's name.
"Oh, yes!" cried the merchant. "She was blind and lame, but such a lovely creature. Oh won't you tell me where you have seen my camel, good sir?" But at that Bodhachandra fell silent and closed his eyes. The third minister stepped forward. He touched his hand to the merchant's shoulder and said, very softly, "Tell me, sir, was your creature's tail unusually short?"
"Stop teasing me!" shouted the merchant. "Tell me where you saw my camel! Tell me where she has gone now!"
But now it was Bodhavyapka's turn to close his eyes, and the fourth minister, whose name was Bodhavibishana, stepped forward. He bowed low and spoke as softly as his friends. "I believe your camel may have had a cough, good sir? Could that be so?"
"I have been teased enough!" the merchant wept. "You men are cruel, for you know everything about my poor lost camel. Tell me now where my creature has gone?"
"I am so sorry," said the first minister, "but none of us has seen your camel anywhere."
"You play with me!" cried the merchant.
The second minister smiled gently. "We do not tease or play," he said. "None of us has seen your camel. We have only observed her."
"What can you mean?" cried the merchant as he pulled at his hair and stamped his feet. "Tell me what you mean!"
"Follow us," said the four ministers. "We are on our way to your land to see your king. Let him explain to you what we have discovered on our journey."
"I am certain you have stolen my animal," hissed the merchant, "and now you ask me to go home, defeated and without my finest possession."
The ministers smiled again.
"Come with us," they urged the merchant, and at last, lost and sad, he fell silent and followed the four ministers to the land where butterfly and snake, cow and jaguar, lived in peace.
The five men approached the castle. "Here I will find justice," said the merchant as he moved quickly up the marble steps. "Our ruler is a kind and just man!"
"That is what we hope," said the ministers, and all five men appeared before the king.
"Tell me what it is you need," said the king.
And quickly the merchant told the king of the men's findings. "I believe they have stolen my camel," he said.
The king sat up straight. "You have described this creature perfectly," he said. "Tell us how it is you know all about the camel."
The first minister bowed to the king. "Good sir, when I first saw the creature's tracks, I noticed that one of the footmarks was deeper than the others. That is how I knew he must be lame."
"And I," said the second minister, "observed that the leaves on one side of the road were snapped, while the others grew abundant and green. I knew then that the animal was blind in his right eye, for clearly he did not see the fruits of the trees on the right."
"I see," said the king. "And you?" he asked, and he turned to the third minister. "How did you know that the creature's tail was short?"
"Upon the road I saw small drops of blood," said the third minister. "And I realized that the flies and mosquitoes and gnats had bitten her but her tail was too short to shoo them away."
"Ahh," said the king. And he smiled. "And you, sir, how could you know of the camel's illness?"
"I observed the footprints and I saw that the hind leg prints scarcely touched ground. And so I knew that the camel must have contracted in pain."
"Ah," said the king, and then he turned to the merchant and said, "I will pay for the loss of your camel as she seems to be lost for good. And you," said the king, turning to the ministers, "Please stay and be my counselors for you are observant, keen and wise."
And so the four ministers came to help the great king of India. The merchant gathered all the people, and together they said a prayer for the lost camel, and together they praised their good king and the wise ministers.
- - -
There is an ancient saying in Islam: "Faith is the lost camel of the Believer." Some people say that this phrase originates from this tale, the lost camel representing man's faith, its traces visible only to those who observe carefully, and to those who use their powers wisely.