Bonsall at 15:15, 12 March 2026

2026-03-12T15:15:41Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:15, 12 March 2026
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	\|Has Critical Literature=Nishimura (2001); Chauvin (1892-1922); Clouston (1884)		\|Has Critical Literature=Nishimura (2001); Chauvin (1892-1922); Clouston (1884)
	\|Has Motif=Animal tale; Camel; Wolf; Fox; Food and drink; Gluttony		\|Has Motif=Animal tale; Camel; Wolf; Fox; Food and drink; Gluttony
	\|Has Summary=Three good friends, a camel, a wolf and a fox, are traveling together. Tired from their long journey and suffering from great thirst and hunger, they eventually begin to argue over the last ~~piece~~ of ~~bread-cake left~~. They each claim that the ~~cake~~ should by rights be theirs, but in the end, they agree that the eldest of them should be the one to eat it. But who amongst them is the oldest? The wolf says that he was born seven days before the earth itself was created - surely making him the eldest. The fox replies that he was with the wolf's mother that night ~~- in fact~~, he even helped her give birth! Surely, he says, that makes him the most senior. As the camel listens to the two bicker, he stretches forth his neck and gulps down the ~~cake~~. Then the camel says to the fox and the wolf, anyone who has seen me do what I just did will know that ~~I am~~ the ~~most experienced~~, ~~that~~ I ~~am older than you, that I have had more troubles than you, and that I know more about the world than you do~~.		\|Has Summary=Three good friends, a camel, a wolf and a fox, are traveling together. Tired from their long journey and suffering from great thirst and hunger, they eventually begin to argue over the last of their provisions, a single pumpkin. They each claim that the pumpkin should by rights be theirs, but in the end, they agree that the eldest of them should be the one to eat it. But who amongst them is the oldest? The wolf says that he was born seven days before the earth itself was created - surely making him the eldest. The fox replies that the wolf's story is true - and that knows this because he was with the wolf's mother that night, and even helped her give birth! Surely, he says, that makes him the most senior. As the camel listens to the two bicker, he stretches forth his neck and gulps down the pumpkin. Then the camel says to the fox and the wolf, if we are assessing experience and seniority, anyone who has seen me do what I just did will know that of the three of us, ''I'' was not born yesterday.


			From Clouston's edition of ''The Book of Sindibād''

			[Added by Jane Bonsall]
	\|Has Note=Nishumura notes the following motifs, analogues, and references:		\|Has Note=Nishumura notes the following motifs, analogues, and references:

Bonsall: Created page with "{{Inset Story |Has Short Description=The Wise Camel |Has Critical Literature=Nishimura (2001); Chauvin (1892-1922); Clouston (1884) |Has Motif=Animal tale; Camel; Wolf; Fox; Food and drink; Gluttony |Has Summary=Three good friends, a camel, a wolf and a fox, are traveling together. Tired from their long journey and suffering from great thirst and hunger, they eventually begin to argue over the last piece of bread-cake left. They each claim that the cake should by rights..."

2026-03-10T15:32:09Z

Created page with "{{Inset Story |Has Short Description=The Wise Camel |Has Critical Literature=Nishimura (2001); Chauvin (1892-1922); Clouston (1884) |Has Motif=Animal tale; Camel; Wolf; Fox; Food and drink; Gluttony |Has Summary=Three good friends, a camel, a wolf and a fox, are traveling together. Tired from their long journey and suffering from great thirst and hunger, they eventually begin to argue over the last piece of bread-cake left. They each claim that the cake should by rights..."

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{{Inset Story
|Has Short Description=The Wise Camel
|Has Critical Literature=Nishimura (2001); Chauvin (1892-1922); Clouston (1884)
|Has Motif=Animal tale; Camel; Wolf; Fox; Food and drink; Gluttony
|Has Summary=Three good friends, a camel, a wolf and a fox, are traveling together. Tired from their long journey and suffering from great thirst and hunger, they eventually begin to argue over the last piece of bread-cake left. They each claim that the cake should by rights be theirs, but in the end, they agree that the eldest of them should be the one to eat it. But who amongst them is the oldest? The wolf says that he was born seven days before the earth itself was created - surely making him the eldest. The fox replies that he was with the wolf's mother that night - in fact, he even helped her give birth! Surely, he says, that makes him the most senior. As the camel listens to the two bicker, he stretches forth his neck and gulps down the cake. Then the camel says to the fox and the wolf, anyone who has seen me do what I just did will know that I am the most experienced, that I am older than you, that I have had more troubles than you, and that I know more about the world than you do.
|Has Note=Nishumura notes the following motifs, analogues, and references:

'''Motifs and Type:''' TMI B841.1: Animals debate as to which is the elder. J1451: Who gets the beehive. ATU: 80a<sup>*</sup> Who gets the Booty?

'''Analogies:''' Jātaka, 37 ‘Tittira-j.’. ''Gobu Ritsu'', 17 (''Taishozo'', 22, 121a). ''Juju Ritsu'', 34 (''Taishozo'', 23, 242bc). ''Shibu Ritsu'', 50 (''Taishozo'', 22, 940a). ''Maka Sogi Ritsu'', 27 (''Taishozo'', 22, 446ab). Rumi, ''Mathnavi'', VI 2457ff. Bar-Hebraeus, ''Laughable Stories'', 372 ‘A wolf, and a fox, and a hare…’; ''Dai Chido-ron'' (Xung Zang, 3c.), 12.20 (''Taishozo'', 25, 146c. Julien, 77). Shiefner, ''Tibetan Tales'', 24 ‘The virtuous Animals’; Clouston, ''The Book of Sindibad'', pp. 218-220, with the story of the “partridge, monkey, and elephant” from the ''Vinayapitaka'' and the story of the vulture and the owl from the seventh chapter of the ''Ramayana''. ''Nihon Mukashibanashi Tsukan'', vol. 28 ‘Type Index’ 557 ‘Comparing Longevity’. Choi In Hak, ''A Study on Korean Folktales''…, 38, ‘The Deer, the Rabbit and the Frog Comparing the Years’. Schwarzbaum, ''Jewish and World Folklore'', 501 ‘The Wolf, the Fox, and the Camel’.

'''Reference stories''', '''etc.:''' Stories that similarly valorise the last word are: Espinosa, ''Cuentos Populares Españoles'', 80: ‘The Bear, the Wolf and the Fox’; ''Nihon Mukashibanashi Tsukan'', 28, ‘Type Index’ 561 ‘Age Distribution’, 832 ‘Comparing Songs’ and 1178 ‘Seven Hundred Million Old Women’; Choi In Hak, ''A Study on Korean Folktales'', 21, ‘Rice cake of Toad’; ''Tai no Misozu'', ‘The first Song’ (from Hamada, ''Nippon Kobanashi Taizen'', p. 21); ''Korean Folktales'', p. 210, ‘The Story of Three People Who Bought One Horse’ (from ''Yosai Sowa''); ''Gesta Romanorum'', 91 ‘Der Faulste’; ''Grimm’s Fairy Tales'', KHM 151, ‘Die drei Faulen’; Rakugo ‘Three Painters’. In the ''Mabinogion'', Kilch and Olwen (pp. 197-199) consult creatures based on their age: thrush, stag, owl, eagle.

'''Additional Bibliography''': Schwarzbaum, XXII, pp.45f. Takagi Toshio, ‘Folk Tales Common to Japan and Korea’, in ''Studies in the Legends of Japanese Mythology'', pp.237-239 and ''A Study of Fairy Tales'', pp. 94, 161. ''Nihon Mukashibanashi Tsukan'', ‘Kenkyu-hen 2’, 557, 832.
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Camelus - Revision history

Bonsall at 15:15, 12 March 2026