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are extremely shy and bashful. The man, who was aware
of this fact, immediately disappeared from the scene and
for the following days made a point of not coming close
to the camel. Later on he sold it as a precaution against
something harmful that might happen to him, for having
witnessed the camel in an embarrassing situation.
Ten years passed and one day, while the man was in
a market, he suddenly saw the camel he had sold. He
recognized it from the branding on the camel that marks
ownership. What is most surprising was that the camel had
also recognized its previous owner, who had immediately
realized this from the angry looks on the camel’s face. So he
immediately ran away, jumping over the sacks and baskets
that contained various commodities, treading on sleeping
sheep and their heaped lambs. The camel pursued him and
soon caught up with him. It easily threw him down and
treaded on him. When the police arrived on the scene the man
had already died.
Obviously, such incidents are rare. Hence, it is no
wonder that they are kept in the memory of people for a
long time and are transmitted from mouth to mouth just
like famous stories and wise proverbs. However, they
involve lessons to be learned in connection with the desert
ship, the camel, which, though having been domesticated
and docile a long time ago, yet one must be cautious in
dealing with it and must show respect and consideration
to such unusual animal. Now since the camel has always
been for centuries the only source of affluence for the
nomads, and, since it possibly represents the basic part of
all their life, it is no wonder that so many names are given
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to the camel (Arabic philologists mention 5744 different
names), the various names being associated with the
stages, circumstances and characteristics of this animal.
There are also different names given to the camel for each
year of its life and to each one of its species; to the first
phases of its life; to camels that are barren; to those used
for riding and transport; to the healthy ones and the sick
ones; to those that have physical defects; to those that have
special habits, and according to the color of their hide and
hair and so forth. The term “desert ship” is also significant.
Most camels in the Kingdom have a light yellow color and
some are dark brown and white. In Najd are found the best
camels that are more patient and more capable of bearing
difficulties. They are traditionally dark to the point of
blackness. However, white camels are part of folklore and
popular stories in the Kingdom. Bedouin women always
prefer clothes weaved from the hair of white camels. The
young women, on the other hand, dream of traveling in a
houdaj that is placed on the hump of a white camel.
It happened very often in the past that camels fell
victims to an invading enemy in view of their great value
among the tribes. As tribal wars took place very often,
those animals often exchanged hands. In other words, they
often came back, sooner or later, to their original owner.
A man who has lost in battle his friend that is invaluable,
namely, his camel, which had been throughout the years
not merely a source of income but also a full member of
the family, could not under any circumstances give up and
resign himself to such loss. Thus in such circumstances
he would hire a spy, whose task, after receiving detailed