The Foolish Camel Driver
A man was crossing the hot desert with his herd of ten camels. Feeling tired after walking a while, he mounted one of them.
While riding, he decided to count his herd: “One, two... nine. I had ten camels, how come there are only nine now?” he wondered in a panic.
He quickly dismounted and searched frantically all over the desert for the tenth camel. Finding nothing, he returned to the herd, stood on the ground, and counted them once more to be sure none had wandered away. "One, two, three... ten! Oh, thank goodness."
Relieved, he climbed back onto a camel and continued his journey. After riding a while longer, he counted them again: “Nine camels again?!”
The man was utterly confused and frustrated. “Oh! These disobedient camels are playing hide and seek with me on a hot summer day!” he said angrily, jumping off the camel. Back on the ground, he counted them a third time. Sure enough, there were ten.
Finally, the foolish man concluded, “I would rather walk and have ten camels around me than ride one and have nine only!”
The Moral: Sometimes, the thing we are searching for is right underneath us—we just need to change our perspective (or look down!).