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A camel and an ox and a ram
were ambling along a road, when they saw
a fresh tuft of barley grass that they all wanted.
They stopped, and the ram said, "If we divide this,
none of us will be satisfied. Let us do
as Muhammed advised and give it to the eldest,
honoring his superior experience.
No one honors their elders these days
without some ulterior motive. The young
invite them to taste the food first
only when they suspect it's too hot.
They invite them to cross the bridge ahead of them
only when they see dangerous cracks in the arches,
and no one bows to a Teacher in these times
without some scam in mind. So let us each
declare his age and settle this matter.
As for me I don't know my exact years,
but I was once pastured with that ram
that Abraham sacrificed instead of Isaac."
The ox, "Well, I can beat that! I was yoked
in the team that Adam plowed with
when he left Eden."
The camel listened silently to their amazing lies,
reached his long neck down, plucked the luscious tuft,
and as he held it over their heads and ate it,
he said, "I don't know much about this chronology,
sweethearts, but I know I'm taller than you two,
and that has obvious spiritual significance."
-- Rumi
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