Riddles and Stories

16 CAMELS

There once lived an old Arab who had three sons. On his deathbed, he called his three sons and said: "At my death, you are to divide my possessions." To his eldest son he promised half of his worldly goods; to his second son, a third; and to the youngest, a ninth.
When he died, it was found that his entire estate consisted of seventeen camels, and each of the sons began clamoring for his share.
When they found a fair division impossible, they turned to an old friend of their father for counsel. He was poor, but he said to his sons: "I have only one camel, but I will add it to the herd so that you can settle your father's estate amicably." Whereupon the old man gave the eldest son his half-share of nine camels. To the second son, he gave six camels, representing his third, and to the youngest, he gave two camels, representing his ninth share. Then the old man looked about him and, lo, his own camel remained.

So he turned his head to the east and bowed, saying, "The wisdom of Allah is beyond understanding."

RIDDLE TO SOLVE
Adam, God made out of dust, but thought it wise to make me first,
So I was made before man, to answer God's most holy plan.
A living being I became, Adam gave to me my name.
I from his presence then withdrew and more of Adam never knew.
I did my maker's law obey, nor ever went from it astray.
Thousands of miles I go in fear, but seldom on earth appear.
For purpose wise which God did see, he put a living soul in me.
A soul from me God did claim, and took from me the soul again,
so when from me the soul had fled, I was the same as when first made.
And without hands nor feet or soul, I travel on from pole to pole.
I labor hard by day, by night, to fallen man I give great light.
Thousands of people both young and old, will by my death great light behold.
Neither right nor wrong can I concieve, the scriptures I cannot believe.
Although my name therein is found, they are to me an empty sound.
The feet of death dosen't trouble me, real happiness I'll never see.
To heaven I shall never go, nor to hell far below.

Now when these lines you slowly read, go search your Bible with all speed.
That my name is written there I do honestly to you declare.
(4 times in Bible--ends in E)

If you cannot solves this riddle, please e-mail me for the answerVirginia Young

RIDDLE TO SOLVE "What Am I?

Once the earth lay at my feet,my head was in the heights
Now my lodge is the highest of lands, though I'm out of sight
I shared my name with one who burrows the soil
Yet from my vantage I viewed all labor and toil
I was alive and life teamed all around
I was not alive yet all life was in me
When I gave up life it was changed forever
Now more abundant but shorter in span
And with the oath of the bow, I will never hold life again

What am I?

If you cannot solves this riddle, please e-mail me for the answerVirginia Young

I NEEDED THAT

Submitted by Amy Williams I was so close to tears. I could feel them just behind my eyelids threatening to spill out any second. I could feel my face crumpling into a little ball, my lip quivering... I needed a friend. I was surrounded by friends, but something was missing. And then I realized. I was having the worst day of my entire life, and NO ONE cared.
I recently gained the status of "class clown," always the one they look toward for a laugh, and usually I'm happy to comply. But then I realized that due to my new position, nobody took me seriously any longer. Somehow everybody had forgotten that the class clown, no matter how silly, has feelings too. So I walked alone, apart from my group, and cradled my tears, not allowing myself to cry, when I felt a presence beside me. I looked up to find a stranger, a boy I'd never met, walking beside me. "Are you okay?" he asked, and my tears began to fall.
"Thanks," I said, smiling despite my tears. "For what?" he asked.

"I needed that." I answered.

IN THE WINK OF AN EYE

Submitted by Lewis Frost About ten years ago when I was an undergraduate in college, I was working as an intern at my University's Museum of Natural History. One day while working at the cash register in the gift shop, I saw an elderly couple come in with a little girl in a wheelchair.
As I looked closer at this girl, I saw that she was kind of perched on her chair. I then realized she had no arms or legs, just a head, neck and torso. She was wearing a little white dress with red polka dots.
As they wheeled her up to me I was looking down at the register. I turned my head toward the girl and gave her a wink. As I took the money from the grandparents, I looked back at the girl, who was giving me the cutest, largest smile I have ever seen. All of a sudden her handicap was gone and all I saw was this beautiful girl, whose smile just melted me and almost instantly gave me a completely new sense of what life is all about. She took me from a poor, unhappy college student and brought me into her world; a world of smiles, love and warmth.

That was ten years ago. I'm a successful business person now and whenever I get down and think about the troubles of the world, I think about that little girl and the remarkable lesson about life that she taught me.

BIG HEART

I'm a flight attendant for a major airline. One afternoon while running through LAX to my plane I tore one of my nylon stockings. It was a real bad tear and I wasn't carrying another pair with me. Fortunately there was a convenience store in the terminal that was close to my gate where I knew I could buy a new pair. However, to my surprise, as I waited in line at the sales register I discovered that I had NO MONEY in my purse. I thought to myself that maybe the store manager will sell me a pair of $4.00 nylons and let me pay her back the next time I see her. I've been inside her store a lot and she always smiles and is friendly to me, even though we've never been introduced. When it was my turn to pay I showed her my leg and explained that I had no money on me. And that I was desperate. She laughed and simply said, "take them." Well, for whatever reason, two months passed and I still had not paid the manager back the money I owed her. Then one day at work before my flight departed I was busy doing my usual preflight preparations when a passenger asked me for a newspaper. There was no paper on the plane to give him. He then asked me if I wouldn't mind going into the terminal to buy him one. I said, "sure", and he handed me a quarter. I deplaned and walked to the same convenience store. Before I entered the store I noticed the manager was there. I was too embarrassed to go inside because I had never paid her back and I wasn't carrying my wallet. So, I decided that I would just stand outside the store and flag down the first person I saw and ask him or her to buy me a paper. A giant of a man with a friendly face approached. Before he could walk past me I stopped him and asked if he would buy me a newspaper. He smiled and said that he would do so gladly but wanted to know why I couldn't do it myself. I told him that I was too embarrassed to tell anyone the reason. He was rather jovial and kept saying, "ah, come on, tell me. Surely it isn't that bad." I liked him. There was something very sweet and gentle about him. I needed a newspaper so I gave in and told him. Suddenly he said "hold on", and in one fell swoop whisked me up into his arms and carried me into the store, right over to the counter where the manager was. I was laughing the whole way. With his free hand he reached into his pocket and pulled out a five dollar bill and said, "I'd like to pay for the nylons this person owes you and for a newspaper." I later learned that the big, gentle man was Rosie Grier, the former LA Ram and Hall of Fame football player.

Last Updated by Virginia Young on Thursday, 27 February, 2003 at 9:28 PM.

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