ABSTRACT
An Arabian sheikh had 3 sons and 17 camels. In his will he left 1/2 of his camels to his oldest son, 1/3 to his middle son and 1/9 to his youngest son. When their father died the young men were troubled by what they should do. They couldn’t see how to carry out their father’s will without killing the camels and cutting them up. A stranger came along with 1 camel. He offered to solve their problem. He put his own camel with the other 17, then told the oldest son to take 9 camels (1/2 of 18); the middle son to take 6 camels (1/3 of 18) and the youngest son to take 2 camels (1/9 of 18). The visitor then claimed his own camel and went on his way. Why did the trick work?
