Part 5

“You mean turn myself young again?” asked the big white camel in amazement. “Do you really imagine I’d like to start way back at the beginning again and do all the silly things I did over, and not have people in every country of the world paying me homage, and not be the leader of the caravan of white camels any more?” He sank back in his pillows again and gave a weary sigh. “I never heard anything quite so silly in all my life,” he murmured, lifting one hand to hide his gaping mouth. “I can’t imagine anything more stupid.”

“Yes, I suppose you’re right,” said the youngest camel, and he stood looking with longing eyes at the necklace he had never dreamed could really be. “But then I should think if you have no more use for the necklace you wouldn’t mind giving it away, or at least lending it to people sometimes?”

“Naturally, as long as I have everything I want, I haven’t the slightest use for it,” said the old white camel. “But so many people wanting it makes it very valuable indeed. That’s why it’s kept till the very end like this. Now that you’ve resisted all the temptations, you’re allowed to have a choice.”

He held the necklace up towards the flaming torchlight again, and the little camel clasped his hands together.

“Do you mean to say--do you mean I can choose--” he stammered.

“Now don’t get excited,” said the old leader, with a yawn. “This is the final test, remember. You are allowed to choose between this string of magic beads and--” he made a gesture towards a great bulging sack which servants had just placed on the sand beside his litter--“and this bag,” he said. “I do hope you’re not going to make a mistake at the last minute,” he added dreamily.

“What’s in the bag?” asked the little camel in a cautious voice, and the old leader answered:--

“Ashes. Nothing but ashes.”

“But I can’t see there’s any choice at all!” the little camel cried out. “Of course, I’ll take the--”

“Now, don’t be in too much of a hurry to make up your mind,” said the old white camel. “Remember greed never got anybody anywhere at all. Don’t forget that things are never what they seem, and appearances are frequently deceiving. Keep in mind that there are always a lot of wolves in sheep’s clothing about, even right here on the desert. If you’ll take my advice, you’ll consider long and carefully before you--” The youngest camel stood reflecting deeply while the old white leader went on: “I’m sure your dear mother must have told you all about fair faces hiding false hearts, and I’m absolutely certain you don’t want to act like a greedy little pig just when everything seems to be turning out so nicely for you.”

“No,” said the little camel gravely, “but I want the necklace. I don’t want the sack of ashes. I want the necklace more than anything else in the world.”

“Of course,” said the old camel, and in spite of the fact that he was very much interested in the conversation, his lids kept slipping down over his eyes. “Naturally, we all want what isn’t good for us. But that doesn’t mean you’re going to be a silly, piggish little camel and--”

“Please,” said the youngest camel in a small but firm voice. “I choose the necklace. That’s what I want.”

“Well, I must say that’s very unkind of you,” said the old white leader, and he tossed it around the little camel’s neck with rather a nasty jerk. “No one’s ever chosen the necklace before and so I was always able to keep it. Everyone’s _always_ chosen the bag of ashes because it was the politest and nicest thing to do.”

The youngest camel now fell down on his knees and thanked the ancient leader for all the kindness he had shown him, and as soon as he had paid him enough homage to restore him to a good humor, he turned the necklace around and around his neck until he came to the bead which was shaped like a heart and red as a cherry and he read the inscription inside:--

Oh, heart, on music let me ride This instant to my mother’s side.

But first he slipped the magic opal under his tongue, so that by the time he reached his mother and was clasped in her arms, all the lies he had ever told her had been transformed to truth.

TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES:

Italicized text is surrounded by underscores: _italics_.

Obvious typographical errors have been corrected.

Inconsistencies in hyphenation have been standardized.