kal, "a pound of your flesh."

This was a hard condition, but there was nothing for it, "Better to lose
a pound of my flesh," thought the Camel, "than lose my life." So he
agreed to pay the Jackal a pound of flesh.

Then the Jackal set the Camel free, and the Camel sat down on the ground
and said--

"I am ready; take your pound of flesh."

"Open your mouth, then," said the Jackal.

"Why?" asked the Camel.

"Because I choose to take my pound of flesh from your tongue."

This was a terrible blow. The Camel could not agree, because he knew
that if his tongue were torn out, he was bound to die.

So he said, "I did not promise you my tongue."

"You did," said the Jackal.

"Don't tell lies," said the Camel; "where are your witnesses?"

Away trotted the Jackal to find a witness. First he asked the Lion if he
would bear witness that he heard the Camel promise to give his tongue.
He promised to give him the half of all he should get, as a reward.

"Go away," said the King of Beasts; "I am a Lion, not a liar."

Then he asked the Tiger, but the Tiger said--

"I don't care for Camel's meat, so it isn't worth my while."

And so the Jackal tried one beast after another, but none of them would
help him, until he came to the Wolf.

"Friend Wolf," said the Jackal, "if you will only swear that you heard
the Camel promise me his tongue, you shall have half."

"Half a tongue?" quoth the Wolf; "that's poor provender."

"No, no," said the Jackal, "half the Camel. Don't you see that if we
tear out his tongue, the Camel will soon bleed to death."

"True, so he will," said the Wolf. "Well, I agree."

So the Wolf and the Jackal went back to the Camel, and the Wolf said,
raising his right forepaw to heaven--

"I swear by heaven that I heard this Camel promise to give his tongue to
this Jackal."

Of course this was a lie, and they all knew it; but the Camel did not
like to appear mean, and besides, they were two to one.

"Very well," said the Camel; "come and take it." The Camel opened his
mouth wide. The Jackal put his head in the Camel's mouth, and as he did
so, the Camel curled his tongue backward, so that the Jackal could not
reach it.

The Jackal pulled his head out again, and said to the Wolf--

"My mouth is too small, you try now--you have a big gape."

Then the Wolf put his head in the Camel's mouth. The Camel curled his
tongue back and back, and the Wolf pushed in his head further and
further; at last all t