A Forgotten Tale

Occasionally, I read back through these posts in search of ideas for the present and I always include the comments section in that reading. There are gems in there that can spark new thoughts and remind one of matters overlooked in the busy-ness of life. And that is how I came across a comment of mine that I do not even remember writing.

It is a story made to play upon the assumed name of a good friend, the same Way who comments on these posts. With that in mind, I have no option but to name it:

The Way of the Desert

Two men wanted to cross the desert. They had the necessary equipment, several water skins, a sunshade and a camel, but they did not know the best route so they went in search of a map. They tried every map store in town but it seemed that there had been a rush on maps lately and there were no maps of the desert to be found. Finally, in the last little map store they went to, the proprietor, after apologizing for his lack of maps, made an alternative suggestion.

"You could take Way", he said. "He knows the desert like the back of his back and could be your guide."

At first, our two friends were overjoyed and asked to meet this Way. Introductions were made and agreement arrived at but then, just as they were about to sign the contract (which had been contracted so as not to be too long), a possible problem occurred to them.

"We have only one camel," cried one of the travelers, "will it be able to carry all three of us and the equipment?"

Well, you can imagine the consternation this caused. Research was entered into and it was found that their camel could carry a maximum payload of a certain amount (we won't go into the math - it was very complicated). The two intrepid voyagers knew their own weights and added these together to arrive at a figure beyond which Way must not weigh.

It then turned out that Way did not know how much he weighed so it became necessary to weigh him. This, of course, required that they find some way of doing so and, as you can imagine, this presented a minor hitch until suddenly the proprietor smacked his brow and proclaimed:

"I nearly forgot. There is a weighing machine in my office out back."

Accordingly, the machine was dragged from its resting place and prepared for the task. It was a curious contraption, all levers and springs and balances, and our heroic adventurers regarded it with some trepidation.

"How does it work?" they asked.

The shop keeper explained.

"It is a very clever machine. There are two methods for accomplishing the weighing process. Way can either sit in this little seat here..." He pointed at a circular flat piece of metal. "Or he can grasp this handle," a bar near the top of the machine was indicated, "and lift himself off the ground. You see, sirs, it is a 2-way way to weigh Way!"