"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.