My Camels and Me in the Sahara Desert

Part 2.

My Camels and Me in the Sahara Desert

These camels sure love to have fun. It’s funny because they’ve been fooling us all along, and we never had a clue. As they trek through the desert for miles on end, they’re not just walking—they’re gossiping. Oh, the gossip! They discuss everybody and their mother, debating whose hump looks suspiciously plump and how hard it is to raise young ones these days. And, of course, they blame the internet.

Frank is the only quiet one, the wise old-timer who’s been through the ringer. The only problem is that he loves to exaggerate. He even claims to have been alive at the time of Moses.

“Is that so?” the easily impressed young damsels whisper among themselves, wide-eyed. The others laugh at their innocence, but Frank keeps a straight face. It helps that he has the loopiest eyes and the longest nose you’ve ever seen—perfect for looking mysterious.

What a character. You never know when he’s serious and when he’s not. He has a harem of 24, but it’s mostly for show—he can only perform once a week on account of his age. But Lily, Sarah, and Chloe—the most intellectually advanced of the group—weren’t satisfied with stories. They decided to dig deep into the Books From the Dunes, a kind of ancient Ancestry.com, to uncover the truth about Frank. What they found was mind-blowing.

Not only had he been married 117 times, but he had over 200 children. Even wilder: There were no recorded divorces. Turns out, 105 of his wives had stuck around, while the rest had left him for younger camels immediately after their honeymoons.

It was quite the history lesson. As they pieced together Frank’s past, they started uncovering more about their own ancestors. And that’s when things got messy. The moment they shared their findings, it was like setting fire to dry brush—the gossip exploded. Indiscretions came to light, long-buried secrets were revealed, and scandalous affairs were dissected with ruthless enthusiasm.

The chatter grew so intense that the humans stopped the caravan, worried their camels were running a fever. They gave them extra water, extra food, and even let them rest until sundown. But rather than quiet down, the camels took it as an opportunity to argue louder. By then, the gossip had turned into full-blown bickering, with everyone talking over each other.

Frank, watching the chaos unfold, simply chuckled to himself. Sometimes quietly, sometimes loudly. And though he was the source of all this drama, no one was paying him the slightest bit of attention.

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Just when the gossip reached a fever pitch, with Lily accusing Chloe of having “shady” hooves and Sarah dramatically fainting from the scandal of it all, a new character entered the scene—a rogue camel named Rodrigo.

Rodrigo had been trailing the caravan for days, eavesdropping and waiting for the right moment to make an entrance. And oh, did he pick his moment well. With a dramatic toss of his sun-bleached mane and an exaggerated sigh, he plopped himself down right in the middle of the group.

“Frank,” he drawled, flashing a suspiciously perfect set of teeth. “You’re a legend, my man. But I’ve got a question that’s been burning a hole in my hump.”

The whole group fell silent. Even the humans, still puzzled over the camels’ sudden bout of “heatstroke,” paused to watch.

Rodrigo narrowed his eyes. “You say you were around for Moses, but tell me this—did you or did you not once moonwalk across the Red Sea before it closed?”

A gasp rippled through the herd. Frank, to his credit, didn’t flinch. He simply adjusted his weight, cleared his throat, and said, “I don’t like to brag… but let’s just say the Pharaoh wasn’t the only one making waves that day.”

Chaos erupted. The camels were beside themselves. Some believed him, some called it camel crap, and Lily, Sarah, and Chloe immediately started planning another deep dive into the *Books From the Dunes* to verify this nonsense.

The humans, still convinced their camels were suffering from heat exhaustion, doubled the water supply, which only encouraged them to talk more. Frank, now reclining like a desert king, smirked as he took a long sip.

Rodrigo, not ready to be outdone, leaned in. “Okay, but what about Cleopatra? I heard you taught her eyeliner tricks.”

Frank merely smiled. The truth? He'd never tell. But he did have excellent eyeliner.

And with that, the caravan pressed on, leaving a trail of scandal, laughter, and one very smug old camel in its wake.

End of Part 2

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Until we meet again,

Love and light ❤️🗽

René

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