When the Buddha was creating the animals,
he forgot to give the bull and the camel their balls.
When the bull came to demand his balls
the Buddha had to make some out of left over scraps,
and gave him a pair of a sort.
This is why they look as if they have been patched together.
Then the camel came to get his balls,
and was offered some small left-over ones.
He rejected them, saying: “These are much too small for a great big animal like me.”
The Buddha got angry, saying: “Take them or leave them”
and threw them at the camel from behind.
The tiny balls stuck on him right at the back which is where the camel has them.
Hearing that the Buddha was giving the animals stuff,
the stag came to ask for antlers.
The Buddha said to him:
“I gave the most handsome antlers to the camel.
See if you cannot trick him out of them.”
The stag went to the camel, and said:
“Will you let me have your antlers for just a day?
I want to look smart at the animals’ wedding-feast,
and I’ll bring them back tomorrow when we meet at the waterhole.”
The camel gave him his antlers.
The next day the camel came to the water,
but however long he waited, the stag did not turn up.
From then on, whenever the camel drinks,
he stands looking into the distance,
and looks this way and that,
wondering if the stag will come to return his antlers.
And the stag drops his antlers every year because he cheated the camel out of them, so people say.