There once was a camel that had too many eyes. He had five eyes. All of the other camels only had two, one on the left side and one on the right side of their heads. This camel had that pair of eyes and, in addition, one on each of his front knees and one just above his tail. The ones on his knees were useful for walking. He seldom tripped or trod on small animals. The one above his tail allowed him to see if anyone was sneaking up behind him, which was convenient because some cruel camels liked to play tricks on him on account of his unusual number of eyes. They called him Five-eyes. Everyone called him Five-eyes, in fact, and he had nearly forgotten that his given name was Ira.

Five-eyes didn’t mind that some of the other camels were unfriendly. He was very self-confident. He believed that his extra eyes made him a superior variety of camel. After all, he seldom tripped or trod on small animals and he was very difficult to sneak up on. Five-eyes also was blessed with a happy-go-lucky nature. He would laugh in the face of misfortune and gambol his sorrows away. He was accused by some of being frivolous and foolish in addition to being freakish, but he would answer, "Bah! I’m all right in my book."

One day, Five-eyes was sold to the circus. What circus would not want a five-eyed camel? A handsome sum was paid for him. He was draped in royal blue gold-embroidered silk and paraded in front of captivated audiences. He was a star. He held his head up high and watched the amazed faces of his fans through the eye above his tail. As part of his act, the eyes on his head were covered with a blindfold and he yet negotiated a fiery obstacle course flawlessly. That was his favorite stunt.

After two years in the circus, Five-eyes began to grow bored of it. He was a camel and the adulation of mankind, an entirely different species, was only so gratifying. His youthful self-sufficiency had waned and he yearned to be in the company of other camels. When the circus was traveling from one town to the next, he chewed through his tether and galloped away over the dunes.

When finally he believed that he had achieved a safe distance from the caravan and was no longer being pursued, Five-eyes stopped to drink at a watering hole. A girl camel was there. She was bold and said, "You look kind of funny with that extra pair of eyes"—she had not noticed the one above his tail—"but, on the other hand, you’re somewhat handsome. Actually, if I may be blunt, it’s the gorgeous silk sheet on your back that attracts me." This led to that and that to another thing and the other thing to something else entirely, which was unexpected to Five-eyes even if it wasn’t to you. What it led to was that they soon were married.

So Five-eyes had a wife and they had children, all of whom had two eyes, except for one which had seven. This one was called Seven-eyes, naturally, and was Papa’s favorite. Nothing much else happened, so I might as well end the story here.