One cannot see a camel atop one’s own head, yet one manages to see a straw atop another’s.
-G.L. Permjakov, From Proverb to Folk-Tale: Notes on the General Theory of Cliché
It’s a matter of perspective. An Indian proverb says, You can only measure a camel’s height when he’s standing before a mountain. Just as I couldn’t know how many camels altogether were in our Dabouka until KhairAllah drove them one by one through a gauntlet, counting to Mi’a, One Hundred, but then confused the tally… Mi’a (Wa) Wāhid…One Hundred (And) One…Mi’atayn (Wa) Wāhid…Two Hundred (And) One…TultuMi’a (Wa) Wāhid…Three Hundred (And) One…etc…etc…