this post was submitted on 28 Mar 2025
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Foxy Camel Becomes Illegal Immigrant (lemmy.world)
submitted 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) by General_Effort@lemmy.world to c/microblogmemes@lemmy.world
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Laura Ashe ‪@lauraashe.bsky.social‬

It's told by Thomas More at the end of his History of Richard III (c.1525): a fable that the lion announces execution of all horned beasts, and another with a lump on its forehead flees the forest: "Why fleest thou? That's no horn on thy head" "Aye, but what if he call it a horn, where am I then?"

It's true. I checked here.

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[–] General_Effort@lemmy.world 47 points 4 months ago

There is a 1987 paper tracking the joke through history: A Romanian Political Joke in 12th Century Iranian Sources by Mahmoud Omidsalar (Hat tip)

This is the 12th century version (Hat tip):

A fox was running, grieving for his life.

Another fox saw him in such a state

And asked: "Please tell me, brother, what is wrong?"

He said: "The king is hunting donkeys here!"

"But you are not a donkey - so why fear?"

He answered: "That is right; but, oh!, these men;

They do not know and they cannot discern.

They think that fox and donkey are the same!"

https://archive.org/details/AnvarisDivanAPocketBookforAkbar/page/n119/mode/2up

Allegedly, expressions along the lines of "to prove you are not a camel" are common in Poland and Russia for tedious bureaucratic demands.