In the Persian countryside, farmers used to teach their sons how to play the drums to scare away birds and other small animals that might otherwise threaten their crops. Young boys spent entire days and nights in the fields and played their drums to their hearts' delight. One of the drummer boys had been learning the skill since he was so small he could barely hold the instrument in his hands. He loved the sound as well as the motion of his fingers as he caressed the drum's skin. He also took delight in frightening the birds, especially when they all took flight simultaneously.
Sultan Mahmood, the ruler of the land, was quite fond of waging wars. He arrived with his massive army and set up camp close to the boy's family farm. Alongside the usual war-making equipment, the soldiers also brought a camel who carried their enormous war drum. The army's drummer thumped on the noisy instrument during times of war, day in and day out, without a break. Consequently, the camel was almost completely deaf and could hear nothing other than the sound of the great war drum. As the sultan's vast army spread its camp across the land, the camel happily strolled farther and farther away from his keeper, grazing on the fresh green grasses that he rarely had a chance to enjoy.
The morning after the army's arrival, the young farm boy left for work as usual, but a surprise awaited him—a camel, contently nibbling on his family's crops. He was quick to react. He picked up his drum and began to thump on it as hard and as fast as he could. On and on he drummed, and the sound carried for miles until everyone working in the fields could hear him. The camel, though, in its deafness, continued to calmly eat with great appetite, destroying the valuable crop of the boy's family.
When the boy's drumming had continued ceaselessly for hours, an exasperated farmer working nearby decided to walk over and find out the reason for all the clamor. When he found the boy and saw the camel close by, he figured out the problem. He walked over and knelt down beside the boy, putting his arm around the boy's weary shoulders.
“My young lad, are you drumming to scare away the camel?”
The boy nodded without interrupting his loud playing.
“You know that this camel belongs to the army, don't you?” the farmer asked.
The boy nodded again as he continued to play.
“Do you also know that he carries their enormous war drum? And have you seen the size of this drum?” The farmer spread his arms wide to replicate the breadth of the massive instrument. “This poor beast's ears are numb to the sound of your small, delicate drum, my dear. He probably hasn't heard a beat!” he told the boy gently. “Not every drum scares away every animal, and yours is not suited to drive away anything other than small birds and rabbits!”
The boy listened attentively and immediately stopped playing, realizing the futility of his effort. Silence finally spread over the fields, and the farmers could resume their work in peace.