This concept articulates the didactic lesson embedded in the fable of the camel and the donkey crossing the great stream. Because the camel is taller, the water that reaches only its belly would sweep over the donkey's back; the donkey's reply — from belly to belly there is a difference — warns against measuring one's own capacity by another's. The accompanying verses generalize the point: no one knows you better than you know yourself, so do not add to your worth even a hair's breadth, and when a fool praises you beyond your measure, recognize your true station and do not step past your proper bounds. The tale teaches accurate self-assessment and humility as safeguards against the ruin that comes from imitating those of greater capacity.