Riddle of the Seventeen Camels

RIDDLE: A rich man has three sons. When he died, he willed his 17 camels to the sons, to be divided as follows: The first son gets half of the camels. The second son gets 1/3 of the camels. The third son gets 1/9 of the camels. The sons are sitting around trying to figure out how this can possibly be done, when a very old wise man rides by. They stop and ask him to help them solve their problem.

ANSWER TO THE RIDDLE:
The old man temporarily added his camel to the 17, making a total of 18 camels. ½ = 9; 1/3 = 6; 1/9 = 2, a total of 17. He then took his camel back and rode away.