Page 10 - Purple Butterfly Book 2

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Ali got out the trappings for the camel, and looked to the water bottles to see that they did not leak. His mother did all that was needed to make him quite ready to join the next caravan that started.
Ali was delighted to think that he was to go to his father, and that at last the day was come when, he too was to be a camel-driver, and to take a journey with the dear old camel that he was so fond of.
He had long wanted to ride on its back across the desert, and to lie down by its side to rest at night. He had no fear.
The camel, of which Ali was so fond, had been bought by his father with the savings of many a year’s hard work, and formed the sole riches of the family.
Hassan was looked upon as quite a rich man by the other camel-drivers, and Ali, besides having a great love for the animal, was proud of his father being a camel owner.
Though it was a great creature by the side of the young boy, it would obey the voice of Ali, and come and go at his bidding, and lie down and rise up just as he wished. Hassan called his camel by an Arabian word, which meant “Meek-eye.”
At last, there was a caravan about to start for Suez that Ali could join. The party met near the gates of the city, where there were some wells, at which the water bottles could be filled. Ali’s mother attended, and bid her son a loving farewell.
The caravan started. The camels which were to lead the way, had around their necks jingling bells, which the others hearing, followed without other guidance.
Ali looked about and saw his mother standing near the city gate. He took his cap off and waved it above his head, and his mother took off the linen cloth that she wore over her head, and waved it.
Tramp, tramp, tramp went the camels, their soft spongy feet making a noise as they trod the ground. The camel-drivers laughed, and talked to each other.
Ali was the only boy in the caravan, and no one seemed to notice him. He had a stout heart, and tried not to care.
He could talk to Meek-eye, and this he did, patting the creature’s back, and telling him they would soon see his father.
The sun rose higher and higher, and the day grew hotter and hotter. The morning breeze died away, and the noon was close and sultry.
The sand glowed like fire. There was nothing to be seen but sand and sky. At mid-day a halt was made at one of the places well known to the drivers, where shade and water could be had.
The water-bottles were not to be touched that day, for at this place a little stream, which gushed from a rock, supplied enough for the men, while the camels needed no water for many days.
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