Season of the Sandstorms - Mary Pope Osborne [4]
“I have not heard of such a place,” the man said. “How do you come to be here in the desert alone?”
“Uh …” Jack didn’t know what to say.
“We were riding with our family,” Annie said. “We stopped to rest here. My brother and I took a nap behind these trees. When we woke up, everyone was gone. They left us by mistake. See, we have a really big family. There are many brothers and sisters—”
“Annie,” said Jack. She was saying too much, he thought.
The man looked concerned. “Why have they not come back for you?” he said, gazing out at the desert. “I hope they have not been attacked by bandits.”
“Are there bandits around here?” asked Annie.
“There are many bandits prowling the desert,” said the man.
Jack looked anxiously around at the vast sandy plain.
“That is why one must always travel with others,” said the man. “But I hope your family is safe and will return for you soon.”
“Excuse me,” Annie said politely. “But who are you? How did you happen to come here?”
“I am a merchant,” the man said. “My caravan was traveling from the west, when we were surprised by a sudden sandstorm. It seemed to come from nowhere. But luckily it brought us to this oasis. We will rest and water our animals until the sun goes down. In the cool of the night, we will travel on to Baghdad.”
The caravan leader walked over to his men and spoke to them. They dismounted and started taking saddlebags off the camels.
Annie turned to Jack. “See, our rhyme worked!” she whispered. “The sandstorm was magic! It brought them here on their way to Baghdad!”
“But how can we get them to help us?” said Jack.
“Well, Merlin said we should be humble, so let’s offer to help them,” said Annie. She walked over to the caravan leader. He was filling a canvas bucket with water from a small spring.
“Excuse me,” said Annie, “we wondered if we could help you.”
The man gave her a quick smile. “Thank you, yes,” he said. “If you could gather dates, it would be most appreciated. My men are very hungry.” He handed Annie two large baskets.
“No problem,” said Annie. “We’ll gather dates.”
Annie carried the baskets to Jack. “Do you know what a date is?” she whispered. “We’re supposed to gather some.”
“I’ll look it up,” said Jack. With his back to the camel riders, he pulled their research book out of his bag and looked up dates. He read:
Dates are known as the fruit of the desert. They hang in bunches from date palms. People gather dates by shaking the trunk of the tree. Not only are dates an important food, but the wood and leaves of the date palm are used to make—
“Okay, got it,” interrupted Annie, putting the baskets down. “Let’s start shaking the trees!”
Jack put the book away and looked around. For the first time, he noticed bunches of brown fruit hanging from the trees. He grabbed hold of the nearest tree trunk. Annie grabbed the trunk from the other side. Together they shook the tree until dates began falling to the ground.
In the desert heat, Jack and Annie went from tree to tree, shaking each one and gathering the dates that fell to the ground. By the time they had filled their baskets, the trees were casting long shadows over the oasis.
Tired and sweaty, Jack and Annie carried their heavy baskets back to the caravan leader. He was boiling water over a fire of twigs. “Ah, very good,” he said. “Thank you, Jack and Annie.”
“You’re welcome,” said Annie. “What else can we do for you?”
“You should rest from the heat now,” said the man. “Would you like to sit and have tea with us?”
“Sure,” said Annie. “By the way, what’s your name?”
“My name is very long,” the man said with a smile. “You may call me Mamoon.”
While their camels grazed, Mamoon and his men sat on a woolen rug spread over the grass. They shared dates and tea with Jack and Annie. The dark, plump fruit was sweet and chewy. The tea was strong but good.
In the fiery red glow of the setting sun, Jack watched the grazing camels. He thought the humped animals looked really funny. They had knobby knees, big clumsy feet, and little ears that twitched. Some camels