"I know I must have eaten a basketful," said Rashid.
"Oh, there goes my veil," cried Fatimah, who had thoughtlessly popped her head out of the litter.
"Thou wilt never see it again," said her mother. Almost immediately it had been lost to view as it went sailing through the air.
"Never mind, thou shalt buy the prettiest that can be found in the Bazaar when we get to the city," said her father, consolingly.
The little caravan struggled against the wind all the rest of the day; and that night there was no sleeping in a tent for anybody. The next day, however, things went better.
"Oh! I see over there a beautiful lake of blue water and palm-trees beside it," cried Fatimah. "Look, mother," she said, waking her mother from a doze and pointing across the sandy plain.
"Indeed it looks as though there were water and trees ahead," said her mother; but Al-Abukar answered: "Nay, it is but a mirage."
"But we can see the ripple of the water; it must be real," persisted Fatimah.
"Nay," said the camel man, and shielding his eyes with his hand, he peered at the strange sight. "The camels say nothing," he continued, "and they are wise and can always tell when water is near. If it were real water they would begin to whine and groan." Sure enough, as they went toward the mirage, it faded away altogether, the lake, trees, and all.
"But it did look real, did it not, father?" said Fatimah.