[Illustration: Arabs and Tent.]
The camel is very useful to the Arabs. Perhaps you have seen a camel. It is much larger than a horse. It has a great hump on its back. It has large feet with broad, flat soles; and it can walk or run over the sand without sinking.
The camel can carry a very heavy load. It gives milk which is good to drink. Its hair is made into cloth. Its flesh is good meat. It can bear thirst and heat far better than a horse can. It can travel and carry a load in the desert for three or four days without drinking. This makes it very useful to the Arabs.
[Illustration: A Camel.]
But the Arabs have horses also. They are the finest horses in the world. An Arab is very proud of his horse. He loves him almost as much as he loves his children.
Did you ever hear the story that is told of Hassan and his horse? Hassan was an Arab who had a horse which he loved very much. And the horse loved Hassan very much.
One day Hassan was riding on his horse in the desert with some other Arabs. They were met by a party of men called Turks, who made them prisoners. The Turks tied the feet of Hassan and his friends with leather straps. They tied the horses also. They planned to carry them off next morning.
During the night Hassan heard his horse neighing. He crept up to him and said in a low voice: "What will become of you, my poor horse? You will not be happy with these Turks. Go home to my tent. Tell my wife that she will never see me again. Lick the hands of my children with your tongue, as a token of my love."
He then bit off with his teeth the cords that tied the horse, and set him free. The horse looked at his master for a minute or two. Then he caught him with his teeth by the belt and ran off with him into the desert. On and on across the sand he ran. He never stopped until he had laid Hassan down beside his wife and children. Then, worn out with his long run, he dropped dead at his master's feet.