“I didn’t mean to spy,” said the little camel. “I just wanted to ask you if I am going in the right direction for the oasis and Aqsu.”
When he said this, both birds stopped fighting over their prey and looked at him with interest.
“Are you lost?” asked the first one in a sharp, rather eager voice.
“Yes, I’m afraid I am,” said the little camel. “But I think by running ahead of the sun until noon and then running towards it all afternoon I’m sure to come to the oasis in the end. At least, Mohammed’s son told me yesterday to keep the sun straight before me—”
“Ah, but yesterday was yesterday,” said the first vulture with a giggle as she gave her sister a sly glance. “Today is today, so of course everything is quite different.”
“I don’t see how the sun can be any different,” said the youngest camel. “The sun always follows exactly the same course, so all I have to do is follow the sun as soon as it is past the noon hour—”
“Where in the world did you learn that the sun always follows the same course?” cried the second vulture. “There’s an idea for you!”
“Why, it never does the same thing twice,” said the other vulture, still giggling behind her wing. “Some days it runs all over the place, getting behind clouds and hiding behind mountains. Yesterday it was going from north to south, just for the fun of it, and today, as you can see for yourself, it’s going from east to west.”
“Don’t imagine you can count on the sun!” said the second sister with great contempt, and she went back to pulling and tugging at the remains of the hare.
“You might just as well become acquainted with us now,” said the first vulture, seizing on one of the best bits for herself. “My name’s Annie and my sister’s name is Mabel, and if you’re really lost you’ll come to know us very well indeed in the end.”