Have you ever heard of the Arabs? They are people with brown skin and
dark eyes. They live in a country called Arabia. It is a very warm
country. There is never any snow in Arabia. A great part of it is
covered with sand. For miles and miles you would see nothing but sand.
Often the sand is so hot that you could not walk on it in your bare
feet. Those great tracts of sand are called deserts.
[Illustration: Arabs.]
In many parts of Arabia water is very scarce. It rains very seldom,
and in some places there are no rivers. The people get water out of
wells. They carry the water, in bottles made of leather. Glass
bottles would not do. The heat is so great that it would go through
the glass. Tins would make the water warm. But the leather bottles
keep the water cool.
[Illustration: Arab Water Carrier.]
Some of the Arabs live in towns. They have walls around their towns.
At some parts of the walls there are towers. Both walls and towers are
made of earth.
In every large town they have an open market place with shops around
it. In most of the shops they sell food. In a few of the shops they
sell cotton cloth and other dry goods. Many of the shops are kept by
women.
The streets are swept every day. Every family sweeps the street in
front of its own door.
The houses in the towns are made of stone. They have flat mud roofs
and small windows. The Arabs have no chairs or beds in their houses.
They sit on mats or carpets spread on the floor. They also sleep on
mats.
The chief room in an Arab house is the coffee room. It is a large room
with a furnace or fireplace at one end of it for making coffee.
Many of the Arabs live in tents. They move about from place to place.
Sometimes they cross the desert to come to the towns. They must often
cross it to find water and grass for their horses and camels and sheep.
[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.
All the people around wept when they heard the story. Arab poets made
songs about Hassan and his horse.
The Arabs do not eat very much. Their chief meal is supper. They have
supper in the evening. They are very fond of coffee. Did you ever
hear of Mocha coffee? It comes from Mocha, a town in Arabia. Most of
the Arabs take their coffee without sugar or milk.
They always make their bread in thin cakes. Then they bake the bread
on hot iron plates or in an open oven. They also have ground wheat
cooked with a little butter. Arabs who are rich have mutton or camel's
flesh, and also rice. All eat vegetables and fruits of various kinds.
There are many kinds of fruit in Arabia. But the greatest and best of
all is the date. This grows on the date-palm tree. The date palm
grows very high. The Arabs are very proud of it. Every part of it is
of use to them. Its fruit is the chief food of many of the people.
You have seen and perhaps you have eaten dried dates. They are not
nearly so sweet or so good as the fruit when taken off the tree. The
trunk of the date palm is good for making furniture. Its leaves make
roofs for houses. Parts of its branches make firewood. From some
parts of the tree cords and ropes are made.
The Arabs do not wear very many clothes. They do not need heavy
clothes, because the weather in Arabia is almost always very warm. The
men wear long light dresses like shirts. They have a belt, or girdle,
around the waist. They wear a handkerchief on the head. This is tied
around with a band or string. On their feet they wear sandals. Do you
know what a sandal is? It is a shoe with only a sole, and straps going
across the foot and round the ankle. The Arab women also wear a long
shirt. Over it they have a large, wide piece of blue cloth. This blue
cloth covers them from head to foot.
[Illustration: Arab Woman and Child.]
[Illustration: An Arab Sandal.]
But what about the Arab boys and girls? What do they wear? Most of
the boys run around without shoes or stockings. But some of them wear
little red shoes turned up at the toes, and others wear small sandals.
They also wear loose trousers and jackets and little red caps. The
girls commonly wear cotton dresses that are made very plain. Sometimes
they have veils over their heads. In the country places the girls do
not wear veils.
[Illustration: Arab Girl with Veil.]
Only the boys go to school. Before they enter the school they must
take off their sandals. They have no seats in their schools. They all
sit on the floor. Their lessons are not like your lessons. They have
only one book. It is called the Koran. The Koran is the Arab Bible.
The Arab boys must learn the Koran by heart. At school, they all shout
out together when they are learning their lessons.
[Illustration: A School in Arabia.]
But the Arab boys learn many things at home. They learn to read and to
write. They also have plenty of time to play. They play ball. They
fly kites. They ride ponies. Often they play with old guns and
swords. Thus they learn to be soldiers.
The Arab girls do not go to school. But they do not play very much.
They must help their mothers do the work at home. The mothers grind
corn to make bread. They spin and weave cloth for clothes. They grind
the corn with two flat stones. One of these stones is placed on top of
the other. There is a hole in the middle of the upper stone. They
pour the corn into this hole. The upper stone is then turned round by
a handle. So the corn is ground between the two stones. The girls
often have to turn the stone around. They must also take care of the
baby. They help to carry home water from the well. They carry the
water in earthen jars.
[Illustration: Arabs Grinding Corn.]
You will say, then, that the Arab girls have a hard time. But they do
not work always. They have some time for play. They have very funny
dolls. Would you not laugh if some one gave you two sticks joined like
a cross, and told you it was a doll? That is the kind of doll the Arab
girls have. And they are very fond of their dolls. They dress them,
and take great care of them.
The Arabs are very fond of tales and stories. Perhaps you have heard
of a book called the "Arabian Nights." It is full of wonderful stories
about kings and giants and witches, and other strange things. This
book came from Arabia. When you are older you will read the "Arabian
Nights." In it you will learn many more things about Arabia and the
Arabs.