The Extraordinary Ordinary Boy!

Ali was a Bedouin. A Bedouin is a nomad who moves from place to place in the deserts of Arabia, Syria, Nubia and the Sahara. They are Nomadic tribes. Nomads move from one place to another in search of food and water for their animals and themselves. A Bedouin is born and raised in the desert or mountain wilderness and lives alongside nature in black tents or in caves. He raises goats, sheep, donkeys, horses and camels and knows how to milk and shepherd the goats and to ride the horses and camels. He uses all kinds of herbs as food, drink and medicine. His life is simple. Bedouins know the desert like the back of their hand and they love it and appreciate the beauty that unfolds before them every day.
And Ali was a Bedouin boy. Like his people he knew the desert very well and could find his way about it without getting lost. For there are no roads in the desert. There is only a vast stretch of unending sand. Beautiful and golden and sometimes forming wave like hills called sand dunes. Ali and his tribe would move from place to place, setting up their tents and forming camps till the animals had grazed all the food in that place and then they would move away again. Ali too loved the desert. He loved the camels and goats and horses that were as much a part of the tribe as the people. He would sit and look at the camels grazing peacefully, moving around gracefully. Sometimes people passing through the desert on their way elsewhere would stop with the Bedouin for a while and rest. They were usually afraid of the camels. They thought they were bad tempered and would kick out at them! But Ali would explain that they were really very gentle creatures. He would point out a strange fact about the camel . Camels have two pairs of eyelashes; one very long, curly pair to shade their eyes from the sun and one shorter, straight pair to protect their eyes from the sand. That would amuse the visitors and they would look at the animal even more curiously! Ali's father, Hassan,would smile at him and nod appreciatively. The Bedouin were famed for their hospitality. They saw each visitor as someone sent by god and would look after them very well. Travelers would often stop and rest with the Bedouin before continuing with their journey. They would admire the beautiful Arabian horses that the young men of the tribe rode so well! They would sing beautiful songs about their horses, praising their speed, beauty and grace. Ali would join in . He knew all the songs! But when he sang the songs he always sounded a little sad. He loved the Arabian horses but Ali could not ride them. His legs were not strong enough to sit astride a horse . So he had to be satisfied with admiring them and singing about them. This made him sad sometimes.
But he was not always sad. Ali had many things to be happy about and he loved being a part of the tribe where everybody shared each other's joys and sorrows and each person was important. Bedouins are usually very happy with what they have. When there was rain so that there was enough food and water for themselves and their animals they rejoiced and were grateful but there were often times when the rains would not come and they would have a hard time . But they still went about their work cheerfully knowing that the difficult times would pass and the rains would definitely come again.
Often, as he sat and watched the others riding the horses, Ali would also want to be on a horse, flying over the sand dunes and across the desert with the wind sweeping past him. He would admire the powerful legs and glossy coats of the animals as they flashed past. He would watch them closely as they grazed, occasionally shaking their heads and tossing their manes of silken hair. As he watched the horses, he would have a piece of wood and a penknife. He would sit for hours watching the horses and carving the piece of wood. He never showed anyone what he was carving.
Once, a trader stopped at the Bedouin camp on his way to the markets in the city. He saw Ali carving away and was curious. He went up to the boy and watched him. Ali was so engrossed that he did not see the man. The trader saw, to his surprise and amazement, that the boy was adding finishing touches to an exquisite figure of a horse. The little horse was tossing it's head and the legs were raised in a gallop. It looked exactly like a real Arabian horse! The trader went up to Hassan, Ali's father and told him that his son was an extraordinary craftsman! Hassan was intrigued and went up to his son to see what the trader was talking about. He too was amazed when he saw the beautiful little horse that Ali had carved from a small piece of wood. Ali looked up at his father and smiled. He was happy to see Hassan admiring his work. He took him into the tent and lifted the cover that he used to keep himself warm in the cold desert nights. And lying there, in a small heap, were wonderfully carved horses, each in a different pose!The trader took away some of Ali's horses to the markets in the city. On his way back he brought back a small fortune for Ali. He used the money to make life easier for his tribe. He now had something that made him extraordinary. His extraordinary skill! Ali became a renowned craftsman. But his life went on as it had always done. He was happy being a simple Bedouin.

Shivani hasn't heard this story so she has no questions! Do you?

In case you find some of the words difficult, I've added a link to a dictionary(on the left hand side,under 'links'). You don't have to ask anyone, just click on the link and it will take you to the dictionary where you can type out the word and find out what it means!