"It does not become children to seat themselves before their
parents, and eat before they have broken bread. Eat, mother; seat
yourself, and allow your son to wait on you."
That he might not feel hurt, she seated herself quickly and took
part of the fruit offered her. She handed him some, and now human
nature conquered the spirit, and he heartily ate of the fruit and
bread.
"Where were you, my boy? Light of my eyes, where were you?" asked
the mother.
"Up there among the rocks, and below on the shore," replied he,
smiling.
"Where did you find food there? I know that eagles, hawks, and
doves, find their food among the rocks, but for mankind there is no
food there."
"And I found none, Mother Khadra; I must learn to do with little, to
conquer hunger, and I fought with it for two days. See how I am
rewarded!--my food never tasted so deliciously before."
"Eat, my boy! Allah bless your food and drink! How fortunate that I
have something for your thirst, too! Uncle Toussoun Aga brought me
to-day a bottle of Cyprian wine, a present from Mr. Lion. You must
drink of it, my boy."
He shook his head. "No, Sitta Khadra, I will not drink of the wine
sent you by the noble merchant to restore your strength. Water from
the well, from the spring of life, is a better drink for me. For
you, the Cyprian wine, for me the spring-wine that bubbles from the
rock.
Pages:
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51