Sanad the Camel Calf and the Long Walk to the Oasis

Sanad was a young camel calf with soft, fluffy fur the color of toasted bread. He had long, wobbly legs, big dark eyes with the longest eyelashes in the whole herd, and a little hump that was only just beginning to grow.

Sanad lived in the desert with his mother and the rest of the camel herd. They were looked after by a kind herder girl named Mouza and her grandfather. Every morning, Mouza sang to the camels as she filled their water troughs. Sanad loved her songs. They sounded like the wind moving over the sand.

One morning, Mouza's grandfather looked at the sky and the empty troughs. "It is time," he said. "The water here is almost gone. Today we walk to the oasis."

Sanad had never been to the oasis. He had only heard about it. The older camels said it had a pool of cool blue water, shady palm trees heavy with dates, and soft green grass to rest on.

"Is it far?" Sanad asked his mother.

His mother lowered her long neck and nuzzled him. "It is far," she said. "We will walk all day. But we will get there."

Sanad was very excited. He bounced on his wobbly legs. "I'm going to be first!" he cried. "I'm going to run all the way!"

And as soon as the herd began to move, that is exactly what he did.

He galloped ahead of everyone, his legs flying in all directions. He kicked up little clouds of sand. He raced up the first dune and down the other side. "Look at me!" he called. "I'm the fastest camel in the desert!"

The older camels just kept walking. Step, step, step. Slow and steady, their big padded feet pressing gently into the sand.

Sanad raced up the second dune. And the third. And the fourth. By the fifth dune, his legs had started to feel heavy. By the sixth dune, his breath was coming in short little puffs. By the seventh dune, he had to stop and sit down in the sand.

He looked back. The herd was far behind him, walking steadily in a long line. Step, step, step.

The sun climbed higher. The sand grew hot. Sanad's tummy rumbled. When the herd finally caught up with him, he was lying flat on the sand, panting.

"I can't walk anymore," he moaned. "My legs are too tired. The oasis is too far."

His mother stopped beside him. Mouza came running over, her bright red dress fluttering. She knelt down and gave Sanad a drink of water from a leather bag. Then she stroked his fluffy head.

"Poor little Sanad," she said softly. "You ran too fast, too soon. The desert is very big. You have to walk it the camel way."

"What is the camel way?" Sanad asked his mother.

His mother folded her long legs and sat beside him in the sand. "Watch the older camels," she said. "See how they walk? They don't run. They don't stop. They take one step, and then another, and then another. They save their strength. That way, they can walk all day and still have energy left at the end."

"But that's so slow," said Sanad.

"Slow," said his mother, "but it gets you there."

When Sanad had rested, he stood up on his wobbly legs. This time, he did not run ahead. He walked beside his mother, his shoulder touching her side.

"Match my steps," his mother said. "Step... and step... and step."

Sanad tried. Step. Step. Step. At first, it felt strange. His legs wanted to hurry. But he kept going, matching his mother's slow, swaying rhythm.

Mouza began to sing. It was a walking song, with a beat that went along with their steps. "Step, little camel, step through the sand. The oasis is waiting, across the wide land."

Sanad hummed along. Step, step, step. The song made the walking easier.

As they walked, Sanad began to notice things he had not seen when he was racing. He saw the ripples in the sand, like the waves of a golden sea. He saw a tiny desert lizard sunning itself on a rock, blinking its round eyes at him. He saw a hawk circling high in the blue sky, its wings wide and still. He saw the way the dunes changed color as the sun moved, from pale yellow to orange to deep rosy gold.

"Mama," he said, "the desert is beautiful."

"It is," said his mother. "When you walk slowly, it has time to show you."

Hour after hour, they walked. When Sanad felt tired, he leaned against his mother. When he felt hot, Mouza gave him water and wiped his face with a cool cloth. When he felt like giving up, he listened to the song and took one more step. And then another.

The sun began to sink. The sky turned pink and orange. The air grew cooler. And then, as they reached the top of a tall dune, Sanad saw something on the horizon.

A line of green. Tall palm trees, swaying in the evening breeze. And between them, something shining like a mirror.

"The oasis!" Sanad gasped. "Mama, it's the oasis!"

The whole herd seemed to wake up. Their ears pricked forward. Their steps grew a little quicker. Mouza laughed and clapped her hands.

They walked down the dune and into the shade of the palms. The pool was even more beautiful than Sanad had imagined. The water was cool and blue and so clear that he could see pebbles at the bottom. Dates hung from the palm trees in heavy golden bunches. Soft grass grew all around the edge.

Sanad dipped his nose into the water and drank and drank. It was the most delicious water he had ever tasted.

Then he lay down on the soft grass beside his mother. His legs were tired, but it was a good kind of tired. The happy kind. The kind that comes after a long journey.

Mouza sat beside him and gave him a sweet date. "You did it, little Sanad," she said. "You walked the whole desert."

Sanad chewed his date and looked up at the first stars appearing above the palm trees.

"I walked it the camel way," he said sleepily. "Step, and step, and step."

His mother nuzzled him gently, and soon Sanad was fast asleep, dreaming of golden dunes and cool blue water.