Amanda in Arabia: The Perfume Flask Read Free Page A

big for his neck and his mouth was massive. Amanda thought he looked like a creature out of Star Wars.
    â€œThis is a good camel for you to ride, Miss,” said one of the men. “His name is Ali Baba. He is a good camel, but you must be careful, as he is strong and could hurt you.”
    â€œYes,” warned Uncle Ben, “you must always be careful around camels. One kick could knock you out or even kill you. Their teeth are sharp enough to bite off your arm. Do you want to just have a look or do you want to ride?”
    Amanda wasn’t sure, but said, “I really would like a ride if it’s OK.”
    The camel tender started to work with the camel to get it to sit down. He tugged downwards on the halter and made a sound in his throat that sounded like, “khhhhh”.
    Ali Baba didn’t seem to want to sit down, but after the man gave a few sharp tugs on the halter and tapped the sand near his feet, the camel dropped to his front knees and then slowly lowered his back end. He then moved his front feet forward, easing his weight on to the large hairy pad on his chest. The process of sitting down looked awkward and Amanda wondered if it was uncomfortable for him.
    The saddle looked like many multi–coloured blankets arranged around the hump. One of the men held Ali Baba tightly by the reins, pulling on his head so it faced away from the side Amanda was about to mount. The other man helped Amanda climb on behind the hump.
    The instant Uncle Ben shouted, “Hang on to the hair on his hump.” Ali Baba gave a mournful cry and stood up. Amanda felt herself lurch to one side. She quickly grabbed a handful of coarse stringy hair and held on for dear life. She looked down and her breath stopped. She was a long way up. She felt scared and excited all at the same time. The camel tender began leading her around the yard. Ali Baba swayed in a slow, gentle gait and Amanda felt like she was on a boat, rocked by the waves. She soon forgot about being frightened and loosened her grip.
    She leaned over and whispered in his ear, “You are a good camel, Ali Baba. You and I are going to be friends.” The big, old camel nodded his head slightly, blinked his eyes and leisurely chewed his cud as if he had a secret he wasn’t willing to share.

Chapter 5
    Leah was waiting for Amanda when she got back to the apartment. “How did you like the camel ride?”
    â€œIt was the most awesome experience of my life,” replied Amanda. “I will never forget it, never!”
    Leah followed Amanda down the long, L–shaped hallway. At the end of the hallway was the huge guest room, as large as the living room back home. Amanda felt like a princess every time she stepped into it.
    â€œWeren’t you frightened?” asked Leah.
    â€œYes, at first, but I had a nice camel to ride,” she said as she thought of the gentle, swaying creature she had quickly come to trust. “His name was Ali Baba.”
    â€œAli Baba! You’ve got to be joking. That sounds like a fairy tale name.” Leah rolled her eyes as she sat down on the wide bed and flipped open an American fashion magazine Amanda had brought along.
    â€œMaybe we are in a fairy tale and don’t know it,” joked Amanda as she lay down on the bed beside Leah. Deep in her heart she thought it might be true.
    ***
    After lunch Leah rang the doorbell. When Amanda opened the door she breezed in as if they had known each other for years instead of a few days. “Hey! Would you like to explore a deserted village this afternoon? My mom can drop us off when she goes grocery shopping.”
    Amanda couldn’t believe all the interesting things there were to do. In her head she calculated how many days she had left. She had thought maybe a month would be too long and that she’d get bored. Now she was beginning to think a month wasn’t going to be long enough and she was way too busy to even think about missing