by BobA. Troutt
*****
Giggle Book Four
The Thirsty Camel
For days the driving sandstorm drove Mohammed Mmahat and Rosco, his camel, further and deeper into the desert. The sands of the Blowing Sands Desert were some of the most dangerous in the world. The sands could easily cause someone to get lost and wander around in circles for days or weeks at a time. Oooooo stirred the winds as they pushed the two onward and deeper into the desert.
“I can’t see a thing,” cried Mohammed as he tried to look through the sandstorm.
“Maybe it will let up soon,” replied Rosco. “Why don’t we stay here until it lets up?”
“I don’t know,” cried Mohammed. “I’m afraid we’ll be buried alive if we don’t keep moving.”
As the two pressed forward, they quickly tired out and fell down in the sand. As the storm blew on, Mohammed and Rosco were nearly covered with sand. Luckily for them, the wind changed directions and moved out. From buried down in the sand came a moan and a groan from Mohammed and Rosco. They slowly pulled themselves out only to be met by the dry hot heat and scorching sun of the desert.
“We made it,” said Mohammed with a weak and trembling voice. “We made it, old buddy,” he said as he rubbed his hand up and down Rosco’s neck.
“Yeah, we made it, Mohammed, but where are we?” cried Rosco.
Mohammed looked to the north, south, east and west. No matter what direction he looked, all he could see was sand. Then he uttered the most dreaded words anyone could ever hear in a desert.
“I don’t know. We are lost,” he said.
“What are we going to do now?” asked Rosco. “We can’t stay here. What are we going to do?” Rosco asked again with panic in his voice.
Mohammed looked about and mumbled under his breath, “I don’t know. I really don’t know.”
To make things worse, Mohammed looked at Rosco again and realized they had lost all their gear and supplies. All that was left was a canteen half-full of water. Mohammed reached down and took a pebble from the sand, spit on one side of it and flipped it up in the air.
“Wet, we go that way; dry, we go this way,” stated Mohammed.
As the pebble flipped over and over in the air, Rosco cried out, “Yuck, Mohammed, that’s nasty!”
After the pebble landed in the sand, Mohammed shouted and pointed, “Dry, we go this way!”
“Hey, man, who ever heard of such? Who spits on a pebble to make a decision?” fussed Rosco.
“Just come on,” replied Mohammed. “And, quit your complaining.”
The two headed out across the desert. It wasn’t long before they disappeared out of sight. Deeper and deeper into the desert they went. The dangerously hot sun beat down on them during the day and the cold nights brought chills. Day after day, they wandered here and there and there and here.
“Hey, Mohammed, how do we know we are not going around in circles? I guess the spitty stone will tell you that, too,” fussed Rosco who was hungry, tired and thirsty.
“Oh, shut up, Rosco!” shouted Mohammed as the last drop of water fell from the canteen upon his tongue.
“Hey, man, don’t you think it’s strange we haven’t seen an oasis or one blade of green grass?” asked Rosco. “We haven’t seen a soul out here. Now, do you want to spit on another rock and try your luck?”
“Oh, come on,” motioned Mohammed. “Let’s go this way,” he instructed.
The two pressed onward and did a little bit of everything along the way. They climbed sand dunes, fell down and even rolled down giant hills of sand which caused them to exhaust most of their energy. As time passed, the two finally fell down on their hands and knees; they crawled and begged for water as the scorching hot sun nearly cooked them. They were tired, hungry, thirsty, beaten and worn which caused them to start seeing things that weren’t there.
“Look, Rosco, a waterfall. Come on, hurry!” exclaimed Mohammed.
“I’m right behind you,” replied Rosco. “That water sure does look refreshing.”
But, when the two got to it, it had disappeared. It was only a mirage but they thought it was real. Thinking they were frolicking under a waterfall, Mohammed and Rosco pitched sand up in the air like it was water; they were having the time of their lives.
“Can you believe it!” shouted Mohammed. “I told you everything would be alright.”
“Yeah, man,” replied Rosco. “This is the best. Do you mind washing my back, please?”
“Sure, buddy,” said Mohammed.
“A little to the left,” instructed Rosco as Mohammed washed his back. “Oh, yes, that feels so good.”
Just across the way, a head popped up out of the sand.
“Hey, you guys,” said a voice.
“Who, us,” Mohammed and Rosco asked.
“Yeah, you two,” the voice said. “May I ask what on earth you are doing?”
“Sure, we are taking a bath under this waterfall,” Mohammed exclaimed.
“Under the waterfall,” mocked the voice. “And what waterfall would that be?”
“Why, this one,” said Mohammed.
“Psst, Mohammed, there’s no water, no waterfall,” whispered Rosco as he pecked Mohammed on the shoulder.
“Why, sure there is,” replied Mohammed. “Look at the water I’m holding in my hands.”
However, Mohammed’s hands were filled with nothing but hot, dry sand.
“See,” said the voice.
“Now, who might you be?” Mohammed asked as he dropped the sand by his side.
“I’m glad you asked,” replied the voice. “My name is Nyathien Mynot but everyone around here calls me Sandy. I’m your local desert rat and I’m here to help you.”
“Desert rat,” said Mohammed. “How can you help us? And, more importantly, how can we trust you?”
“I don’t know,” whispered Rosco. “I don’t know about this guy. He doesn’t look too trustworthy.”
“I am the main rat around these parts,” Sandy said. “I’m here to make you the deal of your life.”
“What kind of a deal?” Mohammed asked.
“Yeah, blondie, what kind of a deal!” shouted Rosco.
“Oh, one that will solve all your problems,” retorted Sandy.
“Who said we had problems?” questioned Mohammed.
“Yeah, who said?” Rosco asked.
“Well, I hate to say it but you were taking a bath in dry, hot sand,” snickered Sandy. “I would consider that a problem.”
Embarrassed, Mohammed and Rosco quickly dropped their heads.
“Ah, don’t worry about it,” laughed Sandy. “I’ve seen it happen to a lot of people. Besides, I’m here to make your dream come true. Come on, step over here with me. Now, look over yonder,” Sandy instructed.
Mohammed and Rosco looked as far as they could see but they saw nothing.
“I don’t see anything,” Mohammed replied.
“Me either,” Rosco said.
“Oh, my friends just keep looking,” encouraged Sandy.
Mohammed and Rosco strained their eyes to see what Sandy was talking about. Suddenly, it unfolded before their very eyes.
“I can see it!” shouted Mohammed.
“I can, too,” said Rosco.
“Look, look, my friends, as far as the eye can see. Isn’t it beautiful? It is a dream come true,” exclaimed Sandy.
As the two looked at the mirage, they saw a beautiful paradise. It was a resort filled with beautiful palm trees, water and food. It was so breathtaking. All Mohammed and Rosco could do was lick their lips and smack their mouths.
“Oh, what I would give for that,” cried Mohammed.
“Well, I’m glad you brought that up. That nice piece of property which I call Sandbox Estates can be yours for a small token,” bargained Sandy.
“Well, we don’t have anything,” said Mohammed. “We lost everything we had in the storm.”
“You don’t have anyth
ing at all?” questioned Sandy.
“Nothing,” replied Rosco.
“Huh!” Sandy said with frustration. “You must have something. Check again,” he insisted. What about that pocket-watch you have there?” asked Sandy.
“Well, I don’t know,” answered Mohammed. “It belonged to my granddad so it’s very sentimental to me.”
“Look, at the beautiful paradise again. But, this time picture yourselves out there enjoying it,” coaxed Sandy.
As Mohammed looked back out across the desert, he saw himself having a wonderful time.
“Well, I guess,” he said. “It is such a beautiful place and it is an old watch.”
“Deal!” yelled Sandy.
“Deal,” replied Mohammed as he shook hands with Sandy.
“Here’s your deed,” said Sandy when he handed Mohammed a rolled up piece of paper. “You are now the owners of Sandbox Estates. Bye!” he said as he hurried away.
Sandy disappeared under the sand and headed out across the desert. Quickly, Mohammed and Rosco took off for the estate. However, by the time they got there, it was gone; it was a mirage.
“Now, what are we going to do?” asked Rosco. “We’ve been had.”
“Yep,” replied Mohammed. “We have been had by a desert pack rat. Ooh, I wish I could get my hands on him.”
As the two stood there disappointed, a gush of water came up out of nowhere.
“Look!” shouted Rosco. “Look at all the water.”
“Calm down, Rosco,” replied Mohammed. “It’s just another mirage.”
“But…but…but,” stuttered Rosco. “It’s wet. Feel it, Mohammed.”
“Wet,” replied Mohammed as he reached down and touched the water. “It is! It is wet!” Mohammed shouted. “I can’t believe it.”
“Believe it,” replied Rosco.
Mohammed and Rosco sat down in the nice, cool water and cooled off in the heat of the day. They were laughing and talking when Mohammed suddenly got an idea.
“Why don’t we build a resort here, Rosco? We have plenty of water and we can get rich,” stated Mohammed.
“Hey, man, that’s a great idea,” replied Rosco. “We can bring in tourists and we’ll be rich in no time.”
Mohammed and Rosco worked hard to build a beautiful resort oasis. They planted palm trees, flowers and bushes. They even built hotels, swimming pools, fast-food joints and recreation areas. Once they completed everything, they called their resort The Thirsty Camel. In no time, it became a booming resort. People came from everywhere to vacation there or just came for a weekend getaway. The thriving business made Mohammed and Rosco rich.
“Cheers to our old friend, the desert rat,” toasted Mohammed as he turned up an ice-cold glass of tea.
“Bottoms up,” snickered Rosco.
Mohammed and Rosco were living it up at The Thirsty Camel until one day they received a letter from the Blowing Sands Desert Pipeline Company. The letter informed them the pipeline company was going to shut the resort down because of a leak in their main waterline. The gush of water that came out of nowhere years before was actually a leak in one of the Blowing Sands Desert Pipeline Company’s waterlines and they had just found the leak. Attached to the letter was a bill, a large water bill.
“Uh…, Mohammed,” said Rosco. “What are we going to do?”
“I don’t know,” replied Mohammed. “We can’t pay this bill. It will take nearly all our money. If the water is gone, so is the resort. And if the resort is gone, so is our income.”
“Well, well, well,” said Sandy as he suddenly popped up out of nowhere. “I see you two have done pretty well for yourselves since I saw you last.”
“What do you want?” Mohammed asked.
“Oh, I don’t know,” he said as he looked around the resort. “I’ve heard a lot of good things about The Thirsty Camel and I thought while I was in this part of the desert I would come by and look around. I guess it wouldn’t do any good for me to ask if you would want to sell it.”
“Oh, I don’t know,” said Mohammed. “What do you think, Rosco?”
“No, I don’t guess so,” Rosco replied.
“I understand,” Sandy said. “You do have a booming business here. If it were mine, I wouldn’t want to sell it either.”
“Exactly,” agreed Mohammed.
Sandy reached down in his hole and pulled out Mohammed’s old pocket-watch and dangled it in front of Mohammed and Rosco.
“Look, Mohammed, you said this pocket-watch belonged to your granddad and it was very sentimental to you. How about we do a little negotiating,” Sandy stated.
“Well, there isn’t much to negotiate. That old pocket-watch can’t compare to this booming resort.”
“But, listen. This pocket-watch sure keeps mighty good time!” Sandy said as he placed the watch up to Mohammed’s ear.
Mohammed listened to the tick tock rhythm of the pocket-watch. It was like music to his ears.
“Well, do you think you might reconsider now?” asked Sandy.
“Well, I guess not,” said Mohammed as he thumbed through a roll of money.
Mohammed and Rosco both noticed how big Sandy’s eyes got when he saw the roll of money.
“But…,” said Mohammed.
“But, what!” shouted Sandy.
“But, it was my granddad’s watch and I would like to have it back. What do you think, Rosco?” asked Mohammed. “Should I trade the resort for the pocket-watch?”
“Yeah, it’s a nice pocket-watch alright, Mohammed. However, this is a booming place,” Rosco said. “We’re going to miss out on making a lot more money.”
“Don’t listen to him,” Sandy stated. “This is between you and me.”
“It’s a deal!” Mohammed exclaimed.
Mohammed grabbed the pocket-watch and within a matter of minutes, he and Rosco were completely out of sight.
“Suckers! Ham! I can’t believe I tricked them again. They have to be the two biggest jerks I know,” laughed Sandy, “ha, ha, ha, ha, ha.”
As Sandy rolled in the sand laughing, the water to the resort suddenly shut off. Immediately, the water in the pools started evaporating, the palms were wilting and the grass was turning yellowish brown and dying.
“What is happening,” he jumped up and yelled, “to my beautiful paradise!”
As he was looking around to see why the water shut off, he saw the letter from the pipeline company and the large unpaid water bill.
“Uh-oh!” he cried. “I’m in big trouble.”
