Ah, I see you admire my beautiful daughters. Any one of them would make a good wife. They are hard-working and obedient. They can dance and sing, too. Here, they will perform for you. Sit back, relax, feel the tea cooling your body after your long journey in the hot sun.
My youngest daughter, my jewel, will play her oud, handed down to the daughters of daughters among our people for many generations. Yes, it has a lovely sound. She often plays it to lull a tired old father to sleep. Then she uses her fingers to keep the music soft as a whispered dream, but for you, she will use her risha to strum the strings.
Now she begins to sing. Listen, traveler, to this ancient story of our people, lost to the world in the scrolls of the Library of Alexandria. Yes, we of the desert have long memories of those days of wonder and prosperity. Then, before the Saharan sands swallowed our land, it was lush and green, graced with many of Allah’s unusual and beautiful creatures that are now long gone. One of the most amazing sights to behold was the Queen’s army of rainbow hummingbirds.
You smile? It is no jest, traveler. These birds were not like the small birds of your Americas. They were large and fierce, honored and feared for their might in battle. Flying in formation, they could block out the sun, yet they were too small and swift to defeat with arrows or spears. They could fly so fast, they seemed invisible, until they impaled an enemy with their wicked long beaks. No jest, indeed, traveler. The rainbow hummingbirds led kings and queens to victory for generation, until they were betrayed.
Now listen, and my jewel will finish the tale…
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Dogs in house:
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Houdini
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Music:
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Arjen de Nobel, Spanish
Guitar Music Vol.1
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Time writing:
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~30 minutes, including research
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June word
count:
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11,256
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