One strange sight is to meet people out riding. Do you know that the men
ride donkeys side-saddle, but the women ride as men do in your country?
When a missionary lady first came to Bahrein in Eastern Arabia and the
boys saw her riding a donkey they called out: _"Come and see, come and
see! The lady has no feet!"_ Because they saw only one side of her. Then
another one called out and said: _"Yes she has, and they are both on this
side!"_

[Illustration: EUROPEAN VISITORS ON DONKEYS.]

Another odd custom is that Arabs always turn the fingers of the hand down
as we turn them up in beckoning or calling anybody. Many other gestures
seem topsy-turvy as well.

In your country boys learn the lesson of politeness--ladies first; but it
is not so over here. It is _men first_ in all grades of society; and not
only men first but men last, in the middle, and all the time. Women and
girls have a very small place given them in Topsy-turvy Land. The Arabs
say that of all animal kinds the female is the most valuable except in the
case of mankind! When a girl baby is born the parents are thought very
unfortunate. How hard the Bedouin girls have to work! They are treated
just like beasts of burden as if they had no souls. They go barefoot
carrying heavy loads of wood or skins of water, grind the meal and make
fresh bread every morning or spin the camel's hair or goat's hair into one
coarse garment. They are very ignorant and superstitious, the chief
remedies for sickness being to brand the body with a hot iron or wear
charms--a verse from the Koran sewn up in leather or a string of blue
beads, which are supposed to drive away evil influences.

How very thankful girls should be that in all Christian lands they have a