mighty hero,' will you? Leave me not too soon, mother; promise to
remain with me on earth until the prophecy is fulfilled."

"Dear boy!" said she, with a sad smile. "How can the poor child of
earth promise what Allah must alone decide? We must walk as Allah
directs, and submit to his will. with humility, for thus it is
written in the Koran: --Before the great God who sits enthroned
above the stars, bow thy head in humility; Allah determines, and man
shall obey in pious submission. So must we, my boy! Man is mortal,
and passes away; as the withered leaf is wafted away by the wind and
perishes, so the storm wind of life seizes upon man and destroys
him."

"But not you, not you, mother!" cried the boy, fiercely grasping his
mother's shoulders in childish anger." No, I will not believe it,
and it shall not be! The storm shall not destroy you, for you must
live to see your son great and mighty, that he may recompense you
for your days of sorrow and suffering."

"You hurt me," said his mother, gently releasing her shoulders from
his grasp. Mohammed burst into tears that poured down his cheeks in
streams.

The mother kissed them away. "My son, pearl of my existence!--only
light in life's night!--my beloved son, what would I be without you?
what should I do in the dark night without the luster of this star?
I kiss these eyes, son of my heart, and bless you with Allah's
blessing! Be strong and brave, my son, and weep not! Leave tears to
women. You are a man in spite of your thirteen years, therefore weep
not; even though the worst should befall, weep not."