The narrator hitchhikes from Beirut to an unknown destination.
He is picked up by a shared taxi driven by an elderly man and carrying two passengers.
One of the passengers is a frail, one-legged man who invites the narrator to dinner at his home with his wife.
The couple is kind and hospitable, offering the narrator tea, dinner, and a place to sleep.
The narrator reflects on the gentleness and empathy of the couple, contrasting it with the violence of war.
He eats dinner with the couple, consisting of flatbread and sea urchins, while the wife does not eat.
The couple's child has a severe squint, and the narrator wonders what became of them.
The narrator sleeps on the couple's bed while they sleep on the floor behind a curtain.
In the morning, the narrator is given a bowl of water to wash and coffee to drink before leaving.
The one-legged man gives the narrator a crutch before parting ways.

"How well do you remember 'A Handful of Dates' by Tayeb Salih?" Test your knowledge of this poignant short story about a hitchhiking narrator's encounter with a kind and hospitable couple in war-torn Beirut. From sea urchin dinners to a gift of a crutch, see if you can recall all the details and themes of this powerful literary work. Keywords: Tayeb Salih, short story, Beirut, war, hospitality, empathy, squint, crutch