Introduction.
And the king’s excellent companion said:
- Let your heart calm down, prince. We reached our homeland: the mallet was taken, the mooring stake was driven in, the bow rope was thrown to the ground, praises were pronounced, praise was given to God. Everyone hugs each other. Our team returned unharmed, there is no loss among our warriors.
We reached the limit of the country of Wawat, (Wawat is a country stretching from north to south between the Nile and the Red Sea) and passed the island of Senmut. And so we returned safely and reached our country.
Listen to me, prince: I am not exaggerating. Wash your face and pour water on your fingers so that you can answer when they speak to you. When speaking to the king, maintain your presence of mind and answer without hesitation. A person’s mouth saves him, and his word evokes a condescending attitude towards him. However, act according to your own understanding: it is tiring to talk to you.
Preparing for sailing and storm.
I want to tell you about a similar incident that happened to me.
I was heading towards the sovereign's mine. I went down to the sea and boarded a ship one hundred and twenty cubits long and forty cubits wide. There were one hundred and twenty selected Egyptian sailors on it. Whether they looked at the sky, whether they looked at the earth, their hearts were always braver than the lions.
They predicted the storm before it came and the thunderstorm before it broke.
The storm came while we were on the Great Green (Red Sea) before we made landfall. They continued to sail, but the storm struck again and raised a wave of eight cubits. He brought a log towards me. Then the ship sank; of those who were on it, not a single one was saved. I was thrown onto the island by a wave of the Great Green.
On the island.
I spent three days alone - only my heart was my companion - lying under the shade of a tree under which I found shade. Finally, I got up to look for something that I could put into my mouth.
I found there wine berries and grapes, all kinds of vegetables of excellent quality; there were kau and nekut fruits (sycamore fruits), cucumbers, as if they had been specially grown; there were fish and birds. There is nothing that does not exist on the island. I ate my fill and threw some of the food on the ground, as my hands were full. After I made a device for making fire, I produced fire and made a burnt offering to the gods.
Snake king.
Suddenly I heard thunderclaps. I thought it was the surf of the Great Green. The trees cracked and the earth shook. Finally, I opened my face and saw that it was a snake coming towards me. He was thirty cubits tall, and his beard was more than two cubits long. His body was gilded, his eyebrows were made of real lapis lazuli. Wriggling, he crawled forward.
He opened his mouth - and I was lying in front of him on my stomach - and said to me:
-Who brought you, who brought you, baby? Who brought you? If you hesitate to answer who brought you to this island, then I will make sure that you become ashes, turn into something invisible.
“You’re telling me,” I answered him, but I-I don’t understand what you’re saying; I’m in front of you and that’s why I’m confused.
Then he grabbed me in his mouth, carried me to his lair and laid me down without hurting me: I remained safe and sound.
He opened his mouth - and I was lying in front of him on my stomach - and said to me:
-Who brought you, who brought you, baby? Who brought you to this island of Great Green, both shores of which are washed by waves?
I responded to this by bending my hands in front of him and said to him:
“I went down to the sovereign’s mine on a ship one hundred and twenty cubits long and forty cubits wide. There were one hundred and twenty selected Egyptian sailors on it. Whether they looked at the sky, whether they looked at the earth, their hearts were always braver than lions.
They predicted the storm before it came and the thunderstorm before it broke. They were each braver than the other, each stronger than the other, and there was not one inexperienced among them.
The storm came while we were on the Great Green before we made landfall. They continued to sail, but the storm struck again and raised a wave of eight cubits. He brought a log towards me. Then the ship sank; Of those who were on it, not one escaped except me. And here I am with you. I was thrown onto this island by a wave of the Great Green.
And he told me:
“Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid, baby, don’t worry now that you’ve reached me.” After all, God gave you life, since he brought you to this island of Ka. There is nothing that is not on it; he is full of all good things. You will live on this island month after month until four months have passed. And the ship will come from your homeland, on it are sailors whom you know. You will go with them to your homeland and die in your city. How happy is he who can talk about what he once experienced when the misadventures are already behind us!
I want to tell you about a similar incident that happened on this island, where I was once with my brothers, among whom were children. There were seventy-five snakes in total - my children along with my brothers. I will not mention to you about the young daughter whom I begged for myself. Suddenly a star fell, and they were engulfed in its flame. And so it happened. that I was not there, and they burned when I was not among them. I almost died because of them when I found only a mountain of corpses instead.
If you are courageous, then humble your heart, and you will embrace your children in your arms and kiss your wife - you will see your home again, and this is most precious. You will return to your homeland, where you were previously in the circle of your brothers. Then I, lying on my stomach, touched my forehead to the ground in front of him. I told him:
“I will tell the sovereign about your power and tell him about your greatness.” I will order that ibi, hekenu, judeneb, hesait, incense burned in temples, which is used to delight all the gods, be delivered to you. I will tell you what happened and what I saw thanks to your power. You will be thanked in the city, in the presence of the highest nobility of the entire country. I will kill you bulls for a burnt offering, I will sacrifice birds for you. I will order that a caravan of ships be brought to you, loaded with all kinds of valuable products from Egypt, as befits a god who loves people from a distant land unknown to people.
He laughed at me - at what I said and what he considered stupidity - and said to me:
“You don’t have much myrrh; what you possess is incense. I am the lord of Punt, and I own the myrrh. And the heken, which you promise to deliver to me, is available in abundance on this island. Besides, after you leave here, you will never see this island again, which will turn into waves.
Return to homeland.
The ship arrived as he had predicted in advance. I went, climbed a tall tree and recognized those who were on the ship. I went to tell the snake about this, but it turned out that he already knew about it.
He told me:
- Come back healthy, come back home healthy, baby, to see your children again. Surround my name with good fame in your city - that’s what I expect from you.
I fell onto my stomach, bending my arms in front of it. Then he gave me cargo for the ship, consisting of myrrh, hekenu, judeneb, hesait, tishepes, shaasekh, black eye ointment, giraffe tails, a large heap of incense, ivory, hunting dogs, monkeys, baboons, and all kinds of other valuable articles. Then I loaded them onto this ship.
As I stretched out on my stomach in front of him to thank him, he said to me:
- You will arrive home in two months; you will embrace your children in your arms, you will become young again in your homeland, where you will be buried.
I went down to the shore, to where this ship was located. I called the crew of the ship and gave praise to the ruler of this island on the shore; those on the ship did the same.
We sailed, heading north, to the residence of the sovereign, and arrived at our homeland two months later - exactly as he said. Then I appeared before the sovereign and presented him with the gift that I had brought from this island.
He thanked me in the presence of the highest nobility of the country. I was granted the king's companion and was awarded by his king's people.
Conclusion.
- Look at me, after I landed on the shore, after I had the chance to see everything that I experienced. Listen to me: it is good for people to listen.
But he answered me:
“Don’t overthink it, my friend: do they give water at dawn to a bird that will be slaughtered in the morning?”
Brought from beginning to end according to what was found written in the scroll of the scribe of skillful fingers, Amenos, son of Ameni - may he live, prosper and prosper!
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru