They say that there was once a king who had no son. And His Majesty asked for himself from the gods whom he served, a son. And they commanded that he should be born to him. He slept with his wife that same night and she became pregnant. After she completed the birth months, a boy was born.
The goddesses Hathor came. to decide his fate. They said:
“He will die from a crocodile, or from a snake, or from a dog.”
The people who were near the child heard this. And they conveyed these words to His Majesty. And His Majesty's heart was very sad. And His Majesty ordered to build a stone house for him in the desert. The house was full of people and all sorts of goods from the palace. The child did not leave the house.
When the boy grew up, he once climbed to the roof of his house. He noticed a greyhound running after a man who was walking along the road. The boy asked his servant who was next to him:
- What is this thing that follows the man who is approaching along the road?
He answered him:
- This is a dog.
The boy told him:
- Let them bring me the same one. And the servant went and reported this to His Majesty. And His Majesty said:
“Let them get him some little frolic so that his heart won’t be sad.”
Then they got a greyhound for him.
And when the days passed after that, the boy matured. He wrote to his father:
“What will it lead to me sitting here like this?” After all, I am at the mercy of fate. So let me be allowed to do what I want until God accomplishes what he has in mind.
And they harnessed a chariot for him, equipped with all kinds of weapons, gave him a servant as a companion, transported him to the eastern bank and said:
- Go wherever you want!
His greyhound was with him. He went, as he wished, north across the desert, feeding on the choicest game of the desert.
He arrived to the prince of Naharina. And Prince Naharina had no children, except for his only daughter. A house was built for her, the window of which was seventy cubits from the ground. The prince ordered to bring all the sons of all the princes of the land of Syria and said to them:
“Whoever reaches my daughter’s window will get her as his wife.”
And many days after this, when they were spending their time as they spent it every day, this young man passed by them. And they brought him to their house. They bathed him and gave him food for his horses. They surrounded the young man with all their attention. They anointed him and bandaged his feet. They fed his servant. They asked him during the conversation:
-Where are you coming from, beautiful young man?
He told them:
“I am the son of a warrior from the land of Egypt.” My mother died. My father took another wife, a stepmother. She hated me. I ran away from her.
And they began to hug him, began to shower him with kisses.
And many days later he asked these young men:
- What are you doing here, beautiful young men?
They answered him:
“We have been here for three whole months now and spend our time jumping: whoever reaches the window of Prince Naharina’s daughter will give her as his wife.”
He told them:
“Oh, if my legs didn’t hurt, I would go jumping with you.”
They went to jump, as they did every day. The young man stood watching from afar, and his daughter's face was turned to him.
And so many days later the young man came to jump with the children of the princes. He jumped and reached the window of Prince Naharina's daughter. She kissed and hugged him tightly.
Let's go inform her father. They told him:
— Some man reached your daughter’s window.
And the prince asked him:
- Which of these princes is the son? They told him:
- The son of a warrior. He came from the land of Egypt, running away from his mother - stepmother.
And Prince Naharina became terribly angry and exclaimed:
- Should I give my daughter to a fugitive from Egypt? Let him go back! Let's go tell the young man:
“You must go back to where you came from.”
But the girl grabbed him. She swore to God:
- I swear by Re-Harakhti! If they take it away from me, I won’t eat, I won’t drink, I’ll die right away!
And the messenger went and conveyed everything she said to her father. Her father sent people to kill the young man where he was. But the girl told them:
- I swear to Ryo! If they kill him, when the sun sets, I will be dead too! I won't survive him even for an hour!
And they went to tell her father about it. And her father ordered this young man to be brought to him along with his daughter. And the young man appeared before him and the prince felt affection for him. He hugged him, began to shower him with kisses and told him.
- Tell me about yourself. After all, you are now my son.
He told him:
“I am the son of a warrior from the land of Egypt.” My mother died. My father took another wife. She hated me and I ran away from her.
And the prince gave him his daughter as his wife. He gave him a house and fields, as well as cattle and a lot of all sorts of goods.
And so [many days] later the young man said to his wife:
“I am given over to the power of three destinies: the crocodile, the snake, the dog.”
And she told him:
“Tell them to kill the dog that constantly follows you.”
He answered her:
- No! I will not let my dog, whom I began raising when she was still a puppy, be killed.
She began to carefully protect her husband, not allowing him to go out alone. However, on the day when the young man, wandering, came from the land of Egypt, the crocodile - his destiny - followed him...... The crocodile remained close to him, in the area where the young man lived with his wife, by the sea. And there was one strong man in the sea. This strong man did not allow the crocodile to go outside, and the crocodile did not allow the strong man to go for a walk. When the sun rose...... they began to fight - these two - every day for two whole months.
And so, when the days passed after this, the young man held a celebration in his house. And so, when night came, the young man lay down on his bed. Deep sleep overcame him. And his wife filled one cup with wine, the other cup with beer. The snake crawled out of its hole to bite the young man. And his wife sat next to him, awake. The bowls attracted the snake. She started drinking and got drunk. And she lay down, turning over on her back. And his wife cut her into pieces with her axe. Then she woke up her husband...... She told him: “Look! Your God has given one of your destinies into your hands! He will protect you from the rest.”
And he made a sacrifice to Re, praising him, extolling his power, every day.
And so, when the days passed after this, the young man went out for a walk, to walk around his possessions. His wife did not come out with him, and his dog ran after him. And his dog became speechless and said: “I am your destiny.” The young man ran away from her. He reached the sea and threw himself into the water to escape the dog. Then a crocodile noticed him and dragged him to where the strongman was... (Here and below, spaces are the absence of hieroglyphs)
The crocodile said to the young man:
- I am your destiny, pursuing you. I've been fighting this strong man for two whole months now. So, I'll let you go. If......to fight......if you......to me, the strongman will be killed If you see......look at the crocodile. And when the earth was illuminated and the second day came, it came......
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru