Thesecret name of Ra

Ra, the SoleCreator was visible to the peopleof Eglat asthe discol the sun,but they knew him in manyother {orms. He could appearas a crownedman. a falconor'a man with a falcon'shead and, as the scarabbeetle pushes a round ball of dungin front of it, the Egyptians picturedRa asa scarabpushing the sun acrossthe sky. In caverns deepbelow the earthwere hidden another seventy-five forms ofRa; mysteriousbeings with mummiEedbodies and heads consisting of birds or snakes,feathers or flowers,The namesof Rawere as numerousas his forms; he wasthe ShiningOne, The Hidden One, The Renewerof the Earth,The lfind in the Souls,The ExaltedOne, but therewas one name ofthe SunGod which hadnot beenspoken sincetime began.To know this secretname ofRa wasto havepower overhim andover the world that he hadcreated. Isislonged for suchapower. Shehad dreamed that oneday she *.ould havea marvellousfalcon-headed son called Horus andshe wantedthe throne of Ra to giveto her child. Isis wasthe Mistressof Magic,wiser than millionsofmen, but sheLrrew that nothingin creationwas powerful enoughto harmits creator.Her only chance vr'as!o turn thepower of Ra againsthimself and atlast Isisthought of a crlel andcunning plan. Everyday the SunGod walkedthrough his kingdom, attendedby a crowd ofspirits andlesser deities, but Rawas growingold. His eyeswere dim, his stepno longerfirm andhe had evenbegun to drivel. One morning Isismingled with a group of minor goddessesand followedbehind the King of the Gods.She watched the faceofRa until shesaw his salivadrip onto a clod o{ eanh.\0hen shewas sure that no-onewas taking any noticeo{ her, shescooped up the earth andcarried it awav.Isis mixed the earthwith the salivaofRa to form clay andmodelled a wickedJookingserpent. Through the hoursof darknessshe whispered spells over the clayserpent as it lay lifelessin her hands.Then the cunninggoddess carried it to a crossroadson the routewhich the SunGod alwaystook. Shehid the serpentin the long grassand returned to her palace, The next day Ra camewalking through his kingdomwith the spiritsand lesser deities crowding behind him. I/hen he approached the crossroads,the spellsof Isisbegan to worL andthe clayserpent 24 quiveredinto life. A> rhe Sun Cod prssed.ir bit bewilderedas all the otherfrightened deitres. him in the ankleand crumbled back into earth. 'Fathero{ All,' shebegan, 'whatever is the Ra gavea screamthat washeard through all matterl Has somesnake bitten you? Has some creation. wretchedcreature dared to strikeat his Creator) His jawschattered and his limbsshook as the Few of the godscan compare with me inwisdom poisonflooded through him like a risingNile. andI am the Mistressof Magic.Ifyou will let me 'l hafe beenwoundedby somethingdeadly,' helpyou, I'm surethat I cancure you.' whisperedRa. 'I know that in my heart,though Ra wasgrateful to Isisand told her all that had my eyescrnnot seeit. vhatever it was,l, the happened.'Now I am coiderthan vrater and Lord of Creation,did not makeit. I am surethat hotter than 6re,' complainedthe SunGod. 'My noneofyou would havedone such e terrible eyesdarken. I cannotsee the sky andmy body is thing to me, but I havenever felt suchpain! soakedby the s\eeatoffever.' 'Tell How canthis havehappened to mel I am the meyour fullname. 'aid cunning Isis. SoleCreator, the child ofthe wateryabyss. I am 'Then I canuse it in my spells.\frithout that the godwith a thousandnames, but my secret knowledgethe greatestof magicianscannot help namewas only spokenonce, before time began. you. Then itwas hiddenin my body so that no-one 'I am the maherof heavenand earth,' said Ra. 'I mrdeLhe heighrs and rhe deprhs, I horizons shouldever learn it andbe ableto work spells 'er againstme. Yet asI'walked through my at eastand west and established the godsin their kingdomsomething struck at me andnow my glory. Vhen I openmy eyesit is light; when I heartis on fire andmy limbs shake.Send tor ttre closethem it is dark. The mighryNile floodsat Ennead!Send for my children!They arewrse rn my command.The godsdo not know my true magic;nd theirknowledge pierces her. er namebut I amthe makerof time, the giverof Messengershuried to the greatgods and from festivals.I sparkthe 6re oflife. At dawnI nse as the four pillarsof the world camethe Ennead: Khepri, the scaraband sail across the sky in the Shuand Tefenet, Geb andNut, Sethand Boat of Millions ofYears.At roor I blazein the Osiris, Isis andNephthys. Envoys travelled the heavensas Ra andat eveningI am Ra-atum,the land andthe sky andthe wateryabyss to settingsun,' summonall the deitiescreated by Ra. From the 'Ve know all that,' saidIsis. 'If I amto 6nd a marshescame frog headedHehet, !{/adjetthe spellto drive out this poison,I will haveto use cobragoddess and the fearsomegod, crocodile- ) our \ecretname, 5ay ) our nameand liue headedSobek. From the desertscame 6ery 'My secretname was given to me sothat I could Selkis,the scorpiongoddess, Anubis the jackal, sit at ease,'moaned Ra, 'andfear no living the guardianofthe deadand Nekhbet the creature.How canI giveit awayl' vulture goddess.From the citiesof the north Isissaid nothing and knelt besidethe SunGod camewarlike Neith, gentlecat-headed Bastet, while his painmounted. en it became fiercelion-headed Sekhmet and Ptah the godof unbearable,Ra orderedthe othergods to stand crafts,From the citiesof the southcame Onuris, backwhile he whisperedhis secretname to Isis. the divinehuntsman and ram-headed Khn"'' 'Now the power ofthe secretnamehas passed with AnuLishis wife andSatis his daughter. from my heartto your heart,'said Ra wearily. CunningThoth andwise Seshat, goddess of 'In time you cangive it to your son,but wam writing; virile Min andsrake-headed Renenutet, him neverto betraythe secret!' goddessofthe harvest,kindly Meskhenetand Isisnodded and began to chanta greetspell monstrousTaweret, goddesses of birth-all of that drovethepoison out of the limbs of ka ano themwere summoned to the sideofRa. he roseup strongerthan before. The SunGod The godsand goddesses Bathered around the returnedto the Boatof Millions ofYearsand Isis SunGod, weepingand wailing, a{raid thathe shoutedfor joy at the successo{her plan. She wasgoing to die.Isi: ttood among rhem beating knew now that oneday Horus her sonwould sit her breastand pretending to be asdistressed and on the throneof Egypt andwield the power of Ra. 25 TheEye of the Sun

Hathor, the daughterofRa hadmany forms. Shecould be a cowor a catand she came to newbornchildren to foretelltheir fatein the form of sevenbeautiful women Hathor in humanform wasthe most the qreciourrnd loylulof goddessesbut whenshe took on therole oi i, e o{ rheSun. she could also be rhe fiercetund the cruellest She wasthe protectorof the godsbut when shewas angry even the gods fearedher. Templeinsc.iptions and a storywritten in Egyptial aslate asthe secondcentury ao tell o{ a grim time whenHathor le{t her countrvand chose to live in Nubia. wasjealous of the othergods and goddesses The Eye of the Sun - whom Ra hadcreated. She quarrelled with her fatherand vrandered southto roamthe desertsof distantNubia The angrygoddess abandonedherlovely humanform andappeared as a wildcator a raginglioness. She lived by huntingand butchered every creature who crme nearher. En pt wasdesolare, for q ithoutberutiful Hathor hughttr and love *ith-eredawav end life held no iov.The Sun Cod hid hisface in .orro* *d gioo. ,preadacross the earth.No-one could consolehim for the lossofhis bioved daughterand worst of all without the Dowerof his Eye, Rawas in dangerfrom his enemiesDarkness tiehtenedits coilsaround Light andChaos threatened Order' 'Vho will bring Hathor backto me?'asked Ra but the godswere silent.The Eve ofthe Sunheld the powerof life or deathover all beinesand in her {uriousmood the godswere afraid to approachher' Thei Ra summorredThoth, thewisest of deities,and ordered him to so ro Nubieand persuade Hathor to rerumto Egypt Thothobeyed ihe King of rheiods with a hearyheart He *rs surethar if Hathor .."osniled him she kill him be{orehe hada chanceto speak "rould \Tith"thisin mind, Thoth transformedhimself into a humblebaboon' Thenhe creptthrough the Nubian desert,following the bloodytrail ol rheeoddess. Ii'lren he found he., Hathor was in her wildcat form, sitting on a rock licking her tawny fur. Thoth crawled forq'ard, knocking his headon the ground: 'Hail.druehter ol theSuni hesaidhumbll Hathorlrchedand spat but whenshe saw that it wasonll r baboon shepaused and did not springon him at once. 'but you havebrokenyour oathand Ra vzill 'Graciousgoddess,' faltered Thoth, 'may a avengeme.' humbleape dare to speakto you?' \0hen the mothervulturearrived at the nest 'Speakand die,' growledthe wildcatas she with a beakfull o{ carrionf'lesh, she found that unsheathedher claws.The babooncringed and oneof her chickswas missing and saw him lying kissedth.p ground, murmuring, 'O, powerful deadon the hillside, one,ifyou chooseto kill me, I cannotstop you 'So the cathas broLen her oath,' thoughtthe ' but rememberthe story of the motherv'ulture rtlture. I shan\wair long to havem1 rerenge andthe mothercat. . . .' The nexttime that the wildcatwent o{fto '\i4rat story?'demanded Hathor. hunt, the vultureswooped down on the kittens. 'Listenmy lady,' saidwiley Thoth, 'and I r.ill Shekilled everyone of them andcarried them tell you.' backto her nestto feedher chicks. The wildcatsat down andbegan to wash lVhen the catreturned with her catch,the hersel{again. She seemed to takeno further kittensvrere nowhere to beseen. She searched noticeofthe baboonbutThoth knew that ifhe the whole hillsidemewing desperately but all she tried to run awayhe would feelher clawswithin found vrerea few bloodstainedtufts offur. Then seconds.He beganhis story. sheknew that the vulture hadkilled herkittens Therewas once a {emalevulture, who madea andshe cried to Ra for vengeance:'Ogreat god nestin apalm treeand sat on her eggsuntil four who judgesbetween the just andthe wicked,the fine chickswere hatched. As soonas they broke 'v.ulturehas broken herholy oath andmurdered throughtheir shellsthe chicksdemanded food, my childrenlHear me Ra andpunish the oath- but the vulturewas rfraid to leaveher nest breaker!' becauseofa wildcatwho lived on a nearby The SunGod listenedto herprayerand was hillside.Now the wildcathad given birth to four angrythat an oathsworn in hisname had been kittensand she was just asafraid to leavethem, broken.Because the v'ulturehad taken her own becauseof the vulture. vengeanceand killed all the kittens,Ra ordereda Thechick' and rhe kittens n eresoon cryirg divinemessengerto arrange her punishment. with hungerso the two motherscame together The next day when the vulturewas {lying over andarranged a truce,The vultureand the wildcat the desertsearching forfood shesaw a lone both sworea mighty oathby Ra thatneitherof huntsmancooking a haunchofmeat overhis themwould attackthe other'schildren. Then the campfre.The vulture swoopeddown, seizedthe wlturefelt safeto fly offandlooL forcerrion meatin her claws,nd carriedit triumphantly andthe wildcatfelt safeto go hunting. backto her nest.There she dropped it amongst For someweeks everything went well andthe her greedychicks but a few glowingembers still chickrand the litren" rhrived. fie young clungto the undersideofthe meat.As soonas vultureswere soon trying out their wingsand the emberstouched the dry twigs andgrass of the kittensbegan to play all overthe hillside. the nestit burst into flames.The threechichs One morningwhile the vulturewas circling over s'ereburned to cinderswhile their mother the desert,the boldestofher chicksflew out of circledhelplessly overhead, The wildcatran to the nest.His wingswere not yet strongand after the foot ofthe blazingtree and called up to the a short flight he landedon the hillsidewhere the vulture,'By Ra, you killed my kittensbut now kirten'were plal ing and snatched away a piece yourchicks aredead and I am avenged!' of their food. 'Somy lady,' concludedThoth, 'both the Quicker thanthought, the wildcatstruck at mothershad broken their oathsand both were the youngvultureand woundedhim badly. punished.Ra hearsand sees everything and 'Find your own food,'growled the wildcat.The punishesevery crime. Praise to Ra who giveslife young vulturefeebly flapped his wingsbut he to all thingsand whose shining face brings the found thathe couldnot fly. whole earthjoy. The Nile risesto makehim a 'Now I shallnever return to my nes!' he gasped, cloak.The north wind andthe southwind blow 27 at his commandwhen he crossesthe sky above andthe sky below.He rulesfrom the heightsof heavento the deptLsof the ocean.Praise to the SunGod andpraise to Hathor his daughter.' The goddesssat thinking overthe story and rememberingher iust and pon ertul farher' Thoth sawhis opportunityand crept closer' 'My lady, I bringyou divine{ood from the palaceofthe SunGod. Wonderfulherbs that givehealth and joy to whoevertastes them ' He held out the bunchof herbsin onepaw andtheir sweetscent tempted the wildcatto nibbleatthem, As sheswallowed the divine food, Hathor's mood changed.AII her anger meltedaway and she listened meekly to Thoth 'Theseherbs were grown in Egypt,' saidThoth, 'theland rhar rose from rher ater'o{ \ un.rhe placeshaped for godsand men by the Creator, the homeof Ra, your belovedfather and Shu your dearbrother. Is therea singleliving creaturewho doesnot long for the countryol their birth?'askedThoth. 'Evenrocks and plants story aswe trrvel north. once upon atime a clingto their nativesoil. Animalslive closeto the hawL,a vultureand a cuchooall met burrowswhere they were bom andas for together. . .' mankind,Fate alloq's his favouritesto live and Thorhbounded iorward, confidenr rhrL die andbe buriedin the placeo{ their birt}r. Hathor would {ollow, but the goddesssuddenly 'Whatmore could anyonedesire and how can realizedthat all alongthe baboonhad been anyonelive happily or re\tin Perce;n a foreign trying to lure her backto Egypt. Shewas furious land?' that hehad made her weepand with a terrible Ifhile sheraged in the desen,Hathor had roar sheturned herselfinto a hugelioness. Her forgottenher homeand her family but the words peltwasthe colourofblood andcrackled and of Thoth broughtback her memory.She smokedlile r livingfl.rme. Het frce\hone thoughtofher {atherand her brotherand brighterthan the discofthe sun andher fiery rememberedall the temPleswhere men had glanceterrified Thoth, He iumpedlike a honouredher as the grertest of godde!\es. grasshopper,he shiveredlike a frog, he saluted SuddenlyHathorwas overwhelmedby a longing her asifshe wasthe glorioussun itself. for Eglpt andher tearssrere lii(e e cloudburst 'O, powerful onehave mercy! I begyou in the Thoth watchedher cry {or a while andthen nameo{ Ra to sparemel Graciousgoddess, saidsoftly, 'O my lady, nowyou aregrieving lor beforeyou strikelisten to the story of the two yourhome but think ofthe flood oftearsthat vultures!' Egypthasshed for you. \fithoutyou, the Hathor's angercooled a little andshe was templesare empty and silent. Vithoutyou there curiousto hearthe story, so shechanged back is no musicor dancing,no laughteror into a wildcat.Thoth beganhastily tq speak drunkenness.Ifithout you, young andold Two r.ulturesonce lived amongst the desert despairbut ifyou comeback with me nowharps hills, One day the 6rst vultureboasted, 'My eyes andtembourines, lutes and cymbals will sound aresharper than yours andmy sightis keener. again.Egyptwill dance,Egyptwill sing,the No otherwinged creature has a gift like mine.' Two Landswill rejoiceas never before Come 'And what is this gi{t?'askedthe secondvulture with m€, comehome and I will tell you another 'By day or by night I cansee to the endsofthe 28 The first vulturelifted his baldhead and lookedbeyond the desertto the shoresofthe distantsea. The {alcon hr. been,waJJowed by a fish with the snakestill caughtin its claws Now the first 6sh is beingeaten by a larger6sh.' The vulturewas silent for a mintrteend then spoke again.'Now the big fish hasswum too closeto the shoreand a lion hasscooped it ou! v{ith his paw. He's makinga mealof the 6sh. Ah!' The firstvulture ruffled his feathersand sidled alongthe branchin excitement.'A grif6n!A griffrnhas just sweptdown andcarried off the Iion to its nest!' 'Are you surel Canit reallybe true?'askedthe secondbird. 'Ifyou don't believeme, fly with me to the gri{fin'snest,'said the 6rstvulture, 'andsee for yourself!' Sothe two vulturestook off from the branch andflew acrossthe deserthills till they were closeto the lair ofthe griffin. earth,'ansseredthe first bird. 'High in the sky 'See,'whisperedthe 6rst vulture,'his headis like or deepin the ocean,I cansee everything that a {alcon'sand his eyeslike thoseof a man He happens. hasthe body of a lion andhis earsare like the 'It may be true thatyour eyesare sharper than fins of a 6sh andhis tail like a serpent.'Thetwo latt mine andthat your sightis keener,'agreed the bird' watchedrhe griifin tearing rhe 'trip' othervulture, 'but my earsare sharper than offlesh from the lion's bonesand then flew away yours andmy hearingis keener.I canlisten to to a saferplace. everysound from land endsky andse3. I can 'Everythingthat we haveseen shows the power evenhear the voiceof Ra ashe decreesthe fateof of Ra at worL in the world,' beganthe 6rst all creatureson earth.' vulture. 'Eventhe deathof a fly is noticedby the The two birds spentmany days arguing over SunGod andthose who kili will be killed, whosegift wasthe morepreciousi but one violenceis repaidby violence.Yet, strangely, morning asthey sattogether on the branchof a nothinghas happened to the grif6n, althoughhe deadtree the secondvulture beganto iaugL. atethe lion.' 'Ifhat areyou laughingat?'demanded his 'That mustbe becausethe griffn is the companion, messengerof Ra,' answeredthe secondvulture 'I am laughingat the way the huntercan so 'The SunGod hasgiven him the power oflife or quickly becomethe hunted,'said the second deathover all creatures.There is nothing vulture.A birdon theother side of rhe!ky is strongerthen the griffin exceptthe justiceof Ra.' tellingme what he'sjust seen.yo, would never 'Somy lady, it is your fatherwho repaysgood be ableto hearhim at sucha distance.He saw: with good andevil with evil,' concludedThoth fly caughtand eaten by a lizard.A momentlater 'Ard he hasfilled you with his power' You are the lizard wasseized and swallowed by a snake the Eye of the Sun,his avenger.' andthe momentafter that the snakewas The heartofHathorbeat with a fiercejoy and snatchedup by a hungryfalcon. It provedtoo shevr'xsproud againto be the daughterof t}'e heavyand the falconand the snakehave both SunGod. falleninto the sea.Ifyour sightis so good,tell 'Stoptrembling. I won't kill you now,'promrsed me what'shappened to them.' the wildcat.'Your vrordshave bewitched me, 29 ) .t I l(now that Iou mean e no hxrm. You heve dlivel rw:y ny gticf and anger.' 'My lady, if yor. follow me,' beganThoth 'vill timicilr, 't will leadyou back to !-gypt. It isn r many Cals joumcy acrossthesc hills.' 'Then lct us set out nt oncc, aacnce,' grolL'led Hathor, 'aml no rnore chrtrcdng.' The baboon beganto valh torvards lgypt with the wil,lcat: few pacesbchind him. ThoLh x'as still a{raid ri}at shemight changcLcr nird, or Ioseher remperagain so he beganatodrcr

Tivc jrcknlslived in rheclesert anclwere cLcvotcdtricnds. They huntedas a pair md alr,,ayserc and dr:.nk togeth€r xnd shxredtht san,cpatcb of shade.One dav asrhev resteo bcncrrhthc brarchcsofa deseritree they sawan r.nglr'lion bcur,ding torvarclsrhcm. The two jachalsstc,crl cluitc stil! aneilct the lion reach rhem. l1e rl.aspuzzlcrl bv this anclroared out, 'i!re 1-ourlirnbs stiff r-ith agci Didn't you see me corning?Why haven'tyou rur arvay?' 'Lorcl L ion, ' ansr,,.ererlthe jaclals, 'Wc s:r.it'Iou comlngin your fury andr're decidcd not to tur. You would have olertaken us any*'ay .rnr1ivhv shouldnc Lireourselves orrt before being..rcrll' Sincethe powerluL are nor angrlr rvith tr,.rth, rhc licn ivasanuscd by Lhiscool ansn'erantl hc ict thc two jackalsgo.

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I a I 7 'I havetold you nothingbut the truth,'said The lion setoffagain and the nextthing hesaw he Thoth, 'andnow thatyou havespared my life we wasa hugebear lumbering towards him As cantravel to Egypt togetherand I will protect camecloser, the lion noticedthat the clawsand you. teethofthe bearwere missing. 'You protectze? The Eye ofthe Sunneeds no '\flho hasdone this to you?' he asked 'Surely protectionfrom a baboon.' Man cannotbe strongerthan you?' ;Th. ,,rong be savedby the 'It is true,'groanedthe bear,'for Man is more ""n.o-.times weak,' answeredThoth 'Rememberthe story of cunning.I capturedMan andmade him serve the lion andthe mouse.' me, but he saidto me "Master,your clawsare so food, and '\fhat story is that?'askedHathor andThoth long it is diificultforyou to pick up told it to her asthey walkedtowards Egypt. your teethare so long that it is difficult foryou Onceupon a time therewas a lion vrho lived to getthe food into your mouth Let me trlm in the deserthills. He wasso huge and strong your nailsand your teethand then you willbe andiierce that all the otheranimals {eared him ableto eattwice asmuch food." I believedhim Now oneday this lion cameacross a panther andlet him do ashe askedbuthe pulledout my who waslying on the groundmore dead than clawsand filed awaymy teeth.Then he was no alive.The panther'sfur hadbeen torn out andhe iongerafraid of me.He threw sandin my eyes l'as bleedingfrom deepcuts all overhis body. andran awaylaughing.' The lion wasamazed, because he thought that After hearingthis the lion wasangrier than only he wasstrong enough to getthe betterof a everand ran on undl he cameacross another lion with its paw caughtin the trunk of a palm-tree. Panther. 'Vhathappened?'he demanded'\fho h:* done 'Vhat's happenedhere?'asked the f,rst lion this to you?' '\0ho hasdone this to you?' 'It wasMan,' sighedthe panther''There ls no- 'It wasMan,' growledthe secondlion. 'Beware onemore cunning than Man May you neverfall of him, nevertrust him!Man is evil l madeMan into his hands!' my servantand asked him whatwork he cotld The lion hadnever heard of a beastcalled Man do, for he looLedsuch a feeblecreature. He buthe wasangry that any creatureshould inflict claimedthat he couldmake an amuletthatwould suchcruel wounds merely for amusementHe giverne immortallife. "Follow me," saidMan, decidedto hunt down Man andset off in the "and l will turn this treeinto an amulet Do live foreverl" SoI directionfrom vrhichthe Pantherhad come At exacdyas I sayand you will the endofan hour'swalk the lion met a muleand went with Man to this palm-treeand he saweda a horsewho wereyoLed together, with metal slit in the trunk andwedged it open.He told me bits hurting their tendermouths. to put my paw insideand I did The nextthing I 'Ifho hasdone this to you?'askedthe lion knew, Manhad pulledout the wedge.The cleft 'It wasMan, our master,'said the hors€. closedon my paw andI couldn'tget it free Man 'Then is Man strongerthan both ofyou?' threw sandb my el esard r.rnawal laughing 'Lord Lion,' answeredthe mule,'there is no-one andnow I am trappedhere till I starveto death.' morecunning than Man, may you neverfall into Then the first lion roareda challenge:'Man! I his hands!' will huntyou down andmakeyou sufferall the Thenthe lion wasangry again and more pain thatyou haveinflicted on othercreatures !' determinedthan everto 6nd andkill this cruel He boundedon until he noticeda smdl mouse creaturecalled Man. He q.alkedon andsoon met in his path. He raisedone paw to crushitbut the anox anda cow ropedtog€ther' Their hornshad mousesqueahed out,'O Lord Lion, don't'crush beenrawn oif andmetal rings pierced rheir me! I'd hardly makeyou a mouth{ul,you tendernoses. When the lion askedwho haddone wouldn't eventaste me. Giveme the breathol sucha thinghe receivedthe sameanswer:'Itwas li(e andone day I may be ableto return the gift. Man,our ma'ter. There i\ no-onemore cunning Spareme now andI will helpyou when you are than Man, may you neverfall into his hands!' in trouble.' The Jionlaughed. 'Vhat coulda tiny mouse meetits masterand that the weakcan help the everdo to helpthe strongestof all beasts? swong, Besides,no-one has the power to harmme ' Hathor understoodthe moral ofThoth's story 'Lord Lion, the weakcan sometimes helP the andshe followed the baboonwith new respect strong,'insistedthe mouseand he sworea great but sheseemed in no hurry to getback to Egypt. orth to berhe lion s friend.Tle lionrhought \flhen they reachedthe edgeof the desertshe this very fonny but becauseit wastrue that the lingeredunder the date-palmsand the sycemore- mousewas not worth eating,he let it go. 6gsand the carobtrees, praising their fruit The Now Man hadheard the lion roaringand set baboonclimbed the trees,hoping for a glimpse trapsfor him. He dug a pit, spreada strongnet of Egypt. He tried the fiuit andfound it good, {ruit ofthe of leatherthongs across the Pit andcovered both buthe remindedthe goddessthat the with grass.That eveningthe lion camebounding treesof EgJ,?twas even better, so theywent on along,looking for Man andhe fell in the pit and together. wascaught fast in the net. Forhours he struggled \[hen they crossedthe borderthe peopleof to freehimsel{, but in vain. By midnightthe Erypt flockedto honour the returninggoddess. greatlion lay exhausted,waiting for dawn."d Ai to them asa vultureand "i-K"b.h. "pp""..d for Man to comeand kill him, Suddenlya vorce in the nexttown asa gazellebut when theywere closeto his earsqueaked, 'Lord Lion, do you closeto Thebesshe tumed hersel{back into a rememberme? I am the mousewhose life you wildcat.Before entering the city they iay down sparedand now I havecome to saveyou Whatis to rest.Hathor fell asleepa.nd Thoth watched morebeautiful than a good deedrepaid?' The little mousebegan to gnas'atthe leather Theenemie. or Rawere angrl tharrhe Eye of thongs.For hour afterhourhe worked to setthe the Sunhad retumed to Egypt. Under coverof just dawnhe bit throughthe nighra chao' creprrowrrds the lion freeand before "erpenr 'leeping lastthong. The lion leapedup andshook himself goddess,hoping to poisonher androb Ra ofhis {reeofthe net, \fith the mouseclinging to his protector.VigilantThoth sawthe serPent mane,the lion jllmped out of the pit andran poisedto strikeand wohe Hathor. The wildcat awal lromMan. back ro rhedeserL hill'. I rre ieapedoo the s".pentand broke its back.She h:d taughthim that everypower will oneday wrsgrareiul ro thebrboon lor hi' ,l rrning;nd rememberedthe story of the mousewho saved the lion, The nextmorning they enteredThebes and the cirl wemn ild wirh ioy A grertleast wrs given in the templeof Mut, a feastthatwent on for sevendays with eatrngand drinking, musicand dancingand laughter, Hathor wasso pleased that shechanged from a wildcatinto a lovely and gendewoman. Then shelet the baboonlead her north agam, At the holy ciry ofHelioPolis,Ra was reunited with his daughter and when they embracedthe whole landleaped for joy A feast washeld in the Houseofthe Sycarnoreat Memphisand all the godsand goddesses celebiatedthe return ofHathor. ThenThoth changedbacL to his usuaiform andHathor recognizedhim at last.He satdown besideher at the feastand Ra gav€thanks {or the cunningof Thoth who hadbrought home the Eye of the Sun. 33