And when the morning had come, he caused [the inhabitants of the town] to be assembled on the quay, and having stood up in their midst, he said to the Tchakaru, “For what purpose have ye come hither?” And they said unto him, “We have come hither seeking for the ships which have been broken and dashed to pieces, that is to say, the ships which thou didst despatch to Egypt, with our unfortunate fellow-sailors in them.”  And he said unto them, “I know not how to detain the ambassador of Amen in my country any longer.  I beg of you to let me send him away, and then do ye pursue him, and prevent him [from escaping].”  And he made me embark in a ship, and sent me forth from the sea-coast, and the winds drove me ashore to the land of Alasu (Cyprus?).  And the people of the city came forth to slay me, and I was dragged along in their midst to the place where their queen Hathaba lived; and I met her when she was coming forth from one house to go into another.  Then I cried out in entreaty to her, and I said unto the people who were standing about her, “Surely there must be among you someone who understandeth the language of Egypt.”  And one of them said, “I understand the speech [of Egypt].”  Then I said unto him, “Tell my Lady these words:  I have heard it said far from here, even in the city of [Thebes], the place where Amen dwelleth, that wrong is done in every city, and that only in the land of Alasu (Cyprus?) is right done.  And yet wrong is done here every day!” And she said, “What is it that thou really wishest to say?” I said unto her, “Now that the angry sea and the winds have cast me up on the land wherein thou dwellest, thou wilt surely not permit these men who have received me to slay me!  Moreover, I am an ambassador of Amen.  And consider carefully, for I am a man who will be searched for every day.  And as for the sailors of Byblos whom they wish to kill, if their lord findeth ten of thy sailors he will assuredly slay them.”  Then she caused her people to be called off me, and they were made to stand still, and she said unto me, “Lie down and sleep....” [The rest of the narrative is wanting].

CHAPTER XI

FAIRY TALES

One of the most interesting tales that have come down to us in Egyptian dress is the tale commonly called the “Tale of the Two Brothers.”  It is found written in the hieratic character upon a papyrus preserved in the British Museum (D’Orbiney, No. 10,183), and the form which the story has there is that which was current under the nineteenth dynasty, about 1300 B.C.  The two principal male characters in the story, Anpu and Bata, were originally gods, but in the hands of the Egyptian story-teller they became men, and their deeds were treated in such a way as to form an interesting fairy story.  It is beyond the scope of this little book to treat of the mythological ideas that underlie certain parts of the narrative, and we therefore proceed to give a rendering of this very curious and important “fairy tale.”