Egyptian Tales

Fate can't be escaped

There once was a king of Egypt who had no sons. The king asked the gods of his time for a son and they agreed to give him what he asked for.

Nine months later his wife bore him a boy, but the seven Hathor goddesses decided the boy's fate and announced that he is destined to be killed by a crocodile, or a dog. The king's heart grew sad and he built his son a house of stone at the edge of the desert, supplied with servants and comforts brought from the place, the boy grew up there.

When the boy first saw a dog following a man from the roof of his house, the boy asked what that was, his servant replied "that is a dog", "let me have one," said the boy. The incident was reported to the king who agreed that the boy be given a little puppy.

As the young prince started growing, he also started feeling restless and sent his father a message saying," why should I stay here doing nothing? If my destiny has been determined, then allow me to do what I wish till I meet my written fate". The king gave his son a chariot equipped with all sorts of weapons and assigned a servant to accompany him in his journey. The dog also was with him. He went through the desert and finally reached the kingdom of the Chief of Naharin, who had one daughter whom he placed in a high castle seventy cubits from the ground. The Chief then sent for all the sons of the chiefs of Kharu saying that "he who jumps up to the window of my daughter shall have her as his wife". The young prince saw the sons of the chiefs trying to reach the window each day, day after day. Those young men hosted the prince in their home, feed him his servants and horses, rubbed him with oil and bandaged his feet. They asked him' " you handsome youth where do you come from?" I am the son of chariot officer from Egypt . My mother died and my stepmother hates me so I fled from her." They welcomed him and kissed him and they told him about their jumping custom and he said he wished his feet were well so he could join them. As he stood there watching them, the daughter of Chief of Naharin gazed at him, and when his feet got better he too joined the sons of the chiefs, he jumped and he reached of the Chief's daughter, she embraced him. Her father objected to the marriage "I will not give my daughter to a fugitive from Egypt , send him home" he said. The young princess clung to him and swore," As Re lives, if they take him from me, I will not eat, I will not drink, and I will die within the hour." Her father then decided to kill the prince, again the princess swore," As Re lives, if they kill him I will die before sunset. I will not live an hour more than he." When her father saw the boy he was impressed by him and he even kissed him. The Chief agreed to the marriage and gave him a house and fields and herds and everything they needed. When they lived with each other for some time, the prince told his wife about his fate. She then told him to kill the dog that follows him everywhere. The prince refused that as he had the dog since it was a puppy. His young wife then started to look closely over him not allowing her husband to go out alone.

What the prince did not know was that his fate in the form of a crocodile was following him ever since he arrived in Naharin. In the town were where he lived with his wife there was a lack. In this lack there was a giant who would not let the crocodile out and crocodile did not allow him out either and they where fighting daily.

The prince who spent many pleasant days in his house with his wife went to sleep on evening, while his wife stayed up; she filled a vessel with wine and another with beer, and sat by her husband. Suddenly a snake came out of its whole intending to bit her sleeping husband, but the vessels tempted it and the snake drank from them, got drunk and rolled over on its back to sleep. The wife chopped the snake and woke her husband and told him Re has protected you and placed one of your fates in your hands. The prince then made his offerings to Re in gratitude. One day, the prince went for a walk with his dog while his wife stayed at home. Suddenly the dog turned to him and the prince started running away to jump inside the lake and there he found the crocodile waiting for him. The crocodile told him "I am pursuing you, for I am your fate, for three months I have been fighting the gait and I would let you go if you take my side and kill the giant. The prince agreed and he waited for the right moment and cut the giant's heart with his scimitar. Yet at that moment, the dog sneaked up behind the prince and attacked him tearing him into pieces and spread his bits all about. His poor wife found him after seven days and seven nights. She then collected all the pieces of her beloved husband and put them back together except for the heart. That she placed on a lotus flower which was blooming on the water. She never got to see her beloved prince and husband again but her only salvation was knowing that his heart will live and blossom with every louts flower as long as life itself goes on. She held a lotus flower in her hands looked at it with eyes full of tears and whispered to the flower, "fate can not be escaped."