The Shipwrecked Sailor

A single manuscript discovered in 1890, written in Hieratic, is presumed to copied and written in 1700 BC.

The good Lieutenant said,  “Cheer up Captain, we’ve reached home. The mallet has driven in the mooring post, and the rope is thrown ashore. Prayers have been made, God has been thanked, every man embraces his fellow. All are safely home, with no losses. We went up the Nile to the limits, past Senmet island to the whitewater. And now, we have returned safely to our own land. 

"Here’s what you need to do now, Captain, I don’t exaggerate. Wash up, clean your hands, get ready to answer questions, pull yourself together for the king. You should answer without delay, what you say can save you, what you say can forgive you. But do as you wish! I’m tired of this subject.

"Let me tell you of something similar, which happened to me. I had set out for the King’s mines in Sinai, embarking on the Red Sea in a ship 200 feet long and 60 feet wide, with 120 of Egypt’s best sailors aboard. Whether they were on water or on land, their hearts were braver than lions. They could forecast when bad weather was near, and storms before they broke.

"We were on the Red Sea when a gale came on before we could reach land. The wind was strong and howling, with waves fourteen feet high. The mast snapped, then the boat sunk. I was the only one who survived. Then a wave carried me away, and I washed up on an island. I spent three days recovering, all alone with just my heart. I rested under the shelter of trees, in the shade. Then I began to walk around, looking for food. I found figs and grapes, and all sorts of vegetables. Sycamore figs were there, both barren and fruiting, Also melons as if on a farm. Fish and also birds. It lacked nothing. Then I ate until I was full, and stored away the rest.

"I carved a fire drill, and started a fire, and then sacrificed and roasted an offering for the gods. Suddenly I heard a thundering noise, and feared another huge wave. The trees were quivering and the ground was shaking. I gathered my courage, and saw an approaching serpent. He was 50 feet long, with a 3 foot beard. His body was covered in gold, his eyebrows real lapis lazuli, and the front of him was a man. He spoke to me, after I bowed down before him.

"He said, 'Who sent you, who sent you boy? Who sent you? If you don’t tell me who sent you to this island, I will incinerate you, and cast you into the darkness.'

"He said this to me, but I didn’t understand. I understood nothing, then I fainted. He picked me up in his mouth and brought me to his home. He set me down gently, unhurt. Then he spoke to me again, while I knelt before him.

"He said, 'Who sent you? Who sent you boy? Who sent you to this land of the sea,  surrounded by water?'

"I answered him while kneeling, I said I was going to the mines, on a mission for the king. In a boat 200 feet long, 60 feet wide, with 120 of Egypts best sailors. Whether they were on land or sea they were braver then lions. They could forecast bad weather, and saw a storm before it broke. Every one of them was braver than the next. Every man stronger than the next one, with no fools among them.

"A gale came up while we were out at sea, before we could reach land. The wind was fierce and howling, with waves of fourteen feet. The mast broke,  the boat sunk. Nobody survived, except the one who speaks to you. It was a wave of the sea that sent me to this island.

"He said, 'Fear not, fear not boy. Don’t go white, you’ve reached me! God has allowed you to live, and brought you to this island of the soul, which lacks nothing, and is full of everything. You will spend day after day here, for a term of four months. Then a ship will arrive from home, with sailors you know, and they will take you home, to be able to die in your own land.

" 'What pleasure it is recalling the calamity, after it has passed. A similar thing happened to me, on this island. My family used to live here, Including the children we were 75 serpents, not to mention an adopted daughter, who I had been given through the grace of god. Then a star fell, and they all went up in flames. It happened while I was away, and they were all burnt. I almost died myself, when I found them in a single heap of corpses. But I pulled myself together, because a man who masters his heart will soon be raising more children. To kiss your wife, and have a house, this is the best thing. I’m sure you will return home safely, to live among your family.”

"I was kneeling all the way down, touching the ground. I said, 'I will tell the king of your power. He will know of your greatness. I shall have them send you spices, malabanthum oil and balsam, and the temple incense which all the gods appreciate. I will tell them this story, what I have witnessed of your power. They will praise you in our capitol before all our officials. I will slaughter oxen for you as a burnt offering. I will twist the necks of birds for you. I will send you barges laden with all the wealth of Egypt, as is proper for a god in a distant land who befriends mankind.'

"Then he laughed at my words, which to him were silly. He said, 'You are poor in myrrh, and other spices. I am the lord of Punt, and myrrh is mine. That oil you offered to bring is this islands main product. Once you leave this place, you will never see this island again, it will soon wash away.'

"Then a boat arrived, as he had predicted. I climbed to the top of a tall tree, to see who was arriving. I ran to tell him, but he already knew it. 

"He said to me, 'To your health, to your health boy, get home and start having children. Give me a good name in your city, that is my only request.'

"I bowed down again, all the the way, flat on the ground. He gave me a load of myrrh, malabanthrum oil, cinnamon, eye paint, giraffe tails, cakes of incense, elephant tusks, hunting dogs, monkeys, baboons, and all sorts of precious things. I loaded them onto the boat, and I again bowed down on my belly thanking him. 

"He said, 'It will be a two month journey back home, then you will grow young again, then they will bury you.' 

"I went to the shore, and hailed the crew of this boat, I praised the lord of this island, and the crew on the boat did the same.  We sailed north to the capitol, and it took two months, just as he said. I stood before the King, and presented him with the gifts from this island. He thanked God for what I had done, publicly. I was appointed a nobleman and given 200 servants. I have come ashore, after many experiences. Listen to my words. It is good to listen.”

Then the Captain said to me, “Don’t go overboard my friend. What’s the use of giving the rooster a drink of water when he’ll be slaughtered tomorrow?”

So it ends, from start to finish, as found in writing, by the nimble scribe Ameny al Amenah.