Post by stormcat on Mar 22, 2007 9:17:08 GMT -5
This second story told by Prince Baufre and dates to the time of Snefru, the father of Khufu.- One day King Snefru was wandering around the palace in search of rest and relaxation and found none. So he sent for the chief lector priest and told him that he needed to be amused and have some relaxation. The lector priest advised him to take a boat to the palace lake and get all the most beautiful girls from the royal harem to row for him. So Snefru called for 20 oars of ebony plated with gold and 20 beautiful virgins, he clothed them in fish-nets instead of their clothes and proceeded to row up and down the lake admiring the banks and the nesting places for fowl. The stroke oar who was wearing a beautiful pendant of turquoise dropped it in the water. She stopped rowing immediately, and so did the girls behind her. When the king asked why they had stopped rowing, they replied that the stroke oar had, so they did, explaining that she had dropped her turquoise fish in the lake. The King wished her to proceed and said to her, "Row on I will replace your ornament", the girl replied she didn't want a replacement but preferred her own ornament. Th King wished to continue the boating party, sent for the lector priest, who was a magician. The King explained what had happened, the lector priest said his words over the water and parted the lake. The pendant was seen lying on a shard of pottery, it was returned to it's owner and the lake was returned to its place. The King was so delighted that he gave a feast. By-M.V. Seton-Williams