The children of Reddedet were said to have become the first three kings of Egypt’s Fifth Dynasty, and the country prospered under their rule. During the Sixth Dynasty, however, Egypt gradually began to decline.

Many explanations have been suggested for the fall of the Old Kingdom. The climate appears to have become increasingly dry, and repeated years of low Nile floods caused famine. As hunger spread, the people’s faith in the divine power of their kings began to weaken.

The rulers of the Old Kingdom had also granted large areas of royal land to officials as rewards for their service. In time, many offices became hereditary, passing from father to son. This made the government less efficient and allowed powerful officials to become increasingly independent of the king.

This was particularly dangerous in the provinces, or nomes, where governors accumulated wealth and influence. Some began to rule their territories like petty kings. Fighting broke out among them, and during the troubled First Intermediate Period, Egypt became divided and weak.

The story of the Eloquent Peasant is set during this unsettled age, when corruption could flourish among officials but the ancient ideal of impartial justice was still remembered.

During the reign of King Nebkaure, a peasant named Khunanup lived with his wife and children near an oasis in the Western Desert. He worked hard throughout the year, collecting goods to trade in Egyptian towns, yet his family remained poor.

One day Khunanup said to his wife, “I am going into Egypt to barter for food for our children. Bring me what remains of our grain.”

When she returned from the storeroom, Khunanup divided the grain into two unequal portions.

“Keep these twenty measures to feed yourself and the children while I am away,” he said. “Use the remaining six measures to bake bread for my journey.”

The peasant loaded his two donkeys with bundles of rushes, sacks of salt and natron, jackal skins, ostrich feathers, and other desert products. When the bread and beer were ready, he embraced his family and set out toward Heracleopolis.

Several days later, while traveling through the district of Perfeft, Khunanup and his laden donkeys were noticed by an official named Nemtynakht.

Nemtynakht was greedy, dishonest, and cruel. As soon as he saw the valuable goods carried by the peasant’s animals, he decided to steal them.

The official’s house stood beside a narrow path. A field of ripening grain bordered one side, while the Nile flowed along the other. Nemtynakht ordered a servant to bring him a large sheet. He spread it across the path, leaving its fringe among the grain and its other edge hanging over the riverbank.

When Khunanup approached, Nemtynakht called out, “Take care, peasant! Do not allow your filthy donkeys to tread upon the sheet I am drying.”

“As you command,” Khunanup replied cheerfully.

To avoid the sheet, he guided his animals toward the edge of the field.

“You wretched peasant!” Nemtynakht shouted. “Now your animals are trampling my grain!”

“I cannot help entering the field when your sheet blocks the path,” Khunanup answered reasonably.

At that moment, one of the donkeys stretched out its neck and ate a mouthful of barley.

“Thieving beast!” cried Nemtynakht. “I shall take this donkey as payment for the grain it has stolen.”

“My donkey is worth far more than a mouthful of barley,” Khunanup protested. “I know this estate belongs to the high steward Rensi. He is an enemy of thieves and will not allow me to be robbed upon his own land.”

Nemtynakht became furious.

“You must deal with me, not the high steward!”

He struck Khunanup repeatedly with his staff and seized both donkeys with all the goods they carried.

The battered peasant sat beside the path and wept.

“Stop that wailing,” Nemtynakht snapped, “or I shall send you to the Lord of Silence.”

“You have robbed me and beaten me, and now you forbid me to complain,” replied Khunanup. “But you cannot prevent me from calling upon the gods for justice.”

For ten days Khunanup remained near Nemtynakht’s house, pleading for the return of his animals and merchandise. The official ignored him.

When the peasant finally understood that Nemtynakht would never listen, he traveled to Heracleopolis to seek justice from the high steward Rensi.

Khunanup found Rensi standing beside the river with several other judges, waiting for a barge to carry them to the courthouse.

The high steward was known for hearing the pleas of those who sought justice. He ordered one of his scribes to remain behind and record the details of Khunanup’s complaint.

As the judges boarded the barge, some of them spoke dismissively.

“Surely there is no need to punish an official over a few skins and a little salt. The peasant may belong to Nemtynakht and have been caught trying to sell his master’s property.”

Rensi said nothing, but their words angered him. He already knew that Nemtynakht was dishonest, and it saddened him that a poor peasant could so easily be denied a fair hearing.

The following day, the high steward read the scribe’s account and summoned Khunanup before the court.

Convinced that Rensi was a just man, the peasant knelt and began to speak.

“O high steward, greatest of the great, when you sail upon the Sea of Justice, may the wind fill your sails. May no storm tear them, and may your mast never break.

“Truth shall guide you safely into harbor, for you are a father to the orphan, a husband to the widow, and a brother to the helpless. You are free from greed, an enemy of falsehood, and a friend of truth.

“You are a lord who hears the cries of the oppressed. Listen to my plea, heal my suffering, and grant me justice.”

Rensi was astonished.

He was accustomed to peasants who spoke nervously, stumbled over their words, or could scarcely explain their complaints. Khunanup, however, spoke with the skill of a trained courtier.

The high steward promised to hear the case fully on the following day. Then he hurried to the royal palace and bowed before King Nebkaure.

“Sovereign, my lord,” he said excitedly, “I have discovered a peasant who can neither read nor write, yet he speaks with extraordinary eloquence. One of my officials has robbed him of his donkeys and trade goods, and he has come before me seeking justice.”

The king was intrigued by Rensi’s description.

“Keep this peasant here for a time,” Nebkaure commanded. “Remain silent when he pleads, and have every word he speaks written down. See that he receives enough food to live, and secretly provide for his wife and children. Peasants travel into Egypt to trade only when their own stores are almost empty. His family must not suffer while he remains here.”

Everything was done as the king commanded.

Rensi arranged for the townspeople to provide food for Khunanup. Messengers were also sent to the oasis with grain and supplies for his family, though the peasant was not told of the king’s generosity.

When Khunanup returned to court, Rensi frowned and addressed him coldly. The peasant was disappointed, but he did not lose courage.

“Great lord, justice is the rudder of heaven, and you are the rudder of Egypt. You are the equal of Thoth, who keeps the scales balanced and judges without favour.

“If you support the thief, who remains to punish wickedness? A desperate man may steal through hunger, but you are wealthy, powerful, and secure. Therefore, my lord, be generous and be just.”

Rensi listened with secret delight while a scribe concealed behind a curtain recorded every word.

When Khunanup finished, the high steward rose and left without answering.

The peasant departed in despair.

The following morning he returned and delivered an even fiercer speech, condemning judges who accepted bribes, protected criminals, or ignored the cries of the poor.

Again Rensi remained silent.

This time, the courthouse guards beat Khunanup for his boldness while Nemtynakht watched and laughed.

Still the peasant refused to abandon his cause.

For five more days he returned to court and pleaded for justice, but Rensi gave him no answer.

On the ninth day, Khunanup had nearly lost hope. He believed the grain left for his family must now be gone. Without his trade goods and donkeys, they could starve.

He entered the court knowing that if justice was denied once more, he would have no choice but to return home.

For the final time, Khunanup knelt before the high steward.

“Great one, act justly for the sake of the Lord of Justice, and turn away from evil.

“When a righteous man dies, his name is remembered upon the earth, and his spirit is blessed in the Realm of the Dead. Such is the eternal law of the gods.

“Speak justice. Perform justice. Justice is mighty, and it endures forever.”

The peasant raised his eyes toward Rensi.

The high steward remained silent and gave him no sign.

“A man who once possessed sight has become blind,” Khunanup said sadly. “A man who once could hear has become deaf. For nine days I have pleaded before you in vain. Now I shall complain of you before the gods.”

He rose and walked from the court.

Rensi immediately ordered two guards to bring him back.

Khunanup was certain that his bold words had condemned him to punishment.

“When death comes,” he said steadily, “it shall be like a cup of water offered to a thirsty man.”

For the first time, Rensi smiled.

“Good peasant, do not be afraid. Stand before me and listen to your own pleas for justice.”

Khunanup stared at him in amazement.

A scribe stepped forward carrying a long papyrus scroll and read aloud all nine of the peasant’s speeches.

“Come with me to the palace,” said Rensi.

Soon Khunanup found himself prostrate before the throne of King Nebkaure.

The king had read the speeches and was delighted that an uneducated peasant had spoken with such wisdom, courage, and eloquence.

Nebkaure smiled upon Khunanup and ordered the high steward to judge his complaint.

Nemtynakht was dragged, trembling, into the throne room. After being questioned and punished, he confessed his crimes.

Rensi ordered that the corrupt official’s property and possessions be taken from him and given to Khunanup as compensation for all he had suffered.

The eloquent peasant returned to his family as a wealthy man.

His persistence had defeated corruption, his words had reached the throne, and justice once again ruled in Egypt.