King Khufu came to the throne of Egypt around 2500 BC and was the builder of the Great Pyramid at Giza. This story tells how Khufu discovered that a new dynasty of kings would one day rule Egypt.

One day, King Khufu grew bored and challenged his sons to entertain him with stories of magic. Khaefre, the Crown Prince, at once rose to speak.

“I should like to tell Your Majesty of a wonder that happened in the reign of your forefather, King Nebka.

“Close to the temple of Ptah lived a lector-priest called Webaoner. He was a favourite of the king and respected throughout Egypt for his wisdom. Everyone admired him except his own wife. She had fallen in love with a handsome young man from Memphis, and one day she packed a sandalwood chest with clothes and fine linen and sent it to him as a gift.

“The young man came to Webaoner’s house to thank her, and it was not long before he agreed to meet her secretly in a pavilion beside a lake in the garden.

“Webaoner’s wife ordered the gardener to take food and wine to the pavilion, spread its floor with comfortable rugs and cushions, and hang scented torches and garlands of flowers from the columns. Everything was done as she had commanded. The young man joined the lector-priest’s wife in the pavilion, and they spent the day feasting, kissing, and plotting how to rid themselves of Webaoner.

“Soon, whenever her husband was away at court, she ordered the pavilion to be made ready and spent days and nights there with the young man. The gardener did not dare disobey his mistress, but when he heard drunken laughter from the pavilion or saw the young man bathing in the lake, his heart grieved for his master.

“At last, when gossip began to spread from the household to the town, he resolved to tell Webaoner the truth. The gardener asked to speak with his master alone and nervously recounted the whole affair.

“With a face of stone, Webaoner opened an ebony chest and took out some wax. He modelled a crocodile the length of his hand and gave it to the gardener.

“‘When you next see that young man bathing in the lake,’ said the lector-priest, ‘throw this crocodile after him.’

“The gardener was puzzled, but he promised to obey.

“The next day Webaoner was summoned to court. As soon as he had gone, his wife ordered the pavilion to be prepared and sent a message to her lover.

“Hidden among a clump of reeds, the gardener waited until the young man waded into the lake to bathe. Then he tossed the wax crocodile into the water. The instant it touched the lake, it sprang to life and began to grow until it measured seven cubits in length. It swam after the young man, seized him in its jaws, and dragged him beneath the water before he could scramble ashore.

“On a bed of cushions in the pavilion, Webaoner’s wife waited in vain for her lover to return.

“After seven days at court, the lector-priest said to King Nebka, ‘Sovereign, my lord, come with me to my house and I will show you a great marvel.’

“The king agreed, and soon he stood beside the lake surrounded by pages and fan-bearers. Webaoner spoke a summoning spell, and the smooth waters were broken by the most enormous crocodile that the king and his courtiers had ever seen. Dangling from its jaws was the young man. Through his magic, Webaoner had kept him alive beneath the lake.

“The lector-priest ordered the crocodile to open its jaws, and it laid the young man upon the shore at the king’s feet.

“Nebka backed away in alarm.

“‘Indeed, this is a fearful crocodile!’

“Webaoner bent down and touched the beast. Instantly it shrank back into wax and once more became small enough to fit into his hand. He presented it to the king, told him the entire story, and begged for justice.

“King Nebka ordered the young man to be thrown back into the lake and tossed the crocodile after him, saying, ‘Take what is yours!’

“Again it grew into a monster seven cubits long, seized the wretched lover, and dragged him down to his death. As for Webaoner’s wife, King Nebka ordered that she be burned alive.

“This, Your Majesty, was the wonder that occurred in the reign of your ancestor Nebka.”

Khufu was greatly amused by this story and ordered that offerings of bread and beer, oxen and incense be made to the spirits of King Nebka and the lector-priest Webaoner.

Then Prince Baufre rose to speak.

“I should like to tell Your Majesty of a wonder that happened in the reign of your father Sneferu.

“One hot day King Sneferu wandered from room to room of his palace searching for some new amusement, but nothing pleased or soothed him. At last he sent for the wise lector-priest Djadja-emankh and asked him to suggest a diversion.

“‘Let Your Majesty take a boat upon the lake in your gardens,’ said the priest, ‘and let the rowers be the most beautiful girls in your harem. Your Majesty’s heart will be refreshed by the sight of the birds and flowers and by watching the rowers.’

“Sneferu was delighted with this idea. He ordered a boat to be fitted with oars of ebony and gilded sandalwood.

“‘Fetch me twenty young girls with pretty figures and long braided hair. Remove their ordinary clothing, dress them in nets, and let them row!’

“Everything was done as the king commanded, and Sneferu was soon reclining on a couch aboard his pleasure boat while twenty charming girls, clad only in glittering nets, rowed him around the lake.

“The king admired the white lotus flowers and the clusters of papyrus along the shore. He admired the leaping fish and flights of startled birds, but most of all he admired the beautiful rowers.

“One of the girls rowing stroke oar wore a fish-shaped turquoise amulet in her braided hair. She was rowing so vigorously that she brushed back the braids that had fallen across her face. In doing so, she dislodged the amulet, which fell into the lake and sank.

“With a cry of dismay, the girl stopped rowing. The rowers on her side stopped, and soon the entire boat fell still.

“‘What is the matter?’ demanded the king. ‘Why have you stopped rowing?’

“‘I had a new turquoise amulet shaped like a fish,’ replied the girl, ‘but it has fallen into the lake and I have lost it.’

“‘Row on,’ said the king, ‘and I shall find you another.’

“‘I do not want another amulet,’ the girl replied stubbornly. ‘I want my own.’

“Sneferu persuaded the girls to return him to shore and sent for Djadja-emankh.

“‘My brother,’ sighed the king, ‘I followed your advice and my heart was gladdened by watching the girls row. But one of them has lost her turquoise amulet in the lake, and she refuses any replacement.’

“The wise lector-priest smiled and murmured a powerful spell. The waters of the lake rolled back toward either bank, leaving dry ground in the middle. There, resting upon a potsherd, lay the turquoise amulet.

“Djadja-emankh descended to the lake bed, retrieved the amulet, and returned it to its owner. Then he spoke a second spell, and the waters surged back to fill the lake once more.

“King Sneferu rewarded the lector-priest richly and spent the rest of the day feasting with the beautiful rowers.

“This, Your Majesty, was the wonder that occurred during the reign of your father Sneferu.”

Khufu was greatly amused by this story and ordered offerings to be made to the spirits of King Sneferu and the lector-priest Djadja-emankh.

Then Prince Hardjedef, the wisest of Khufu’s sons, rose and said:

“Your Majesty, my brothers have told stories of wonders from the past, but I can tell you of a living wonder, a great magician named Djedi…”