YOU CAN'T TELL stories," the jackal-headed boy said to the falcon-headed one. [Note--again, notice that I often capitalized and removed quotation marks from the beginnings of chapters.]
"I never said I cold, either," the falcon boy replied. "And I suppose you can't."
"Who can?" the baboon-headed boy asked his three brothers.
"I know who," the human boy, Imseti, said with a knowing smile which the others knew he had inherited from his mother, or perhaps his grandmother as well.
The other three perked up immediately, for they knew who he was talking about. Imseti stood and the four dashed down the abandoned, darkening hall. Their thin shadows fled before them in flickering torchlight as they raced past the addressed doors, and after their long run through the palace they reached open air. Evening was upon them. Soon the golden sunboat would appear, as well as their father who would be soaring along near it. They instantly saw who they'd wanted to meet--a large gray wolf, wearing an ostrich feather like that of their mother's sister, Maat, was stretched out upon a tall stone slab, his eyes closed in sleep. It was to him that Imseti went, lightly shaking his shoulder.
The wolf lazily opened an eye and stared up at the boy for several moments, then slowly stood, stretched his long legs one by one, and yawned, all with an exaggerated casualness. He sat down on his haunches when done and blinked at them. "What do you want?"
"You can tell stories, can't you?" Imseti asked.
"Of course I can," the wolf said with a touch of annoyance in his voice. "I can tell you stories of brightest Aalu and darkest Duat. I can tell you stories of mortals and gods, animals and monsters; of the greatest king to the lowest ant; of magic flutes and flying gazelles, mysterious enchantments and great hunts, of giant cobras and golden hawks. You would want me to tell you such a story?"
"Yes!" the four boys clamored all at once.
The wolf lay down again and asked, "What do you want to hear about? No wait--I suppose you've heard the one about Ra's secret name?"
"No, we haven't!" the baboon boy said. "We've heard about his name but we've never heard the story."
"Well, there was your grandmother, Isis--"
"Wait a minute," the falcon boy interrupted. "If Grandmother Isis was involved, how come she never told us this story?"
"He's right," the jackal boy agreed. "She used to tell us all sorts of stories when we went to sleep. Why did she never tell us this one?"
"Because she promised she wouldn't tell," the wolf replied. "It was part of an agreement she made. Me, I have ways of finding things out--it happened that one of the sunhawks overheard everything but, of course, the name, which only four people know."
"Who are they?" the baboon boy inquired.
"Don't be silly," the jackal boy said. "Everybody knows that they're Ra and his parents, Nunu and Neith."
"But who's the fourth person?" the falcon boy asked, puzzled.
"Now that's simple!" the wolf said. "It's your grandmother, Isis!"
"Isis!" the three exclaimed. Imseti said to the wolf, "But, Khenti, why didn't she want anybody to know that she knew?"
"Oh, everybody knows she does," Khenti Amenti answered. "But they don't know the whole story." He gave a mischievous smile. "It would make a good blackmail story, if you know what I mean."
"Tell it to us!" the jackal boy said. "Please tell it to us!"
"Sit down and make yourselves comfortable," Khenti Amenti said. He called to the guard stationed nearby, "Sobek, you should go over there. I have the feeling I'll be here for a while. Don't worry, nobody unwanted will get through."
The crocodile-headed guard nodded and moved back to the palace entrance.
"Now if you're ready, I'll start the story." The children nodded. Not too far away a long-billed ibis landed on a statue and preened its wings. "It started a long time ago, not too long but before you four were old enough to remember, in this very palace..."
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