A strange Talk
Early one morning, Thutmose decided to take a bus to the city and take a walk to sort his thoughts. Maybe he'd stop at the temple of Amon and pray to the statue.
He was'nt [sic] the only one who was going to take a bus ride. Thoth, the god of wisdom and supposedly Amon's son, noticed Thutmose and, disguising himself as an old man, boarded the bus. [Note--*sighs at the stupidity of this*]
Thutmose got on later and, seeing the old man gazing out the window, sat down next to him and tried to start a conversation.
"Where're you going?"
"To Phantom Lake." [Note--it looks like this originally said, "To the Lake of Death." This is further bolstered by margin notes which I'll take note of at the end of this story.]
"Really? How'd it get such a name?"
"A long time ago," Thoth started, "a chariot pulled out onto the lake. The driver did'nt [sic] know it was a lake because it was frozen over. The chariot disappeared in the fog. People living around it knew the nature of the lake. It's [sic] waters were black, cold, and deep, no matter what weather. People who went out to the lake in the fog were never heard from again." [Note--freezing lakes in Egypt. Yep.]
"Tell me more."
"Once in a while--every full moon in winter when there's a fog on the lake, you may be able to see a chariot with two white horses pulling it. The driver is a skeleton." He pointed out the window. "There it is--Phantom Lake."
Thutmose looked. It was iced over and enshrouded in fog. He could just imagine a chariot driven by a skeleton skimming across the ice. "Are'nt [sic] you getting off?"
"Not at this part of the lake."
"About the chariot?"
"The driver can be overtaken by anyone brave enough to duel with him on the lake. The survivor wins the chariot with the white horses. The phantom horses are the fastest stallions in the world, able to overcome any obstacle."
There was a long pause. Then Thutmose asked, "Do you think I could win the horses?"
"It depends how brave you are." The old man turned towards the window again.
Thutmose saw the moon from the window. It was almost full. Then he noticed something in the man's cloak pocket. Curious, he pulled it out.
It was a green faience statue of Thoth.
Thutmose's attention turned to the old man. He remembered reading a story about how gods and goddesses usually came to earth in the form of old men or young women. "Show your real form, old man."
Thoth turned to Thutmose. He was smiling. "Ah, you learn well, young one. You can already recognize a god when you see him."
Thutmose bowed.
"No need for that, son. I am Thoth, the god of wisdom, and you will win that chariot."
"I will?"
"Surely. Now, I must go, for the moon is low and the sun is rising in the sky. It gets light. Farewell."
Thutmose watched the old man get off and walk away into the distance.
[Untitled]
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