The Doomed Prince

There once was a king to whom no son was born; and his heart was grieved,
and he prayed for himself unto the gods around him for a child. They
decreed that one should be born to him. And his wife, after her time was
fulfilled, brought forth a son. Then came the Hathors to decree for him a
destiny; they said, “His death is to be by the crocodile, or by the
serpent, or by the dog.” Then the people who stood by heard this, and they
went to tell it to his Majesty. Then his Majesty’s heart sickened very
greatly. And his Majesty caused a house to be built upon the desert; it
was furnished with people and with all good things of the royal house,
that the child should not go abroad. And when the child was grown, he went
up upon the roof, and he saw a dog; it was following a man who was walking
on the road. He spoke to his page, who was with him, “What is this that
walks behind the man who is coming along the road?” He answered him, “This
is a dog.” The child said to him, “Let there be brought to me one like
it.” The page went to repeat it to his Majesty. And his Majesty said, “Let
there be brought to him a little pet dog, lest his heart be sad.” And
behold they brought to him the dog.

Then when the days increased after this, and when the child became grown
in all his limbs, he sent a message to his father saying, “Come, wherefore
am I kept here? Inasmuch as I am fated to three evil fates, let me follow
my desire. Let God do what is in his heart.” They agreed to all he said,
and gave him all sorts of arms, and also his dog to follow him, and they
took him to the east country, and said to him, “Behold, go thou whither
thou wilt.” His dog was with him, and he went northward, following his
heart in the desert, while he lived on all the best of the game of the
desert. He went to the chief of Naharaina.

And behold there had not been any born to the chief of Naharaina, except
one daughter. Behold, there had been built for her a house; its seventy
windows were seventy cubits from the ground. And the chief caused to be
brought all the sons of the chiefs of the land of Khalu, and said to them,
“He who reaches the window of my daughter, she shall be to him for a
wife.”

And many days after these things, as they were in their daily task, the
youth rode by the place where they were. They took the youth to their
house, they bathed him, they gave provender to his horses, they brought
all kinds of things for the youth, they perfumed him, they anointed his
feet, they gave him portions of their own food; and they spake to him,
“Whence comest thou, goodly youth?” He said to them, “I am son of an
officer of the land of Egypt; my mother is dead, and my father has taken
another wife. And when she bore children, she grew to hate me, and I have
come as a fugitive from before her.” And they embraced him, and kissed
him.

And after many days were passed, he said to the youths, “What is it that
ye do here?” And they said to him: “We spend our time in this: we climb
up, and he who shall reach the window of the daughter of the chief of
Naharaina, to him will be given her to wife.” He said to them, “If it
please you, let me behold the matter, that I may come to climb with you.”
They went to climb, as was their daily wont: and the youth stood afar off
to behold; and the face of the daughter of the chief of Naharaina was
turned to them. And another day the sons came to climb, and the youth came
to climb with the sons of the chiefs. He climbed, and he reached the
window of the daughter of the chief of Naharaina. She kissed him, she
embraced him in all his limbs.

And one went to rejoice the heart of her father, and said to him, “One of
the people has reached the window of thy daughter.” And the prince
inquired of the messenger, saying, “The son of which of the princes is
it?” And he replied to him, “It is the son of an officer, who has come as
a fugitive from the land of Egypt, fleeing from before his stepmother when
she had children.” Then the chief of Naharaina was exceeding angry; and he
said: “Shall I indeed give my daughter to the Egyptian fugitive? Let him
go back whence he came.” And one came to tell the youth, “Go back to the
place thou camest from.” But the maiden seized his hand; she swore an oath
by God, saying, “By the being of Ra Harakhti, if one takes him from me, I
will not eat, I will not drink, I shall die in that same hour.” The
messenger went to tell unto her father all that she said. Then the prince
sent men to slay the youth, while he was in his house. But the maiden
said: “By the being of Ra, if one slay him I shall be dead ere the sun
goeth down. I will not pass an hour of life if I am parted from him.” And
one went to tell her father. Then the prince made them bring the youth
with the maiden. The youth was seized with fear when he came before the
prince. But he embraced him, he kissed him all over, and said: “Oh, tell
me who thou art; behold, thou art to me as a son.” He said to him: “I am a
son of an officer of the land of Egypt; my mother died, my father took to
him a second wife; she came to hate me, and I fled a fugitive from before
her.” He then gave to him his daughter to wife; he gave also to him a
house, and serfs, and fields, also cattle and all manner of good things.

But after the days of these things were passed, the youth said to his
wife, “I am doomed to three fates—a crocodile, a serpent, and a dog.” She
said to him, “Let one kill the dog which belongs to thee.” He replied to
her, “I am not going to kill my dog, which I have brought up from when it
was small.” And she feared greatly for her husband, and would not let him
go alone abroad.

And one went with the youth toward the land of Egypt, to travel in that
country. Behold the crocodile of the river, he came out by the town in
which the youth was. And in that town was a mighty man. And the mighty man
would not suffer the crocodile to escape. And when the crocodile was
bound, the mighty man went out and walked abroad. And when the sun rose
the mighty man went back to the house; and he did so every day, during two
months of days.

Now when the days passed after this, the youth sat making a good day in
his house. And when the evening came he lay down on his bed, sleep seized
upon his limbs; and his wife filled a bowl of milk, and placed it by his
side. Then came out a serpent from his hole, to bite the youth; behold his
wife was sitting by him, she lay not down. Thereupon the servants gave
milk to the serpent, and he drank, and was drunk, and lay upside down.
Then his wife made it to perish with the blows of her dagger. And they
woke her husband, who was astonished; and she said unto him: “Behold thy
God has given one of thy dooms into thy hand; he will also give thee the
others.” And he sacrificed to God, adoring him, and praising his spirits
from day to day.

And when the days were passed after these things, the youth went to walk
in the fields of his domain. He went not alone, behold his dog was
following him. And his dog ran aside after the wild game, and he followed
the dog. He came to the river, and entered the river behind his dog. Then
came out the crocodile, and took him to the place where the mighty man
was. And the crocodile said to the youth, “I am thy doom, following after
thee....”

(_Here the papyrus breaks off._)