I knew well enough that all slaves and convicts protest their innocence, but he was kind to me. Therefore I wished to be kind to him, and I was so lonely, I dreaded that he might go and leave me again alone with my heart. So I said, “Tell me of the injustice that was done to you, that I may grieve together with you.”
He said, “Worries were beaten from me with sticks already during the first year in the copper mine. Hate was more persistent, and it took five years when even the hate was beaten from me, and my heart became bald of all human feelings. But why not tell you everything to amuse you, while I rub your scabs and my fingers hurt your back. Know then, that I was once a free man with land to till; a hut, a wife, oxen and beer in my jar. But I had also a neighbour, an influential man named Anukis, may his body rot. No eye could measure his land, and his cattle were as countless as grains of desert sand, and their bellowing was as the ocean’s roar, but yet he coveted also my little plot of ground. He caused me all manner of vexation, and after every flood time, when the ground was measured afresh, the boundary stone was moved nearer to my hut, and I lost land. There was nothing I could do for the surveyors listened to him and not to me, because he gave them handsome presents. He also blocked my irrigation ditches and prevented water from coming to my fields, so that my oxen were thirsty and my wheat dried up and beer ran dry from my jar. But he had no ear for my complaints, not in winter when he lived in a large mansion in Thebes, nor in summertime when he came to refresh his mind at his estate; and his servants beat me with sticks and let the dogs attack me if I dared approach him.”
The noseless one sighed and rubbed more oil into my back. Then he continued, “Nevertheless, I might still be living in my hut had the gods not cursed me with a beautiful daughter. I had five sons and three daughters, for the poor breed rapidly. When they were full grown, they were a help and a joy to me, though one of the boys was stolen by a Syrian merchant when he was small. But my youngest daughter was very fair, and in my madness I was proud of her and did not make her do heavy work or carry water or tan her skin by toiling in the fields. It
141
would have been wiser to cut off her hair and rub her face with soot, for my neighbour Anukis saw her and desired her, and I did not see a peaceful day again. He sued me and swore my oxen had treaded on his fields and my sons had maliciously blocked his irrigation ditches and thrown corpses in his wells. He also swore that during bad years I had borrowed wheat from him, and all this his servants swore to be true, and the judge did not listen to me. But he would have let me keep my field, if I had given him my daughter. But this I would not agree to, for I hoped that with her beauty she would get a decent man for a husband who would care for me in my old age and show me kindness. At last his servants set upon me. I had nothing but my staff, but with that I smote one of them over the head so that he died. Then they cut off my nose and ears and sent me to the mines. My wife and children were sold as slaves, but the youngest one Anukis kept for himself, and when he had enjoyed her, he gave her to his servants. Therefore, I think it was unjust to send me to the mines. When after ten years the King freed me, I hastened home, but my cabin was torn down, alien cattle grazed in my meadows, and my daughter would have nothing to do with me but threw hot water over my feet in the cowmen’s shack. I heard that Anukis was dead and that his tomb lies in the City of the Dead near Thebes and it has a long inscription on the door. So I came to Thebes to rejoice my heart with what is written there. But I cannot read, and no one has read it out to me though I found my way to the tomb by inquiry.”
“If you wish it, I will read the inscription for you,” I said, “because I can read.”
“May your body be preserved forever,” he said, “if you will do me this service. For I am a poor man and believe everything that is written. Therefore I want to know what is written of Anukis before I die.”
He anointed my body with oil and washed my loincloth in the water. We went together to the City of the Dead, unchallenged by the guards, and wandered between the rows of tombs until we reached a large one before which meat had been set forth and many sorts of cakes, fruit and flowers. A sealed wine jar stood there also. The noseless one ate of the offerings, giving some to me, and then bade me read what was written upon the door. I read to him:
142
Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360 361 362 363 364 365 366 367 368 369 370 371 372 373 374 375 376 377 378 379 380 381 382 383 384