Ancient Egyptian legends

								

colours, is borne aloft, that men may see the figure of Amon-Ra
himself within.  And Queen Neferu-Ra was with his Majesty, for the
Great Royal Wife in Egypt has ever been the worshipper of Amon-Ra,
king of the gods.
There came into the temple courtiers of the King to announce the
arrival of a messenger from the prince of Bekhten.  Loaded was he
with gifts for Neferu-Ra, Queen of Egypt, daughter of the prince of
Bekhten, and he carried also a message to the King.  When he entered
the royal presence, he bowed to the earth saying, "Glory to thee, O
Sun of the nine Archer-tribes!  May we live before thee!"  Then he
bowed to the earth again and spoke the message that he had brought
from the prince of Bekhten to Rameses, King of Egypt:
"I come to thee, O living King, my Lord, on account of Bent-reshy,
the little sister of the Great Royal Wife, Neferu-Ra; for there is a
malady in all her limbs.  Send therefore a learned man that he may
see and heal her."
The King turned to his courtiers and said, "Bring hither a scribe of
the House of Life, and bring also those who speak the hidden things
of the Inner Chamber."  And the courtiers hastened and brought them
into the presence forthwith, and the King said to them, "I have
brought you hither to hear this matter.  Tell me then of a man,
learned and skilful, to send to the prince of Bekhten."
Then they took counsel among themselves as to a learned and skilful
man, and they brought the scribe Tehuti-em-heb before the King, and
the King bade him go with the messenger of the prince of Bekhten to
heal Bent-reshy, the little sister of the Great Royal Wife.
When the scribe Tehuti-em-heb came to Bekhten, he was brought into
the presence of Bent-reshy.  He was a learned and a skilful man, and
he found the princess under the dominion of a spirit, a spirit that
was hostile to him, against whom his learning and skill were of no
avail, who set his magic arts at naught.
Then the prince of Bekhten was sad, and sorrow was in his heart, but
Tehuti-em-heb the scribe counselled him to send again to Egypt and to
implore the help of Khonsu, the Expeller of Demons, to cast out the
evil spirit from Bentreshy, the little sister of the Great Royal Wife.
Now so great was the distance from Bekhten to Egypt that from the
time that Tehuti-em-heb the scribe departed out of Thebes till the
second message came to King Rameses was three years, and throughout
that time the evil spirit dwelt in Bent-reshy and would not be cast
out.
And when the second messenger arrived, King Rameses was again in
Thebes, and it was the first of the month Pakhons, the month that is
sacred to Khonsu.  He entered into the temple, and with him came his
courtiers, and the messenger of the prince of Bekhten.  In the temple
were two statues of Khonsu; very marvellous figures were these, very
sacred, very holy; the one was called Khonsu in Thebes Neferhotep,
and the other Khonsu, the Expeller of Demons.  Now Khonsu is the God