Once upon a time in Egypt there was a pharaoh named Nila. She was a very young pharaoh, but she had a lot of gold which her father, Kephren, had left to her.
One day she decided to take a walk. Since it was a lovely day she took a long walk and she ventured over to the Sphinx. Just then she looked up to admire it when to her horror, its nose, part of its back leg, and part of its shoulder was missing! She couldn't believe it. It would take months to repair it! She stormed back home to the palace.
"Heniote!", she yelled. "The Sphinx is being vandalized. What are we going to do?"
"Ummm, I could try to repair it.", said Heniote.
"No! It would just be ruined again!", said Nila.
"But, but...
"No, buts!" Nila screamed. "We have to do something and we have to do it NOW."
That sent Heniote flying to the royal workers.
"Get up you lazy bums! We have to repair the Sphinx", said Heniote.
"But the Sphinx doesn't need repairing", replied the workers.
"Shut up", screamed Heniote. "We are all going to to the Sphinx and pretend to repair it. Do you understand?"
"Y-y-y-yes your excellency", said the workers identical in fear.
That very day Nila had a meeting with her wiseman.
"Hmm, this seems very peculiar.", said the wiseman. "Why don't you go get some sleep and we'll think about it some more in the morning?"
So Nila went to bed.
That night Nila had a dream. She dreamt she was standing in front of a worn and tattered Sphinx. To her horror it groaned and said to her, "Someone you know very well is trying to destroy me. Tomorrow night come with your wiseman to me. Then you will find my destroyer!"
Nila woke up.
"Oh, my gods, this is awful", she said still half asleep.
The very next day Nila told her wiseman about her dream.
Her wiseman, Sallan, said, "As my mother always says, always follow your dreams."
They both had a good laugh to empty their hearts of all sadness.
That night Nila and Sallan tiptoed past the sleeping guards and made their way toward the Sphinx. When they got there the sight they saw took both of them by surprise. There in the moonlight stood Heniote and a band of mean looking men.
"Oh no!", whispered Nila. We must go get our guards."
The both ran nimbly to the guards and told them what had happened and then quietly marched them over. Nila was the one to break the silence.
"Heniote, your under arrest for vandalizing the Sphinx!"
Heniote spun around wide-eyed and speechless.
"Guards!", said Nila.
As the guards dragged the vandals away Nila and Sallan looked at each other and smiled.
THE END
- by Emily