to the serpent, but I
found that it had knowledge thereof already. And the serpent said unto
me, "A safe [journey], a safe [journey], O little one, to thy house.
Thou shalt see thy children [again]. I beseech thee that my name may be
held in fair repute in thy city, for verily this is the thing which I
desire of thee." Then I threw myself flat upon my stomach, and my two
hands were folded humbly before the serpent. And the serpent gave me a
[ship-] load of things, namely, myrrh, _heken, inteneb, khasait,
thsheps_ and _shaas_ spices, eye-paint (antimony), skins of panthers,
great balls of incense, tusks of elephants, greyhounds, apes, monkeys,
and beautiful and costly products of all sorts and kinds. And when I had
loaded these things into the ship, and had thrown myself flat upon my
stomach in order to give thanks unto it for the same, it spake unto me,
saying, "Verily thou shalt travel to [thy] country in two months, and
thou shalt fill both thy arms with thy children, and thou shalt renew
thy youth in thy coffin." Then I went down to the place on the sea-shore
where the ship was, and I hailed the bowmen who were in the ship, and I
spake words of thanksgiving to the lord of this island, and those who
were in the ship did the same. Then we set sail, and we journeyed on and
returned to the country of the King, and we arrived there at the end of
two months, according to all that the serpent had said. And I entered
into the presence of the King, and I took with me for him the offerings
which I had brought out of the island. And the King praised me and
thanked me in the presence of the nobles of all his country, and he
appointed me to be one of his bodyguard, and I received my wages along
with those who were his [regular] servants.

Cast thou thy glance then upon me [O Prince], now that I have set my
feet on my native land once more, having seen and experienced what I
have seen and experienced. Hearken thou unto me, for verily it is a
good thing to hearken unto men. And the Prince said unto me, "Make not
thyself out to be perfect, my friend! Doth a man give water to a fowl at
daybreak which he is going to kill during the day?"

Here endeth [The Story of the Shipwrecked Traveller], which hath been
written from the beginning to the end thereof according to the text that
hath been found written in an [ancient] book. It hath been written
(_i.e._ copied) by Ameni-Amen-aa, a scribe with skilful fingers. Life,
strength, and heal