et chambers (?) of the shrine (?) of
Thoth?" Teta replied, "No. I do not know their number, O king my lord,
but I do know the place where they are to be found." His Majesty asked,
"Where is that?" Teta replied, "There is a box made of flint in a house
called Sapti in Heliopolis." The king asked, "Who will bring me this
box?" Teta replied, "Behold, O king my lord, I shall not bring the box
to thee." His Majesty asked, "Who then shall bring it to me?" Teta
answered, "The oldest of the three children of Rut-tetet shall bring it
unto thee." His Majesty said, "It is my will that thou shalt tell me who
this Rut-tetet is." Teta answered, "This Rut-tetet is the wife of a
priest of Ra of Sakhabu,[1] who is about to give birth to three children
of Ra. He told her that these children should attain to the highest
dignities in the whole country, and that the oldest of them should
become high priest[2] of Heliopolis." On hearing these words the heart
of the king became sad; and Teta said, "Wherefore art thou so sad, O
king my lord? Is it because of the three children? I say unto thee,
Verily thy son, verily his son, verily one of them." His Majesty asked,
"When will these three children be born?" Teta answered, "Rut-tetet will
give them birth on the fifteenth day of the first month of Pert."[3] The
king then made a remark the exact meaning of which it is difficult to
follow, but from one part of it it is clear that he expressed his
determination to go and visit the temple of Ra of Sakhabu, which seems
to have been situated on or near the great canal of the Letopolite
nome. In reply Teta declared that he would take care that the water in
the canal should be 4 cubits (about 6 feet) deep, _i.e._ that the water
should be deep enough for the royal barge to sail on the canal without
difficulty. The king then returned to his palace and gave orders that
Teta should have lodgings given him in the house of Prince Herutataf,
that he should live with him, and that he should be provided with one
thousand bread-cakes, one hundred pots of beer, one ox, and one hundred
bundles of vegetables. And all that the king commanded concerning Teta
was done.

[Footnote 1: A town which seems to have been situated in the second nome
or "county" of Lower Egypt; the Greeks called the nome Letopolites.]

[Footnote 2: His official title was "Ur-mau."]

[Footnote 3: The season Pert = November 15 - March 15.]

THE STORY OF RUT-TETET AND THE THREE SONS