TLIT-1

El cuento del nufrago

(pap. San Petersburgo 1115)
Texto jeroglfico: MES 41 - 48
Traduccin: AEL I, 211 - 215

1.

(1)

The worthy attendant said:

(2)

2.

Take heart, my lord!

(3)

3.

We have reached home.

(4)

4.

The mallet has been seized, the mooring-post staked,

(5)

5.

the prow-rope placed on land.

(6)

6.
Praise is given, god is thanked,
7.
everyone embraces his fellow.
8.

(7)

Our crew has returned safely;

9.

(8)

our troops have had no loss.

10.

(9)

We have left Wawat behind,

(10)

11.

we have passed Senmut;

(11)

12.
we have returned in safety,
13.
we have reached our land.
14.

(12)

Now listen to me, my lord!

(13)

15.

I am not exaggerating.
(14)

16.

Wash yourself, pour water over your fingers.

(15)

17.

You must answer when questioned.

(16)

18.

You must speak to the king with presence of mind.

(17)

19.

You must answer without stammering!

(18)

20.

A mans mouth can save him.

(19)

21.

His speech makes one forgive him.

22.

(20)

But do as you like!

23.

(21)

It is tiresome to talk to you.

24.

(22)

But I shall tell you something like it

25.

(23)

that happened to me.

(24)

26.

I had set out to the kings mines,

(25)

27.

and had gone to sea

(26)

28.

in a ship of a hundred and twenty cubits in length

(27)

29.

and forty cubits in width.

30.
One hundred and twenty sailors were in it
31.

(28)

of the pick of Egypt.

(29)

32.

Looked they at sky, looked they at land,

(30)

33.

their hearts were stouter than lions.

34.

(31)

They could foretell a storm before it came,

35.

(32)

a tempest before it broke.

(33)

36.

A storm came up while we were at sea,

37.

(34)

before we could reach land.

38.

(35)

As we sailed it made a swell,

(36)

39.

and in it a wave eight cubits tall.

40.

(37)

The mastit (the wave) struck (it).

(38)

41.

Then the ship died.

(39)

42.
Of those in it not one remained.
(40)

43.

I was cast on an island

(41)

44.
by a wave of the sea.
45.
I spent three days alone,
46.

(42)

with my heart as companion.

(43)

47.

(44)

Lying in the shelter of trees

(45)

48.
I hugged the shade.

(46)

49.
Then I stretched my legs
50.

to discover what I might put in my mouth.

51.

(47)

(48)

I found figs and grapes there,

52.
all sorts of fine vegetables,
53.

(49)

sycamore figs, unnotched and notched,

54.

(50)

and cucumbers that were as if tended.

55.

(51)

Fish were there and fowl;

(52)

56.

there is nothing that was not there.

57.

(53)

I stuffed myself
(54)

58.

and put some down, because I had too much in my arms.

(55)

59.

Then I cut a fire drill, made a fire

(56)

60.

and gave a burnt offering to the gods.

(57)

61.

Then I heard a thundering noise

62.

(58)

(59)

and thought, It is a wave of the sea.

(60)

63.

Trees splintered, the ground trembled.

(61)

64.

Uncovering my face,
(62)

65.

I found it was a snake that was coming.

66.

(63)

He was of thirty cubits;

(64)

67.

his beard was over two cubits long.

(65)

68.

His body was overlaid with gold;

(66)

69.

his eyebrows were of real lapis lazuli.

70.
He was bent up in front.

71.
Then he opened his mouth to me,
(68)

72.

while I was on my belly before him.

73.

(69)

He said to me:
74.
Who brought you, who brought you, fellow,
75.

(70)

who brought you?

(71)

76.

If you delay telling me

77.
who brought you to this island,
78.

(72)

I shall make you find yourself reduced to ashes,

79.

(73)

becoming like a thing unseen.

(74)

80.

<I said>: Though you speak to me,

(75)

81.
I do not hear it;
82.
I am before you
83.

(76)

without knowing myself.

84.

(77)

Then he took me in his mouth,

85.

(78)

carried me to the place where he lived,

(79)

86.

and set me down unhurt,

(80)

87.

I being whole with nothing taken from me.

88.

(81)

Then he opened his mouth to me,

(82)

89.

while I was on my belly before him.

90.

(83)

He said to me:
(84)

91.

Who brought you, who brought you, fellow,

92.
who brought you
(85)

93.

to this island of the sea,

(86)

94.

whose two sides are in water?

(87)

95.
Then I answered him,

(88)

96.
my arms bent before him.
97.
I said to him:
98.

(89)

(90)

I had set out to the mines

99.

(91)

on a mission of the king

100.

(92)

in a ship of a hundred and twenty cubits in length

(93)

101.

and forty cubits in width.

102.
One hundred and twenty sailors were in it
103.

(94)

of the pick of Egypt.

104.

(95)

Looked they at sky, looked they at land,

105.

(96)

(97)

their hearts were stouter than lions.

(98)

106.

They could foretell a storm before it came,

107.
a tempest before it struck.
108.

(99)

Each of themhis heart was stouter,

109.

(100)

his arm stronger than his mates.

(101)

110.

There was no fool among them.

(102)

111.

A storm came up while we were at sea,

112.

(103)

before we could reach land.

113.

114.

(104)

As we sailed it made a swell,

(105)

and in it a wave eight cubits tall.

(106)

115.
The mastit struck (it).

116.
Then the ship died.
117.

(107)

Of those in it not one remained,

118.

(108)

except myself who is here with you.

119.

(109)

I was brought to this island

120.

(110)

by a wave of the sea.

121.
Then he said to me:
(112)

122.

Dont be afraid, dont be afraid, fellow;

(113)

123/4.

dont be pale-faced, now that you have come to me.

(114)

125.

It is god who has let you live

126.
and brought you to this island of the ka.
127.

(115)

There is nothing that is not in it;

128.

(116)

it is full of all good things.

129.

(117)

(118)

You shall pass month upon month

(119)

130.

until you have completed four months in this island.

131.

(120)

Then a ship will come from home

132.

(121)

with sailors in it whom you know.

133.

(122)

You shall go home with them,

134.

(123)

you shall die in your town.

135.

(124)

How happy is he who tells what he has tasted,

136.
when the calamity has passed.
137.

(125)

I shall tell you something similar

(126)

138.

that happened on this island. I was here

(127)

139.

with my brothers and there were children with them.

140.
In all we were seventy-five serpents,
141.

(128)

children and brothers,

(129)

142.

without mentioning a little daughter

143.
whom I had obtained through prayer.
(130)

144.
Then a star fell,
145.

and they went up in flames through it.

146.

(131)

It so happened that I was not with them in the fire,

147.
I was not among them.
148.
I could have died for their sake
(132)

149.

when I found them as one heap of corpses.

150.
If you are brave and control your heart,
151.

(133)

you shall embrace your children,

(134)

152/3.

you shall kiss your wife, you shall see your home.
154.
It is better than everything else.
155.

(135)

You shall reach home, you shall be there

156.

(136)

among your brothers.

(137)

157.

Stretched out on my belly

(138)

158.

I touched the ground before him;

159.
then I said to him:
160.

(139)

I shall speak of your power to the king,

(140)

161.

I shall let him know of your greatness.

162.
I shall send you jbj

(141)

163.

and Hknw oils, laudanum, Xsyt-spice,

164.
and the incense of the temples
165.

(142)

which pleases all the gods.

(143)

166.

I shall tell what happened to me,

167.
what I saw of your power.
(144)

168.

One will praise god for you in the city

169.
before the councilors of the whole land.
(145)

170.

I shall slaughter oxen for you as burnt offering;

(146)

171.

I shall sacrifice geese to you.

172.
I shall send you ships
(147)

173.

loaded with all the treasures of Egypt,

(148)

174.

as is done for a gos who befriens people

175.
in a distant land not known to the people.
176.

(149)

Then he laughed at me
177.
for the things I had said, which seemed foolish to him.

178.

(150)

He said to me:
179.
You are not rich in myrrh
180.
and all kinds of incense.
181.

(151)

But I am the lord of Punt,

182.
and myrrh is my very own.
183.

(152)

That Hknw-oil you spoke of sending,

184.
it abounds on this island.
185.

(153)

Moreover, when you have left this place,

(154)

186.

you will not see this island again;

187.
It will have become water.
(155)

188.
Then the ship came,
189.
as he had foretold.
190a.
I went
190b.

(156)

and placed myself on a tall tree,

191.
I recognized those that were in it.

192.

(157)

When I went to report it,

193.
I found that he knew it.
194.

(158)

He said to me:
195.
In health, in health, fellow, to your home,
(159)

196.

that you may see your children!

197.
Make me a good name in your town;
(160)

198.

that is what I ask of you.

199.

(161)

I put myself on my belly,

200.
my arms bent before him.
201.

(162)

Then he gave me a load

202a.
of myrrh, Hknw-oil,
(163)

202b.

laudanum, Xsyt-spice,
203a.
tjSpss-spice, perfume, eye-paint,
(164)

203b.
giraffes tails,
204a.

great lumps of incense,

(165)

204b.
elephants tusks,
205a.

greyhounds, long-tailed monkeys, baboons,

205b.
and all kinds of precious things.
206.

(166)

I loaded them on the ship.

207.
Then I put myself on my belly
208.

(167)

to thank him
209.
and he said to me:
(168)

210.
You will reach home in two months.
211.
You will embrace your children.
(169)

212.

You will flourish at home, you will be buried.

213a.
I went down to the shore
213b.

(170)

near the ship;

214a.
I hailed the crew
214b.

(171)

which was in the ship.

215a.
I gave praise on the shore

215b.
to the lord of the island,
216.

(172)

those in the ship did the same.

217.
We sailed north
218.

(173)

to the kings residence.

(174)

219.

We reached the residence in two months,

220.
all as he had said.
221.
I went in to the king;
222.

(175)

I presented to him the gifts

223.
I had brought from the island.
224.

(176)

He praised god for me

225.
in the presence of the councillors of the whole land.
226.

(177)

I was made an attendant

227.

(178)

(179)

and endowed with serfs of his.

(180)

228.

See me after I had reached land,

229.

(181)

after I saw what I had tasted!

(182)

230.

Listen to me!
231.
It is good for people to listen.
232.

(183)

He said to me:
(184)

233.

Dont make an effort, my friend.

(185)

234.

Who would give water

(186)

235.

at dawn to a goose that will be slaughtered in the morning?

(187)

236.

Colophon: It is done from beginning to end

237.
as it was found in writing,
238.

(188)

by the scribe with skilled fingers,

239.

(189)

Imenaa, son of Imenylife, prosperity, health!