und a box of
silver, and opened that; and then he found a box of gold; he opened that,
and found the book in it. He took the book from the golden box, and read a
page of spells from it. He enchanted the heaven and the earth, the abyss,
the mountains, and the sea; he knew what the birds of the sky, the fish of
the deep, and the beasts of the hills all said. He read another page of
the spells, and saw the sun shining in the sky, with all the gods, the
full moon, and the stars in their shapes; he saw the fishes of the deep,
for a divine power was present that brought them up from the water. He
then read the spell upon the workmen that he had made, and taken from the
haven, and said to them, 'Work for me, back to the place from which I
came.' And they toiled night and day, and so he came back to the place
where I sat by the river of Koptos; I had not drunk nor eaten anything,
and had done nothing on earth, but sat like one who is gone to the grave.

"I then told Na.nefer.ka.ptah that I wished to see this book, for which we
had taken so much trouble. He gave the book into my hands; and when I read
a page of the spells in it I also enchanted heaven and earth, the abyss,
the mountains, and the sea. I also knew what the birds of the sky, the
fishes of the deep, and the beasts of the hills all said. I read another
page of the spells, and I saw the sun shining in the sky with all the
gods, the full moon, and the stars in their shapes; I saw the fishes of
the deep, for a divine power was present that brought them up from the
water. As I could not write, I asked Na.nefer.ka.ptah, who was a good
writer, and a very learned one; he called for a new piece of papyrus, and
wrote on it all that was in the book before him. He dipped it in beer, and
washed it off in the liquid; for he knew that if it were washed off, and
he drank it, he would know all that there was in the writing.

"We returned back to Koptos the same day, and made a feast before Isis of
Koptos and Harpokrates. We then went to the haven and sailed, and went
northward of Koptos. And as we went on Thoth discovered all that
Na.nefer.ka.ptah had done with the book; and Thoth hastened to tell Ra,
and said, 'Now know that my book and my revelation are with
Na.nefer.ka.ptah, son of the King Mer.neb.ptah. He has forced himself into
my place, and robbed it, and seized my box with the writings, and killed
my guards who protected it.' And Ra replied to him, 'He is before you,
take hi