Shepherd boy

The shepherd and the princess have known each other since they were very young. At that time, he chased the sheep every day to find fertile grassland. Play by the Nile at night. There are many children swimming and playing by the river. Only one day, he found a beautiful little girl he never knew. He was surprised in his heart: I wish I could be friends with her.

? One day, the little shepherd bathed the sheep by the river. The girl walked up to him and touched the sheep: "What a lovely sheep." She said enviously. The little shepherd was very happy, because he always wanted to find a chance to talk to the girl, and now he finally got it. He looked at the girl happily, but shyly turned his eyes to the sheep in his arms.

? That night, the moonlight was beautiful, the moonlight gently sprinkled on them, and the sheep were bathed in the transparent moonlight. The Nile flows quietly. It's been like this for thousands of years. When the land of Egypt was uninhabited, it existed quietly.

Egypt. The Nile.

Blue dreamy Nile water has been flowing quietly since ancient times.

Egypt is a country in the desert, dotted with oases.

This is its capital, Memphis.

People build houses with sand in the desert. The houses are short and simple, and there is only the light of oil lamps in the house. Most of the people living in these houses are farmers, craftsmen and slaves who helped Pharaoh build his mausoleum.

Pharaoh's palace was built of marble mined from far away and transported back. It is not only strong, but also magnificent and naturally has a kind of dignity. Thousands of lights are lit in the palace every day, bright and bright. In this magnificent palace, Pharaoh had dinner with messengers from all over the world.

However, in addition to these, the capital Memphis has the busiest market in the world. Commodities from Africa, Europe and Asia are concentrated in the market here. People buy shoes, headscarves, belts, cloths for clothes, necklaces worn by girls, headdresses, fried foods, various porcelain and ironware used in daily life and so on. The market is noisy and chaotic, and the voices of shouting are one after another, filling people's ears. The market is crowded with people, and the annoying hot air is steaming over the market.

To sell goods, it is natural to have a delivery merchant. Uka is such a camel driver. He and his companion's camel caravan walked along the Euphrates River. They always cross a road between Egypt and West Asia, go to Phoenicia, Assyria and Babylon to collect all kinds of things that Egypt doesn't have, and then transport them back to the market by camel caravan.

Uka's parents run a blacksmith's shop, but Uka herself is unwilling to inherit this craft. Since he was a child, he yearned for a long-distance life.

When I was a child, my kind grandmother would hold his little head in her arms and tell him many fairy tales about the distance when he was sleepy. Almighty magic lamp, magical flying carpet, beautiful girl, clever Alibaba, noble princess and prince. Uka always looks up at the stars in the sky and listens to grandma telling stories. Grandma's voice is hoarse, but it sounds as beautiful as flowing music to Uka. He always wants to sleep with such a dreamy dream.

Grandma told him that camel dealers would go a long way to the places where those stories took place. So every time he sees the camel team passing by his house, he will show envious eyes and walk behind them at a distance. Those camel drivers all looked at the child with interesting eyes.

Once, a wrinkled old man kindly asked him, "son, do you want to catch camels with us?" Little Uka said confidently, "I want to go far away with you ..."

Grandpa touched the camel, and then touched Uka's head: "Good. Your wish will come true. "

Later, Uka really became one of the people he once envied to drive camels far away. Every year, I spend half my time on the way to distant places, and the other half of my time staying in those places to buy goods or go back to Memphis to sell things.

Now Vuka is fifteen years old, and his parents are anxious to marry him. They want to choose one of Uka's favorite street girls and get married quickly. Around the girls who grew up with Uka, there is Aisha from Marlowe's maiden; Fatima of Uncle Zarour's family; Eissmann of the Nasser family. Aisha is beautiful and Fatima is lively. eissmann knows a lot, but Yuka doesn't want to spend her life with any of them.

The last day of December is the day of offering sacrifices to the sun god. The king's Grand Priest and the priests carried the statue of the sun through the widest street in Memphis, then circled the city and finally returned to the Temple of the Sun. When idols passed by, most people took to the streets to pay homage.

On this day, Vuka, like everyone else, came to the street dressed after taking a shower. The scene in the street is the same as in previous years, nothing special. There are devout believers everywhere: men wear white linen robes and white headscarves; Women mop the floor in white robes and cover their faces with white veils.

Here comes the procession of the idol, next to which is a young priestess. Her face was veiled, but her bright eyes attracted everyone's attention. Her eyes are like a blue lake, leading people to a happy paradise, so calm that people who see it feel calm and comfortable. When the wind blew her veil, the crowd burst into cheers of surprise, and people marveled at the purity of this woman's face, like a lightning bolt across everyone's heart. Everyone is still secretly speculating about her identity.

Uka recognized the princess's eyes at a glance. It's just that there are so many people on both sides of the road that the princess didn't see Uka, let alone recognize him. They are not what they were when they were children, but the princess's blue eyes are as intoxicating as clear and sweet wine.

Seven years ago, when Uka was eight years old.

One night, he went to the Nile to wash his scalding body. The Nile is so vast, so quiet and so cool. It is the holy river of the Egyptians. Uka, together with many others, dipped half his body into the river, scooped up the water and fell on his arm. Everyone by the river is talking loudly about the hot weather this summer and the recent sacrifice to the Nile God. Uka has no companions. In fact, he also knows friends, but when he comes to the river to wash his body, he always likes to be alone and keep silent.

After landing, he noticed a little girl standing alone on the shore, her eyes falling on him. He picked up his clothes and walked home, but the girl followed him carefully. That girl is about Uka's age. The clothes on her body look elegant, unlike the children of a civilian family. Uka thinks it's a little strange that she's always in the back. She turned to her and asked, "What's the matter with you?"

The girl's big eyes are very beautiful She greeted Uka with trusting eyes: "I can't find my way home. Please take me back ... "

Uka laughed and asked with interest, "Where are you from?"

The girl also smiled, a little embarrassed: "I live in the palace, because I want to play by the Nile, so I ran out quietly." I only remember crossing a desert, but there are so many streets here ... "

Uka asked in surprise, "So, you are ... a princess?"

The girl pursed her lips with a mysterious and serious expression: "... sort of."

Uka still stared at her in surprise, as if it took a long time to understand: the princess asked me to send her back to the palace.

Uka, near the palace, has been there. He is very familiar with it. He took the princess around several streets and arrived at the desert that the princess said. It's quiet in the desert, and Vuka is not familiar with court life. She asked blankly, "You just ran out. Nobody noticed? Will you be locked up when you go back? "

The princess forced out a wry smile, with maturity and calmness that her peers did not have: "Yes."

Uka opened her mouth again in surprise and tried to say something, but she didn't say it.

Across the desert, the palace is not far away. Uka peeked at the princess. He wants to see her big eyes as deep as the lake again.

The princess tilted her head with a smile in her eyes and said naughtily to Yuka, "I'll come to the Nile again!" " "

Then he ran to the gate of the palace.

Uka remembers that when she was a little shepherd, she met a girl stroking a lamb by the Nile River. That girl has the same eyes as the princess who just asked for help from herself!