Night was falling and Sydney's paws were throbbing. Sydney let out a desperate meow.

"We will soon reach the city of Giza. There we can find somewhere to stay for the night."

***

"Wake up little one, we have much to do." Sydney stretched. Sydney felt much better after a good night's sleep.

"Come now your Highness. I want to teach you about hieroglyphics, our form of writing." The man he had met the night before urged Sydney to come.

After entering the town from the building where he had spent the night, he stopped for a minute to let his eyes adjust to the bright sunlight. After walking past several buildings the man stopped, too.

"This is my good friend's house. He will teach us about hieroglyphics." Sydney could tell by the way the man talked to him that this man must be some sort of important figure. Sydney tried to remember what Carrie, his owner, had said about important Egyptians. Sydney thought and thought. Hieroglyphics, who had something to do with hieroglyphics? A priest! They were the first to master hieroglyphics after it developed in 3000 BC. "No," Sydney told himself. "If his friend were a priest he would not live with other citizens. Priests were more powerful and richer than farmers, artists, and merchants. Who else knew how to write in hieroglyphics? Scribes! That's it!" Sydney was so deep in thought he didn't realize he had entered the scribe's home.

"Hello friend." said the scribe.

"Hello. I have come to ask you a favor. Would you teach this cat about hieroglyphics? I found him last night, visiting the Sphinx and I have been teaching him about our civilization since then." said the man.

"How could I turn down a cat? Our form of writing is called hieroglyphics. It contains over 100 different signs. We use it to keep records of everything. It is written in rows and columns. You can read it from left to right or right to left. You can tell which way to read it by the way the animal or human faces. We write it on pyramid walls." The scribe was about to say more, but a man came to the door and whispered something to the scribe.

"I am needed elsewhere now. I hope you have learned much," the man said to Sydney. Sydney had learned much. He didn't know that you could read left to right or right to left. He was surprised that hieroglyphics was so complex. Sydney stretched out on the floor and stared at the scribe. He and the man were talking. Sydney couldn't hear them but he didn't care anyway.

Travel on