NHSO's Tall Tales Series: Book 1 by Nathan Swan (the little red hen read aloud .txt) 📕

The Living Pyramid: The Tale of Cleo and Amutep
Book 1

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(This story takes place in Giza in 1961 in the country of Egypt many of these events are recounted at the NHSO Database I will neither deny nor confirm if these events are factual or lies any shared information will be tracked you have been warned: Signed Deputy Director Swan of the National History Secrets Organization) <FILE NOW ACCESSED> < The tale is coded CAUTION >

CHAPTER 1: The Living Pyramid

It was a blazing hot day in Giza, the sands were sparkling and the sun was gleaming over the Great Pyramids. These pyramids were and still are wonders of the world but fact little known only to the tomb keepers is that one of the pyramids was alive. No-one really knew why this was many of the cleverest tomb keepers thought that it was a type of bacteria that caused it to move, but most thought it was the legendary gods expressing themselves through movement in Egypt’s most wondrous features.

This tall tale tells the story of the tomb keeper Amutep and the living pyramid Cleo, of Cleopatra fame. Cleo was the littlest known of all of the Great Pyramids and maybe that’s why she was moving to bring attention to herself, but we’ll never really know only the tomb keepers will but we sure can guess!

CHAPTER 2: ALL ABOUT AMUTEP

Amutep was the newest recruit at the Tomb Keepers Academy. He was quite small and had tanned skin, he wore sandals and a toga styled uniform, he carried his treasure trunk on his back which contained his toys and diary. He was very shy and quiet and didn’t talk much at all so he kept to himself. At the school they learned how to perform sorcery and build the pyramids back if they ever collapsed, whilst this does all sound fun there are still serious lessons like Math and English and communicate with the nature around them which is mostly sand (?!) . The arts of the Tomb Keeper are tough and require many years of training.

Amutep was a junior rank at the academy and was struggling with the training. See Amutep was one of the smarter Tomb Keepers he didn’t believe in violence and his courses at the academy involved what the stronger Keepers described as ‘Girly Activities’. These include Flower Arranging, Meditation, Reading and Spirit Building.
‘Now come on girls...’ said Mrs. Hakurei, Amutep looked up and Mrs. Hakurei sighed ‘...and Amutep’. A girl piped up ‘Miss why are we doing this shouldn’t we be preparing for Harvest Festival with the costumes’, Mrs. Hakurei replied ‘Don’t argue with me Flower Arranging is a very important part of the festival’. ‘Doubt that.’ whispered Amutep.

The ball chimed and everyone streamed out of the classroom. As Amutep trudged around the corridor he looked out of the window, the Pyramids of Giza loomed over the school and Amutep noticed a small one in the corner of the group, it shifted slightly and moved a few metres. ‘What on Earth....’ thought Amutep and then the bell rang and he rushed off to his next lesson.

CHAPTER 3: AN APPLE OF ENLIGHTENMENT

The next class was herbology (Basically the study of plants) and as Amutep glanced at the plant desk an apple sat on the desk gleaming like solid gold. ‘Looks delicious doesn’t it,’ said Miss Greenwell, ‘What is it?’ replied Amutep. ‘That there is.... The Apple of Enlightenment’ ‘The what?’ said some nearby students ‘The Apple is a treasure of a fruit that can live for 1,000,000’s of years and never go rotten, it’s an undiscovered fruit... until now, anyway I found it lying in the desert near the Pyramid Cleo, must’ve fell out of a crack or something so I brought it back to show you.’

‘How much is it worth? , What does it taste like? , Is it made of Gold?’ said the students. ‘I don’t know but I’ll ask the headmaster about it.’ Amutep shivered, just the thought of Principal Yaxley scared him, and he was a hulk of a man and a very experienced fighter so nobody ever crossed lines with him.

The Apple kept gleaming but the rays kept seeming to point to the little Pyramid, ‘Cleo... What are you...’ sighed Amutep, and then it happened in front of his eyes. Some Gears rose from the sand and eyes were etched into the Pyramids face, it then picked itself up and walked about half a mile across the desert and put itself down and the gears sunk into the sand and the eyes reverted back to their blocky form. Then Amutep noticed it an Apple shaped hole etched into Cleo’s side. ‘Of course!,’ exclaimed Amutep ‘the fruit isn’t a fruit it’s actual gold and it’s part of Cleo!’

CHAPTER 4: THE APPLE THEIF, THE PYRAMID AND NO WARDROBE

Amutep had only one option steal the apple and return it to Cleo so that he could prove to himself he wasn’t crazy and wasn’t seeing things. The only question was how could he lie to his teachers and get the Apple of Enlightenment without anyone realising. Then Amutep realised ‘My Ball of course, I just have to paint it yellow well it’s risky but better than any other option.’ He rushed to his dorm without waking any of the students and fetched his ball out of his treasure trunk and dashed off towards the Herbology classroom with the ball in hand.

On the way there he went into the Art classroom and painted the ball a gleam Gold colour and added a small straw for a stalk. ‘A perfect double...’ whispered Amutep to himself and he looked up from his masterpiece and out of the window and there it was again the gears and the eyes as the pyramid shifted a few metres to the right. Amutep kept going and switched the apple with the ball and just as he was about to leave Principal Yaxley strode into the room. Amutep’s heart stopped and he hid behind a pot plant, the principal looked at the fake apple and picked it up, ‘Please don’t notice, please...’ whispered Amutep. The principal put it down ‘Why is that Miss Greenwell so.... weird with her plants...’ said Yaxley in a gruff voice, under his breath.


CHAPTER 5: THE DASH ACROSS THE DESERT

The principal was gone in a flash; Amutep came out from behind the plant and ran out of the room with the apple in his hand. When he got to the exit, he flung the doors open and rushed out across the desert. There were Scorpions and Sand Snakes trudged around the desert so Amutep had to be careful as he was only wearing sandals. He walked up to Cleo and it’s shadow loomed over him, he approached the hole carefully and noticed a glistening black liquid, ‘It’s almost like... blood..’ whispered Amutep as he felt the apple shaped hole gaping in Cleo’s side. Amutep picked up the apple and inserted it into Cleo’s side and nothing happened, ‘did I do something wrong..?’ he asked himself. Then a flash and Amutep was thrown about 20 feet backwards, gears were rising out of the sand and eyes began to form as bricks retracted back into the stone goliath.

Cleo glared downwards at Amutep as he was picking himself up, the pyramid groaned in a deep voice and spoke ‘You brought the piece back, I thank you for it now I will repay you...’ and then some more bricks retracted and formed a mouth and a small glint tumbled out. Amutep came over and picked it up, it was a small stone about the size of a cherry, on it the letters C – L – E – O were carved into it. ‘What’s this...?’ asked Amutep, ‘That... is a blood stone... a small ruby... a little less of value than the golden piece, although I could understand why your herbology teacher thought it was an Apple of Enlightenment but oh well.... treasure the stone it’s very rare..’ Cleo monologued. ‘Thanks... I guess, wait hang on a minute how do you move about anyway?’ asked Amutep ‘Well I am not exactly a pyramid I’m a construct built 1000’s of years ago by the Gods of Egypt to guard the Blood Stone but I think you deserve it, the gears help me travel and the eyes and mouth are a automated response just managed by the Gods raw power and a few ropes and stones,’ ‘Ok thanks for the monologue I guess.’ ‘Now I must return to my original spot before anyone notices...’ and with that the gears rose out of the sand and Cleo started to almost glide through the sands across to the leftmost spot of the Great Pyramids. As Cleo settled down Amutep started to rush back to the academy.

CHAPTER 5: THE C-L-E-O STONE

Amutep was sitting on his dormitory bed he put the stone in his treasure trunk but its light seeped out of the chests gaps and kept him awake it was also making a low humming sound like when someone was playing a Kazoo. Amutep got up and looked at the stone; it was very odd and reminded him of a plum core or a fruits stone like that. Cleo was planted into the sand outside of the school now looking at the stone through the window. ‘I’ll take good care of it you don’t have to stalk me to make sure.’ ‘I know I just don’t know what to do anymore I mean I was created to protect the stone and now that I’ve given it away I have no purpose.... what do I do now?.’ ‘Well do you have any pharaoh in you or anything because if you don’t some robbers will probably turn you into a storage area,’ said Amutep ‘well it would be something for you to do at least...’ ‘I really don’t think that’s ideal,’ said Cleo. ‘Well why not find another treasure and go to another part of Egypt I’m sure the Gods would be happy to give you another treasure to guard’. ‘Maybe you’re right... OK as soon as the Sun rises I’ll set out after a new treasure and land!’ exclaimed Cleo.

CHAPTER 6: SAYING GOODBYE... TO A PYRAMID?

The sun came up at exactly 7:30 that morning and Cleo was gathering himself up and getting ready to head south to Luxor down near the River Nile. Amutep didn’t really know him so we here at the NHSO can’t really picture it being a dramatic goodbye to be honest. But that aside Amutep was standing near Cleo watching as he uprooted himself from the sand and allowed his gears and cogs to start whirring and spinning.
The sun was now brighter than ever and the golden bricks on Cleo could’ve probably blinded someone who wasn’t used to alot of sun like Amutep. ‘Hey hang on a moment...how on Earth am I going to explain why a pyramids missing from the Great Pyramid collection?’ said Amutep. ‘Well you could say I collapsed and that the rubble was under the sand,’ said Cleo. ‘Oh and what if some Archaeologists come along may I ask?’ said Amutep. ‘I’m sure you’ll think of something,’ said Cleo. Cleo’s cogs were spinning faster now, ‘I have to go now before everyone wakes up...’ said Cleo. ‘Me too’ said Amutep. Cleo started gliding through the sand away down south towards Luxor and yelled ‘I’m