Extrait du livre The dream of Iretirou
The dream of Iretirou Pascale Vignali Illustrated by Justine Cunha Le Regard Sonore Editions
Once upon a time in a land ruled by pharaohs called…Egypt. At that time, a most important figure in the daily lives of Egyptians was the scribe ... He alone could read, write, and count. Their writing was made up of mysterious drawings called hieroglyphs that scribes traced on sheets of papyrus. From the peasants to the Pharaoh, all needed the scribe and his great skill...
Iretirou lived on the banks of the Nile. Her father made the most beautiful papyrus in the land, so fine and strong that the Grand Vizier himself had chosen it for the royal scribes. The little girl was in charge of delivering the precious rolls to the palace. Everytime she walked by the school for scribes, she sighed with envy.
Iretirou secretly dreamed of becoming a scribe too, but alas… the school was for boys only...So when she had a free moment, she would wander along the banks of the Nile. There, hidden in the reeds, she would practice her writing on a wooden tablet, again and again, drawing all the hieroglyphs that she knew: ibis, lotus, sun...
Iretirou did not know it but, for some time, a treacherous presence had been shadowing her from the sky. Envious of the adulation the Egyptians heaped upon their Pharaoh, Seth the god of chaos was seeking ways to exact revenge. And unwittingly the little girl was about to help him...
One day, as she walked out of the palace, a strange man approached her.. THE MAN: You are the daughter of Amhosis, the master of papyrus, aren’t you? Iretirou swelled with pride: IRETIROU: Yes, he is my father. THE MAN: Glory to him! The quality of his papyrus is known in all Egypt!
THE MAN: Would you do me a favour? How could Iretou say no to someone who spoke so highly of her father? THE MAN: You see, I make a special ink, it is unique! I would like to show it to the Grand Vizier but I am too timid to go to the palace myself. You who know him so well, could you give him this bottle from me? A few drops are enough for a whole papyrus ... You'll see, the Grand Vizier will be so impressed that you will certainly be rewarded!
Iretirou pondered. If this ink was remarkable, the Grand Vizier would be so happy that he might allow her to go to the scribes’ school! Full of hope, she accepted. At once the man walked away, disappearing as quickly as he had appeared.
