The Astonishing Rise of the Pharaoh Cleoclucktro
In a land far over the sea, where cobras slither, ibis fly, and crocodile swim, there once was a Pharaoh called Cleoclucktro. He was born as a twin, but his twin died soon after. It was a sure sign Cleoclucktro would make a great Pharaoh. There wasn’t certainty that Cleoclucktro would become Pharaoh in the royal family, for he had many brothers and half-brothers in line for the thrown before him because he was the youngest son of the second most important wife of the current Pharaoh, the mighty Sesotep the IV. Those in line for the thrown before him always teased him. Those people were, in order: Sesotep the V, Djoses, Ramatra, Zopite, Amenkamen, Snefre, Pepaure, Mentufre, Seketris, and Thufutep.
In the towns where the commoners lived,
however, it was a different story. Everyone in Egypt that wasn’t
royalty thought that Cleoclucktro would become a
fantastic Pharaoh. Because of that, they all did the
best they could to be nice to him for when he
became Pharaoh (they were certain he would) they
wanted him to think they were nice. They
bowed to him the lowest after Sesotep the
IV, and the servants apologized to him if they
dropped the tiniest crumb. Of course,
Cleoclucktro thought that they were all incredibly
kind.
But if Cleoclucktro were going to become
Pharaoh, all the other people in line to become
Horus would have to die or say they weren’t fit for the job.
One day, when Cleoclucktro was playing, Sesotep the V went out to ride and was attacked by bandits. One of the attendants, whose name was Setanktra, came back with Sesotep the V’s dead body. The king was furious, and had Setanktra killed for not protecting his son enough.
A few days later, Djoses was swimming in the Nile. He was gone for a long time, and when they found him, he was dry but dead. The king wept horribly, and Cleoclucktro thought there was hope for him still to become Pharaoh, but he missed his brothers all the same. In the villages, people held secret parties for the fact that there was more hope Cleoclucktro could become Pharaoh. They held secret parties for him because Cleoclucktro was the twin who lived, after all, when he was born.
About half a month later, Ramatra was out walking by the Nile when a mob of people with weapons killed him. A man by the name of Ramufu, who was Sesotep the IV’s most trusted messenger, brought the message to him. Sesotep the IV was distraught, but since he knew Ramufu couldn’t have done anything about the death he refrained from having Ramufu killed.
A moon later, Zopite was hunting in the reeds by the Nile with one attendant by the name of Sekmose. He didn’t come back for some while, so the mighty Pharaoh sent out a search party. They found Zopite by the reeds, dead but unmarked, and Sekmose, covered with blood. When they reported the death to the king, they said he died by the will of Amun-Ra, but the king wouldn’t believe it. He sent the whole search party to the turquoise mines for a punishment.
Meanwhile, Cleoclucktro mourned for his brothers and half-brothers, but his hopes were getting higher that he might, just might, get to be Pharaoh. In the villages, the secret parties continued each time they found out about a dead brother. In some places, they celebrated their own
Photo by Annika Salmi
Story by Annika Salmi