In ancient Egypt the pharaoh of the time believed that he had found to elixir to immortality. He had his most trusted servant instill it into his private stocks of wine. He drank it but yet nothing ever happened to him. He still felt mortal, he still bled like a mortal and he aged like one as well. But still he drank hoping that one day it would take effect, but never told his servants that he was still mortal. They thought of him as a god, never to be trifled with.
The servants he chose were man and wife, they had two boys, Farid was thirteen and the other Hamid was eleven. Farid was always getting into trouble and since Homid followed him everywhere he got into trouble too. But they had never caught the attention of the pharaoh or his guards. Until one day their parents brought them to the palace to keep them out of trouble. Their mother worked in the kitchen where Farid was told to stay and their father worked with the pharaoh's wine where Hamid was keeping him company.
"Farid, get out of the food. You will be whipped if someone caught you." Called his mother.
"Yes mother." Farid called back with annoyance in his voice and walked over to where she was standing cutting up some food for the next meal.
"You must behave or you may get us all whipped or worse beheaded. You are almost a man and you need to learn how to act like one. Now bring this food to your father and brother, and then come right back unless your father says otherwise." She said handing him some food wrapped in cloth.
"Yes mother." He said and ran out of the kitchen and down the hall, a couple minutes later he reached the wine room and slowed to a walk. His father would scold him for running in the palace. Farid walked into the room to find Hamid sitting on a barrel and his father mixing some wine.
"Father, I brought you both some food from the kitchen. Mother sent me with it." His father turned to look at Farid and smiled.
"Good, come sit with us while we eat." He said, and finished what he was doing, then they all walked to the back of the room and behind several rows of barrels they sat at a small table.
"Are you being good for your mother?" His father asked.
"Yes, father but mother says I have to learn how to act like a man." Farid said.
"Yes, you do. The responsibilities of a man are great and since you are almost one, you need to learn how to be one. But not today, well start that tomorrow." His father said with a smile and patted Farid on the shoulder.
He then turned to Hamid and Hamid asked "When I become a man, can I drink wine?"
"Yes, but only when all the work is done." Said his father, Farid had been looking at a small alcove in the wall filled with flasks of what he thought was wine.
"Whose wine is that father?" Farid asked pointing at the wall.
"That is the pharaoh's special wine; you need to stay away from it. They come and count them to make sure no one has taken any." His father said in a stern voice, he then got up and went back to work. Leaving Hamid and Farid sitting at the table eating some bread, Farid still stared at the wall full of wine.
"I know what you're thinking; we'll get in so much trouble." Hamid sad quietly to Farid.
"Whose going to find out it's just one flask, I'm sure they'll just think they miss counted them." Farid said standing up and walking over to the wall.
"What if they don't? We'll get in a lot of trouble." Hamid said pleading to his brother.
"It's fine, no one will know." Farid said picking up a flask and tucking it into his shirt.
"Now come on we'll ask Father if we can walk to the kitchen to help mother." Hamid smiled and walked with his brother to where his father stood and asked him if they could go see their mother. He said yes not noticing the wine tucked in Farid's shirt and they left the room and headed towards the kitchen.
"What are you going to do with the wine?" Asked Hamid.
"We are going to drink it, once we are out of the palace and away from mother and father." Said Farid.
"How are we going to get out of the palace?" Hamid asked.
"I don't know but I'll figure it out. Don't worry brother, I always have a plan right." Farid said patting Hamid on the shoulder but Hamid looked worried.
Once they entered the kitchen they saw their mother was very busy making food for the pharaoh. They walked over to their mother and Farid asked, "Mother, may we have some bread."
Their mother quickly handed them some bread and then said "Now I'm very busy, please stay out of the way."
"But mother we are very bored, there must be something we can do." Farid asked.
"Fine go into the pantry and bring me more bread." So Farid and Hamid tucked the bread into their shirts and went into the pantry. They found the bread and went to carry several loafs to their mother. But then their mother appeared in the walk way for the pantry. Quietly she said, "Stay here and be quiet, if I tell you to run you run, then you run as fast and far as you can away from this place and the guards. Always remember that your father and I love you." She then went back out and it sounded as if she had gone back to cooking. Hamid was confused and it showed on his face when Farid looked at him. Farid then broke some bread and started shoving it into Hamid's shirt.
But Hamid still looked confused, Farid then whispered in his ear, "You were right, were in a lot of trouble. Just be quiet and do as I say. If mother tells us to run we have to run." He looked at his brother with a serious look on his face. Then Farid went back to stuffing their shirts with bread.
Suddenly they heard from the other room, "Where are your sons? They have stolen something very important to the pharaoh. Tell us where they are or you will pay for you insolence just as your husband did." A guard said.
