My Favorite Book: The Cat of Bubastes

           “I killed the cat of Bubastes!” The Cat of Bubastes by G.A. Henty is an amazing, Ancient Egyptian story about two boys: one of them is the son of a rich, Egyptian priest, and the other is his slave. The boys meet and become best friends but get into some trouble by accidentally killing one of the most sacred cats in all of Egypt!

            The story begins with Amuba, a handsome, light-haired prince who is about to go to battle with the Egyptians alongside his father, the king of Rebu. During this battle, his father is killed, and his mother, in grief, drinks poison, and the Egyptians win and invade the city. They take back 50 males and 50 females to be slaves. Amuba and his friend/charioteer, Jethro, were both chosen and taken to Egypt, and they are bought by a kind priest named Ameres. Jethro becomes the servant to Ameres’ daughter, Mysa. Amuba becomes the property of his son, Chebron. Within days, the boys become best friends.

            The boys go on many trips with Ameres and have a great time hunting, fishing, and even saving lives! One day, they were hunting hippopotamus, when they heard a woman scream! They followed the sound and saw a woman being dragged into the river by a crocodile. Bravely, they killed the crocodile and discovered that it was only a young girl. Amuba, Chebron, and Jethro brought the girl to her house and talked with her grandfather for a while. They found out that he was an Israelite, and they agreed that when he passed away, his granddaughter, Ruth, would go live with Ameres and be a servant to Chebron’s little sister, Mysa. Some good news was that the crocodile only bit her garment and bruised her leg, but she fainted during the attack.
 
            Now, let us jump to the exiting part about the story, when Amuba and Chebron killed the Cat of Bubastes; however, we must first understand why this was a significant problem. You probably know that cats, crocodiles, bulls, and some other animals were sacred in Egypt, but cats are the most sacred. Killing a cat in Egypt is as bad as killing 1,000 people, but this cat was one of the most sacred cats of all in Egypt. You see, the original cat of Bubastes died, so Mysa’s handsome cat, Paucis, was chosen to be the next Cat of Bubastes. Chebron was already upset for killing a crocodile; could it get any worse?… apparently yes.

            Ameres had a large garden in which he put all his pets and other animals; however, there was a hawk that kept coming and snatching the birds out of the garden. To stop this, Chebron and Amuba decided to go out with their bows and arrows to kill the hawk. When it came down and grabbed one of the birds, both boys shot. Amuba’s arrow hit the hawk, killing it, but Chebron’s bounced off a tree branch and ricocheted into the cathouse. When they went to check if anything bad had happened, they found Paucis shot by the arrow and was, therefore, dead. They buried the cat and went to tell Ameres what had happened, and he instructed them not to tell anyone about the accident.

            Since Ameres was the high priest of Egypt, Chebron was learning how to be a priest. One day, Chebron and Amuba were walking around the temple when they found an open door they had never seen before. It obviously was a hidden door that had been left open. The boys decided to see where the door led, so in they went. At the top, they found themselves in the head of an Egyptian idol of a god. This was where the priests talked to peasants acting as a god. Outside, they heard and saw a group of priests plotting to murder someone. Chebron, in rage, shouted from their hiding place that they will never succeed in murdering anyone. Just then, they heard footsteps and yelling coming from the stairs. The boys started running and split up.

            Chebron got away, but they kept chasing Amuba until he was so tired that he fainted. Then, a different chariot came, and rescued Amuba. When he woke up, Amuba was in a palace with a prince, and his name was Moses. They talked for a little bit and then Amuba went back to Ameres’ house. Thankfully, the boys were unidentified.

           The next morning, Chebron’s older brother, Neco was murdered, but they were unsure who killed him. Neco was next in line to take over the position of high priest after his father, Ameres. Although Ameres and the boys did not know the identity of the murderer, they had an idea of who it might be. They believed it was some of the other priests who committed the murder, led by Pytilus and his son Plexo, who wanted the priesthood for themselves.

           Later in the book, the other people in Egypt find out that Paucis was dead. A band of people, again, led by Pytilus and Plexo searched Ameres’ house with dogs and found the cat. They figured that Ameres killed the cat and buried it, so the killed him. Jethro tried to fight back, because he was there with Ameres, but was unsuccessful in saving him.

           Chebron and Amuba were in hiding during this time, because some of the priests and other people in Egypt suspected something. This was what Ameres told them to do. Jethro immediately ran to the barn at which the boys were staying and told them about the unfortunate news. The murderers of Ameres found out that Amuba and Chebron actually killed Paucis later. So, the boys and Jethro went to a friend of Ameres who disguised Amuba and Jethro by dying their skin and hair to look more like Egyptians.

           Jethro and the boys eventually learned that Mysa and Ruth had gone missing the night of Ameres’ death. They obviously were worried about the girls, so they set off to find them. They later found them in a cave, which happened to be the hideout of Pytilus and Plexo, the murderers of Ameres. They accidentally killed one and tied up the other. Then, they rescued the girls, and they told them all what had happened.

           Chebron said that Mysa and Ruth should go back to their mother, but Mysa insisted that she stay and travel with them, for her mother only cared about parties and she was going to have Mysa marry a rich man (who happened to be the son of the Ameres’ murderer). Of course, this was not what Mysa wanted. She said that she and Ruth would not complain about anything during their travels. She promised this and Chebron agreed they could travel with them.

           In case of any confusion, you should know that this book passed through at least three years, from the time Amuba and Jethro were captured, to now. In the story, Amuba ends up marrying Mysa, because he had been friends with her for much of his life. Chebron also married Ruth, loving her and wanting to learn more about her religion and culture. The five people happily went to Rebu, and Amuba and Mysa became the king and queen. Amuba was next in line for the throne in Rebu before the Egyptians had attacked and taken him as prisoner.

           I thought this book was amazing! If you like books full of adventure, action, mysteries, and Ancient Egypt, then The Cat of Bubastes is for you. This book instantly caught my attention with its suspenseful storyline, and I strongly encourage you to read it.