The Second Plague

At the end of the seven days, however, Rashidi returned with some welcome news. The water in the Nile River had returned. As I took the first delightful sip of water, I had one thought in the back of my mind. Was this the end of the matter? Would Moses give up?

After everyone was refreshed by drinking the water, I immediately ordered Rashidi and Metit that everyone was to clean himself thoroughly. Rashidi was to oversee my own bath. While I waited for my bath to be ready, I wandered about my gardens. The plants needed to be watered, but that could be easily done. As I surveyed my surroundings, I saw something moving at the shores of the small lake I had in the garden. As I squinted to see what it was, I realized that it was a frog.

"It is strange that the frog managed to survive," I said to no one in particular.

I spotted another, and another. I frowned; why were there so many frogs? My eyes widened. Dozens of frogs were emerging from the pond, more than was possible in an artificial lake. They all were coming at me. Seeing so many frogs at once unnerved me; I ran back to the house.

"Metit!" I bawled upon seeing her. "Close all the windows; bar the doors!"

"What is wrong?" she asked, extremely puzzled by my behavior.

But it was too late. The frogs started to hop into the house. All the available servants tried to chase them out, but there were too many of them. Rashidi and Metit were helpless. The frogs were everywhere. I saw them in every direction. They hopped onto the furniture, ruined valuable cloths and drapes, and smashed some priceless vases onto the ground.

"Rashidi!" I yelled over the commotion. "Saddle the horse and find what you can about this new disaster!"

"It is impossible to ride without stepping on the frogs, my master," he shouted back.

"Alright!" I gave in. "Just go and find what news!"

Rashidi went to the palace to learn anything about this new disaster, while I tried to revive Metit, who had fainted from the sight of frogs depreciating the cleanliness of the place. After that was done, it was discovered that the frogs were in the beds, ovens, and open storage containers – in fact, everywhere! There was no rest for the entire household.

When Rashidi returned, he said, "Lord Amun, the Prophet Aaron was commanded to bring the frogs onto the land. The creatures are everywhere. Pharaoh's magicians did the same, so that means our gods should be able to counteract the actions of the Hebrew God. However, it is said that Pharaoh has called on Moses to ask the Hebrew god to take away the frogs. In exchange, the divine Pharaoh will let the slaves go to the wilderness to worship their god."

"Excellent," I said, avoiding some of the frogs. "I hope it is soon?"

"Moses will ask his god to remove the frogs tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" I groaned. "Well, the Pharaoh knows what is best."

I passed the night in sleeplessness. It was impossible to sleep with the noise of croaking frogs around me. The next day, however, the frogs died suddenly, causing the house to stink; so we placed the frogs in huge piles to be burned. I hoped that it was over; I hoped that Pharaoh was going to let the slaves go. But it was not to be.

To Be Continued....