I wrote this a while ago, but got ever so busy with Real Life and never got it posted. It's peculiarly appropiate to the Season, though; hope you enjoy it. Peace on Earth, goodwill to all...

---9---

This is kind of fun, Alex O'Connell thinks dubiously as he perches atop the donkey. His dad seems to be enjoying the ride, but then, he and Mr. Bey are on horses. Between them, there are four donkeys on a rope, that Mr. Bey needs for some reason. He sighs. It was a long walk out to where the man with the donkeys was, and he's hungry again. Really, he'd much rather be investigating the contents of that awesome library with his mum and Uncle Jon.

"Isn't this great?" his dad bellows to him.

"Yeah, Dad---great!" Alex lies with a fake cheerful smile. He doesn't want to disappoint his dad; and really, it is better than being dragged across two continents in mortal peril, which was his situation just a couple weeks ago. It's better than England, where it's rainy much too often for his taste. (Although, there aren't many trees to climb in Egypt). But he'd rather ride Soot, his pony at home, than this dumb donkey, plodding along with the rest of the dumb donkeys and listen to boring grown-up conversation.

"You are mistaken," Mr. Bey is saying to his father. "For two hundred generations, my fathers have protected the world from the Creature. We know the power of gods whose temples were old long before the cathedrals and minarets arose."

"So that's who you really worship? The old Egyptian gods?" His dad sounds skeptical.

"You are missing the point," says their friend. "Knowing that some gods have power, how can I discount the possibility that other gods may have power as well? You have seen with your own eyes many wonderful, fearful things."

Alex nods to himself; there were those terrible hours when his mother was dead---and the wonderful moment when she arose---and the prayer that brought her back wasn't something out of his Sunday school primer.

"A man's belief in whatever God he finds Truth in is a very personal matter. Even among men who profess a similar creed, there is a great diversity in how they interpret individual scriptures. Many are selective about which teachings they find most useful---it is in their nature to deny those prohibitions which are inconvenient to them. What is acceptable to one faith may be anathema to another. You enjoy fermented spirits? Ham sandwiches? Some will call you an infidel for such things. Or perhaps you carry a saint's medal, or prayer beads---there are people in your own culture who would quarrel with you for those practices."

There's an Irish boy who's at school with Alex, and he talks about things like that sometimes. About leaving people alone to worship Whoever they want. It's not worth killing people over, Rory says, and God probably considers it an insult in the long run.

"I don't think it's anybody's business," he says out loud.

Mr. Bey glances over at him. "What are your thoughts, Alex?" he asks, as if Alex is as grown-up as they are.

"Well, there are a lot of different gods, right? And it's like, they're good at different things. So if people pray to a bunch of them, there's a better chance of having one of them help out."

"You're saying that gods exist only to be asked favors of? I'm not sure that all of them would appreciate that view of it."

That wasn't what Alex meant, but he sees how it might have come out sounding that way. He looks over at his dad, who just grins at him. He's in the hot seat now! Alex concentrates on the idea for a moment, and the Medjai doesn't rush him.

"Look at my dad," he says after a little while. "He's got a pistol and a rifle and a knife. It would be stupid to try to cut a piece of bread with a pistol, but he can shoot something with the rifle from a lot farther away than he could ever throw his knife. And it's not like he uses them all every day, but even when he doesn't, he takes care of them, because otherwise, they won't work when he needs them."

"Treating your tools with respect is just good sense, Alex," his dad says.

"You're on the right track, though," Mr. Bey tells him. "Respect for deities---whether or not you have a rapport with them---is essential. I may not agree with another man's beliefs, but arguing against him would be pointless. In the final judgement, each man will have to answer for his own choices, and I believe that he will be shown as much tolerance as he has shown to his fellow man."

They're getting near to the fancy villa, and Alex looks forward to lunch, and a chance to look around that library. His dad is talking about the Golden Rule---doing for others what you'd want them to do for you---and the boy reckons that means making a pot of tea and a plate cheese sandwiches.