Chapter XIX: The Pyramids of Egypt

IF you could have seen a certain little boy who lived so long ago that it would make you dizzy to try to think back to the time when he ran about playing and learning many things, you would have thought him a queer looking little chap. He was not clothed like boys of our day, and his skin was almost a copper color, resembling somewhat that of the American Indian. His name was a very odd one, spelled C-h-e-o-p-s and pronounced Ke-ops—possibly his comrades nicknamed him “Key” when they played together on the sand. He had another name, Khufu, and it is hard to tell which the boy liked better.

=Cheops’s Home=

was in Egypt, where there are more crocodiles than you can count, and doubtless the little brown fellow, at a safe distance, enjoyed watching the sleepy creatures while he vaguely wondered why crocodiles always crawled up on the banks to lie so long and still in the sun. There were many other strange animals and queer Egyptian things—unlike any you have ever seen—that interested and delighted the child. When Khufu grew to be a man he was

=A Great Monarch,=

an Egyptian King, and instead of watching crocodiles busied himself watching and ruling a nation. The King did not bother greatly about the house he lived in, but spent much energy and many years in building an enormous pyramid, the largest ever erected at any time. When you grow older you may possibly take a trip to Egypt and see this

=Wonderful Structure,=

built 900 B.C. It is made of huge stones, most of them thirty feet long, five feet high and four or five feet wide. How do you suppose men ever managed to lift such monstrous blocks to build the pyramid? Well, they were obliged to labor very hard, for it took two hundred layers of stones for the pile, and all the work was done with the utmost care and precision.

You must also use care and precision in building your Egyptian pyramids. Have them exact, and in place of the heavy stone blocks use

=Coarse Sandpaper=

If possible, get it of a tawny yellow hue, that the miniature pyramids may be the same color as the originals, now that the outside casings of the latter are off. King Cheops had an army of one hundred thousand men laboring constantly during twenty long years to pile up his stones. You can make your Khufu Pyramid in twenty minutes and need employ only ten fingers instead of one hundred thousand men.

Cut one side of

=The Pyramid=

from sandpaper (Fig. 292); if the paper is not stiff enough, paste it on a piece of cardboard; an old box-lid will do. Make two more sides like the first and gum narrow strips of muslin along the right side edge of each (Fig. 293). The dotted line shows the edge of the pasteboard underneath the cloth. Join all the parts together by means of these strips (Fig. 294). When making the fourth side, extend it out into the projection (T, Fig. 294) and cut a corresponding slit in the first side (U, Fig. 294). Place the pyramid down flat on a level surface under a weight to dry. When ready remove it and cut off the ends of the strips (S, V, O, Fig. 294); then bend the toy into shape by bringing the first and fourth sections together and sliding T into U (Fig. 294). The pyramid must stand erect and firm as in Fig. 295. Remember that the four sides of the real pyramid are built upon

=A Perfect Square,=

and the base lines of yours should also form a true square. If you can get some tough paper which will fold together in a flat crease without breaking, you may make the pyramid of one piece instead of four, by cutting it the shape of Fig. 296 and bending it evenly along the dotted lines to form the four slanting sides. The loose ends must be fastened together by means of extension and slit. If you have no regular sandpaper make some. Give the paper a thin wash of glue, and before it dries sprinkle it evenly with sand. An old kitchen pepper-box filled with sand will make a fine sprinkler. If you cannot get the pepper-box, take a small empty baking-powder can and punch tiny holes in the cover by hammering a fine wire nail through the tin in many places; use it as a sprinkler. You must prepare the paper and have it evenly sanded before cutting out the design.

In Egypt there are three famous structures in addition to the Sphinx: the great pyramid, the middle-sized pyramid and the little pyramid—like the big bear, the middle-sized bear and the little wee bear in the story book. Each

=Pile of Stones=

was set up by a different king, and each one is named for the monarch who built it. The largest is called for Cheops; the second is named Chephren (pronounced Kefren) and the smallest has the longest name Mycerinus (pronounced Me-ker-in-us). Make the colossal Cheops as large as the dimensions of your paper will admit. The original is like a mountain, measuring 746 feet each side of the square foundation and reaching up 450 feet and nine inches in height.

King Chephren did not build his stones quite as high; he was satisfied with a base, each side of which is 690 feet and nine inches and a height of 447 feet and six inches. The last, King Mycerinus, must have grown tired of playing with the stone blocks, for his pyramid is merely a hill 203 feet high, with each side of the foundation 354 feet and six inches, not nearly so tall as Cheops’s monument. Build your little pyramid about half as high as the second one.

After making the Egyptian structures, naturally you might think that they could be grouped as you pleased to place them, but these pyramids are

=Different from Ordinary Toys=

and must always be fixed in certain positions. Stand them in a diagonal row, each one facing exactly E. W. N. S. Fig. 297 gives their correct positions. The first must stand to the northeast of the second, the second to the northeast of the third, and the Sphinx east of the second monument.

There, they are finished. Now that we have built the pyramids, let us

=Carve the Wonderful Sphinx=

with its body like a crouching lion and its head, like a man’s, modelled from that of an ancient Egyptian. The original is an enormous queer creature hewn from stone and made before the pyramids were built; consequently, it is very old. It was on the plains more than 4,000 years before the birth of Christ. Little wonder that it now appears worn and chipped and that, like your small sister’s doll its nose is broken off.

Begin carving the Sphinx by cutting a larger size from Fig. 298 of stiff sandpaper. Mark the head with ink as nearly as possible like Fig. 299. Should you fail in this, find a print of the head in some old paper or magazine, cut it out and paste it on Fig. 298. Bend the design across the dotted line, and the Sphinx will be ready to crouch close down on your sandy plain. There is no need of carving the body, because that of the real Sphinx is entirely covered with sand, with only the head above ground, and we want ours to look like the original.

In parts of Egypt the wind sweeps the sand in great masses against and over all objects, so the people had their

=Buildings Made with Slanting Sides=

that the sand might slip off when it struck them. Try pouring some sand on your pyramids and you will understand the reason of the peculiar style of architecture. The land in Egypt on which the Sphinx and pyramids stand is the plain of Gizeh; consequently, you must give that name to the place where you set up your structures. The

=Tall Date Palm=

is a beautiful tree. The leaves are glossy and spread out in a graceful crown; its stem is marked with old leaf scars, giving it a very different appearance from the bark of our native trees.

Cut Fig. 300 from light-weight green paper, and mark it as Fig. 301; then cut Fig. 302 of very stiff pasteboard. Paste Fig. 300 on the top over the letter P; next bend the stem where it joins the base (Fig. 302) and plant the tree almost any place on your plain of Gizeh.

Several date palms, either grouped or scattered, would look well and tend to relieve the severity of the landscape. A thin layer of sand sprinkled over the plain, the stand of the Sphinx and the paper roots or stands of the trees will give the place a realistic appearance, and the scene will then be ready for the camels and Arabs. You may own

=As Many Camels as You Desire;=

all you have to do is to use the old Egyptian method of squares, as explained in Chapter XIV, and it will enlarge the camel in Fig. 303; then cut out the figure, lay it down flat on cardboard and run a lead pencil around its edge. Cut out this second animal and repeat the outline as often as you want camels. You will then have fine camels which will stand firm on four feet and be strong enough to carry burdens.

=Make the Saddle=

of writing paper (Fig. 304). Paint or mark it as in Fig. 308, fold it like Fig. 305 and fit it on the camel’s back.

Cut out the Arab (Fig. 306), being sure to make the short slit in the back of the drapery so that the man will sit well on the saddle. Along the dotted lines place a strip of paste and fold the figure at the back, pasting the two sides together at the centre (Fig. 307). When dry mark as in Fig. 308 and mount him on the animal. As a harness tie a string on the camel’s head, ornament it with tiny tassels (Fig. 309) and give the end of the string to the Arab, threading the string through the hole in his right hand (Fig. 308).

The trees, animals and men must be placed some distance in front of the pyramids, that the latter may seem to be a long way off; otherwise, all your objects will be out of proportion, because when a live camel stands close up to the Grand Pyramid it looks very small. Have several

=Camels with Men Riding=

them, some free from harness and rider, others held with the halter by Bedouins seated on paper rocks, which you can make by bending a piece of cardboard the right height.

All the objects given can be enlarged to any desired size by the system of squares shown in Chapter 14, and the entire Egyptian scene may be taken up, each piece folded flat and placed in a large envelope when not in use.