GOLDEN GOBLET SUMMARY

Chapter 1: 1.) Ranofer dreams of his father Thuthra, a great goldsmith who has died. 2.) Ranofer had hoped to become his fathers pupil one day but instead he now had to live with his half- brother ebu who starves and beats him. !.) "e is forced to wor# as a porter, to sweep out the goldsmith shop instead of wor#ing as an apprentice. $.) Ranofer ma#es friends with "e%et, a new apprentice at the gold shop. &.) 'bni, a (abylonian porter, has Ranofer delivering wine to ebu and Ranofer becomes suspicious that 'bni is hiding stolen gold in the wineshin when the head goldsmith Re#h reveals that he has discovered gold has been stolen from the shop. ).) Ranofer cant e*pose the crime because he would be implicated for accepting the wines#ins and ta#ing them to ebu all these months+ plus, he is afraid that ebu would sell him into slavery or actually #ill him if he reveals the thieves. Chapter 2: 1.) Ranofer meets the ,ncient an -ld papyrus cutter and his don#ey, .otus. 2.) Ranofer confronts ebu warns him that Re#h is suspicious and that he no longer will carry the wines#ins to ebu. !.) ebu threatens to harm if he tells Re#h about his suspicions and if refuses to continue to deliver them to ebu as always. $) Ranofer hears ebu tal#ing that night to /etma, the 0ile boat captain, and 1enamon, another mason 2stonecutter)2. $.) Ranofer imagines running away and becoming an apprentice to Thutra. Chapter 3: 1.) Ranofer decides to tell 'bni that ebu doesnt want his wine, so he wont have to carry home the stolen gold which he believes to be inside the wines#ins. 2.) -n the way to wor# Ranofer recalls what symbols he had learned during his lessons with the scribe and practices writing in the sand. !.) ,t wor#, Ranofer accepts a fig from his new friend "e%et, and then goes to his tas#s of passing out the gold, and stoc#ing the furnace. "e overhears the scribe tell Re#h that the tally of weightings shows that there is missing gold again. Ranofer feels better #nowing he will refuse to transport the wines#in with the stolen gold inside. $.) Ranofer shows "e%et how to ma#e coals and then shows 3eryra how to pound a bowl. 1hen Re#h oversees, his s#ills, he offers to let Ranofer ma#e &4 leaves of gold for a nec#lace ordered by .ady 'renmaat. &.) 5ubilant, Ranofer leaves wor# with his friend "e%et and when 'bni approaches with the wines#in, he refuses to ta#e it. ).) 1hen Ranofer comes home empty handed, ebu beats him severely and forces him to agree to bring home the wines#ins from then on. Chapter 4: 1.) Ranofer awa#es with a plan to e*pose ebu as the gold stealer. 2.) (ecause he feels his fathers ba had brought him the plan in his sleep, Ranofer ta#es an offering of half his meager brea#fast to his fathers grave before wor#. !.) 1hile Ranofer shows "e%et how to ma#e solder, he confides in him his belief that ebu and 'bni are stealing the gold, and as#s him to tell Re#h at the right time so that ebu wont #now it is Ranofer who tells. "e%et agrees.

Chapter 5: 1,) 6 days later, as Ranofer wal#s home, he sees people rushing past him and dashing about shouting. /omething is happening. "e becomes very an*ious and curious. 2.) "e encounters the ,ncient, the old don#ey owner, who tells him that an e*ecution of grave robbers is ta#ing place. They are hung by one foot from the palace walls until dead. The ,ncient advises him not to watch. !.) The ne*t day when he gets to wor#, 'bini has been replaced at the vats- he must have been fired. $.) Ranofer hears 'bni begs ebu for intercession to get his 7ob bac#, ebu refuses. Ranofer pretends to #now nothing. &.) ebu informs him that Ranofer that he will start the ne*t day as an apprentice at ebus cutting stone. ).) Ranofer offers to live in the desert and cut papyrus for the sail ma#ers if ebu will buy him a don#ey. ebu only laughs. Chapter 6: 1.) The ne*t day Ranofer very reluctantly reports to 8ai, the foreman, at the stone cutting shop and is given the dull and dangerous 7ob of putting cutting sand into holes so 9ahotep may drill soc#ets in an alabaster slab. 2.) 1hile wor#ing, he learns the slab will be a coffin lid for a tomb. 0e*t, he is set to smoothing sandstone with bloc#s of granite. !.) The third day he is set to rough dressing stone with chisel and hammer. "e learns to hate stone cutting for its monotony, but has to be attentive because mista#es mean mutilated hands and harsh reprises from 8ai. $.) Ranofer has no friends at the shop to eat lunch with, so he 7ust observes the activities of the shop. ebu comes to the shop once per day and sometime goes over some linen scrolls of temple plans with 1enamon. &.) -ne night hears ebu snea# out of the house and wonders why he would go out at such a late hours when spirits- #efts- roam the night. ).) ,t irregular intervals, Ranofer hears ebu snea#ing out at night, but he puts the matter out of his mind. Chapter 7: 1.) "arvest time comes and many stonecutters must assist with the harvest, which leaves ebu to oversee wor# in the shop nearly all day. 2.) :inally Ranofer returns to the /treet of the oldsmith. "e resumes his friendship with "e%uet. !.) :or lunch, "e%uet shares his cheese in e*change for lotus root that Ranofer has and hates though Ranofer is embarrassed and doesnt want to admit he is starving. The ,ncient, the old papyrus cutter, 7oins then and brings nebumbo nuts. The ! are becoming good friends. Chapter 8: 1.) ,t "e%uets invitation when he has to run an errand there, Ranofer accompanies him to the wor#shop of 9au who recogni;es Ranofer from the days when the boy apprenticed under Thutra who was 9aus friend. 2.) <ven though he does not ta#e apprentices, 9au agrees that he will ta#e Ranofer as a pupil and not charge him out of respect of Ranofers father, but Ranofer would have to feed and house himself and Ranofer has to admit that he has not way to support himself during training and that ebu will never let him go. !.) 'n his e*citement over future possibilities, Ranofer returns to ebu without his wages and ebu beats him again.

Chapter : 1.) The ne*t day at wor#, Ranofer is glad to be ignored e*cept for being as#ed to retrieve some tomb plans. ebu and 8ai are fighting about the tombs dimensions. The fight ends when ebu shouts that ebu must narrow the sides of a coffin because it is too wide for the tombs passageway. 2.) -n his way out, ebu collects Ranofers wages for two days. !.) 1hile returning the plans to the storeroom, Ranofer reali;es that ebu has recently seemed more well-to do, and now Ranofer is even more suspicious that ebu is stealing again. $.) Ranofer tells "e%et and the ,ncient about his suspicions at lunch. &.) ,fter discussing the situation, they each agree to follow and watch ebu and his consorts. ).) "e%et agrees to watch 1enamon whose house is 7ust behind the apprentices %uarters where he lives. =.) The ,ncient agrees to watch /etma, the river captain, who wor#s near the sail ma#ers doc#s where he delivers his papyrus. They believe /etma may be transporting ebus stolen goods out of the city to be sold. 6.) Ranofer agrees to watch ebu very carefully to avoid suspicion. Chapter 1!: 1.) Ranofer ventures follows ebu out into the dar#ness in e*treme fear, chanting spells to #eep spirits away. ,s he loo#s for ebu, something trips him, and thin#ing it is some un#nown attac#er he races home. "e then reali;es it was a cat. 2.) Ranofer goes out once more to loo# for ebu, but wea# with fear, returns home resolved to follow ebu the ne*t time he snea#s out. !.) Ranofer waits many nights for ebu to snea# out, but when it doesnt happen he becomes discouraged with spying altogether. $.) Ranofer tries to turn his attention to stone cutting to learn it as a trade as the ,ncient suggests and one day as#s ebu about the purpose of a particular room drawn in the plans of a tomb. ebu reacts in e*treme anger and hits Ranofer, telling him never to as# %uestions again. &.) That night ebu beats Ranofer again demanding an e*planation for his %uestion about the room. Ranofer cries out that he was merely trying to learn more about the stone cutting trade, but would cease the attempt from then on. ).) ,fter ebu leaves, Ranofer snea#s into ebu room and finds a olden oblet in ebus wooden chest of shanties 2clothes). "is finds written on the goblet the name >Thutmose-0efer-?heperu, > a 8haraoh of <gypt from a hundred years previous, and reali;es ebu has robbed a grave@ The greatest of all crimes in <gypt. =.) -n his way out of the room, Ranofer reali;es he bro#e a clay seal on the door ebu placed there to reveal intrusions.. Chapter 11: 1.) Ranofer crudely replaces the seal, then nervously waits on his mat, but luc#ily ebu returns drun# and doesnt notice the seal has been bro#en. 2.) Ranofer feels relieved when he reali;es he can turn in ebu in and be free of him for good, but he troubles over the %uestion of how to do it. !.) "e decides he must get the goblet to use as proof when he reports the crime, but when he snea#s into ebus room, the goblet is gone@ Chapter 12: 1.) Ranofer dares not tell "e%et or anyone about his discovery of the goblet and that he cant find it because he will need proof that ebu is stealing from the tombs or no one in authority will believe him and he doesnt want to endanger his friends. 2.) Then "e%et overhears ebu telling 1enamon to meet him at daybrea# beside the croo#ed tree.

!.) Ranofer lies and tells his friends that ebu is going to ,bydos, but the truth is ebu and 1enoman are really going to enter the Aalley of the Tombs instead of going to the festival. $.) Ranofer decides that he will follow them. Chapter 13: 1.) Ranofer follow ebu through the Bity of the Cead 2.) Ranofer stops and hears ebu and 1enamon tal#ing at the meeting place of the >croo#ed tree.D "e is forced to hide on a ledge when 1enamon chec#s the path to see if he or ebu are being followed. !.) "e follows ebu and 1enamon down a path into the Aalley of the Tombs. $.) Ranofer hides while ebu and 1enamon uncover a secret tomb entrance and go in. &.) ,fter Ranofer loo#s down the tomb entrance, he understands ebus system for robbing the graves. The plot is that ebu digs a secret tunnel leading to the tomb during its construction, and then 1enamon hides the passageway behind a plaster tomb wall, which can be bro#en open from the passageway for later access. This also e*plains why ebu was so angry when Ranofer had as#ed about the little room on the tomb plans, for it was intended to lead to 7ust such a secret passageway. ).) , vulture, %uic#ly swoops down 7ust over his head and Ranofer falls into the tomb. =.) 1hen Ranofer does not arrive to meet "e%et and the ,ncient to go with them to the festival, "e%et and the ,ncient reali;e through clues of Ranofers behavior and comments from the previous wee#, that he had probably discovered ebu and 1enamon were tomb robbing and decided to follow them. 6.) "e%et and the ,ncient follow the path to the croo#ed tree, and then proceed to the Aalley of the Tombs to loo# for Ranofer. Chapter 14: 1) "e%et and the ,ncient cant find Ranofer and suspect that Ranofer may have ventured too far. !.) Ranofer wal#s into the dar# recesses of the tomb and discovers that ebu is robbing the tomb of "uaa, father of Eueen Tiy who is presently Eueen of <gypt. $.) The grave robbers hear Ranofer, who hurls a 7ewel bo* into ebus face and a bottle of wine to e*tinguish the torch they carry. "e races away in the dar#ness and wedges stones into the tomb opening and escapes leaving them trapped inside the tomb for now. Chapter 15: 1.) "e%et and the ancient appear in time to push a heavy boulder in place to bloc# the entrance and to guard the spot while Ranofer see#s help. 2.) "e runs to the city, everyone gone to the festival, but finds the palace occupied. !.) Blimbing over the wall into the Eueens garden, Ranofer is apprehended by guards, whom he tells of the grave plundering. $.) The only person to believe him is Ea-nafer of ,bydos, the Eueens dwarf, who gains him audience with the %ueen to tell his story. Chapter 16: Read what happens.