🐪 Story 1: The Clever Girl and the Pharaoh

Once upon a time in Egypt, there was a Pharaoh who was proud of his wisdom. He often tested his subjects with riddles and puzzles. Whoever failed to answer was punished, for the Pharaoh loved to prove he was the cleverest in the land.

One day, he summoned a poor farmer and his daughter. He gave them a challenge:

“Bring me a gift that is neither on land nor in the water, and do so without walking, riding, or being carried.”

The farmer trembled, for he knew he could never solve this riddle. But his daughter, who was known for her sharp mind, whispered to him.

The next day, she returned to the Pharaoh herself. She had wrapped herself in a fishing net and walked barefoot along the edge of the Nile, with the waves lapping at her toes. She carried a quail’s egg in her hand.

“My Pharaoh,” she said, “I have come neither on land nor water, for I walk in between. I have been neither walking, riding, nor carried, for the net drags me along. And I bring you a gift that is neither land nor water — an egg.”

The Pharaoh laughed with delight. “You are wiser than many men of Egypt! You shall not be punished — instead, you will be rewarded.”

From that day on, the people said: “Even the Pharaoh must bow to wisdom when it comes from a clever heart.”