Once upon a time, there was a man named Mr. Pharaoh who lived in ancient Egypt. He was an embalmer, which meant that he prepared the bodies of the dead for their journey to the afterlife.

One day, a rich man came to Mr. Pharaoh and asked him to preserve his body forever. Mr. Pharaoh told him that the only way to do that was to mummify him. Mummification was a special process that involved removing all of the internal organs, treating the body with special oils and wrapping it in cloth.

But the rich man was not satisfied with just being mummified. He wanted to be different from all the other mummies. So, Mr. Pharaoh came up with an idea. Instead of mummifying the rich man, he would cremate him, which means to burn the body.

The rich man was very pleased with this idea and agreed to it. So, Mr. Pharaoh carefully prepared the body and placed it in a special chamber where it was burned. When the burning was done, all that was left was the ashes, which were put in a beautiful urn and placed in a special room in the man's home.

Years went by, and the people of Egypt started to forget about mummification and began to cremate their dead instead. And so, Mr. Pharaoh's idea became a tradition that was passed down from generation to generation.

The End.

Reflections

1. What was Mr. Pharaoh's job?
2. How did the rich man want to be remembered?
3. What was the process of mummification?
4. What was Mr. Pharaoh's solution to the rich man's request?
5. Why did the people of Egypt start to cremate their dead instead of mummifying them?