The Cloth of the Sun

Prologue: Ancient history tells us that flax was first woven into cloth in Egypt around 3000 BC, during the first Dynasty. Have you ever wondered what inspired mankind to take that step forward? How did he get the idea that plant fiber could be made into cloth? Perhaps this little tale can answer that question.


The Cloth of the Sun

It was a beautiful day in January. The sun was shining in the garden, and as Bug looked out the window, she could see green leaves blowing and a few winter birds sipping water from the pond. Although it looked quite warm, Bug knew it was cool outside. But it was warm sitting in the window, so she decided to curl up right there on an old box, and take a nap.

All of a sudden BugBug awoke with a start and looked around. She didn’t know where she was. She was lying on warm soft sand and nearby was a tiny house made of dried bricks. A woman worked in the yard weaving thick yarn into a piece of cloth. The yarn was greyish, and had large lumps, and the cloth was not very pretty. But Bug supposed it was all there was, and no doubt it would be adequate to protect a human from the harsh sun. The woman was dressed in cloth made from the same material. In the distance Bug could see a river, and a cat much like herself was playing among the reeds. The cat looked friendly so Bug got up, stretched and wandered over to introduce herself.

The other cat was quite nice and quite talkative too. Bug learned that she was in Ancient Egypt. The year was 3003 BC. Wow, thought Bug. I have traveled back to the beginning of time! The other cat’s name was Ankhsen, and she lived with the weaver woman here by the river. It was a poor but happy existence. Soon the two cats were playing together like old friends. Ankhsen broke off a piece of flax plant, and tossed it around in the sun. She tossed it to Bug, who grabbed it and ran around in circles. Soon the piece of plant lost its stiffness and became like soft silky fibers. Soon Bug tossed the piece into the air. It landed on her back and she rolled on the ground then ran through the field with the strands flowing behind her. Wheee! She was having such fun she forgot to watch where she was going. Suddenly she ran right into the old woman’s loom. And before she knew what was happening the strands of flax were all mixed in with the thick yarn.

“Hmmm,” the old woman thought to herself, “this flax is pretty and soft, and easy to weave. I have an idea. Perhaps, perhaps….” It was getting late and the old woman put her tools and her loom away, and called the cats into the house. There they feasted on flat bread, and fried onions washed down with water. Later Bug and Ankhsen ate a few mice also. Then the three happily went to sleep. The next morning the old woman got up early and gathered many armfuls of flax plants from near the river. She put them in water and pounded them until they were soft, and had become long fibers. Then she laid them in the hot sun to dry. She did this many times, until she had a great pile of the long soft fibers. Then she set up her loom and went to work. Before long she had a lovely piece of soft cloth like nothing she had ever seen before.

Weeks went by, and each day the old woman made more of the soft flax cloth, until she had enough to make a lovely robe. She cut it out carefully and sewed it together with more of the strands of flax. Then she gathered roots and made dyes, and painted a lovely red and yellow sun on the robe. Finally, when the robe was done, she wrapped it in a piece of woolen cloth and put it in her satchel. She took some of the flat bread and onions and also put them in her satchel. Then she filled her goatskin water bottle and got her walking stick and set off toward Memphis, the Capital City, where the new King, Aha, son of Narmar would soon be crowned. Bug and Ankhsen followed her, and before many days had passed the three travelers had reached the great city.

The old woman walked right in through the gates and headed toward the palace, where she stood in line with many other people, waiting for an audience with the king. Finally her turn came. The guards did not want to let her in, but she said “I am a loyal subject of the King, and I have come with a new and wonderful gift for him.” Finally the guards let her in, and Ankhsen and Bug followed right behind her. The old woman walked to the foot of the throne and bowed low, greeting the king in the customary manner.
“Oh, great King, ruler of Upper and Lower Egypt, I have brought you a wondrous robe, soft and made of fibers of the flax plant,” and she held the beautiful robe out for the king to see. Until now no one had ever seen the like. It was the first cloth ever to be made out of plant fibers instead of animal fibers. The king was delighted.

“Grandmother”, the king addressed the old woman. “I thank you for this beautiful robe, and from now henceforth, you shall be my master weaver, and you shall live here in the palace with me.” The old woman was thrilled, for she knew that her fortune had been made. She and the two cats were given a lovely suite of rooms where they lived happily until the king became quite old, and finally died. He was to be buried in the beautiful robe, but just before the tomb was closed, a thief came and stole it. “No one will notice an old piece of missing cloth he thought,” but he was very wrong. It was noticed immediately and a search was made of the city. The thief was afraid and he buried the cloth. Finally, the tomb had to be closed, but the cloth was not found. Afterwards the thief dug up the cloth, and went to the river where ships came and went each day. There he jumped on a ship that was sailing up the river, and so the thief and the cloth disappeared into time.

Bug woke to find that she was still sleeping on the box in the window. “What a strange dream,” she thought. And as she lay there contemplating it she fell asleep again, and again she woke up in a strange and foreign place. This time she found herself in a lovely garden, and in the center of the garden was a temple. She wandered over into the cool shade of the temple, and there she found many priests. She listened closely and found she was in the city of Tanis in Egypt, and in the temple of Amon-Ra, the God of the Sun. It was the year 1003 BC, and Psusennes, whose name means, The Star Appearing in the City, was the King. He was a most devout king, and he was planning to have walls built around the great temple and gardens in order to keep them safe. Even now he was talking to his chief architect, going over the final plans. “This could be interesting,” Bug decided. “I think I will stay for awhile.” She made herself at home in the lovely temple, and quickly fell into the routines of the temple cats. The summer went by quickly and soon the walls were finished, and the dedication ceremony was about to begin.

Bug followed an old Priest into a secret room where he went to collect the sacred robe, and to her utter astonishment Bug recognized the robe. It was that very same robe which the old woman had woven so many years before. It had been carefully preserved and was still quite beautiful. The old priest took it and set it on the King’s shoulders, and the emblem of the sun blazed forth. Bug followed as the procession wound through the beautiful city, and all the people cheered their king and his great work.

Suddenly the cheering turned into calling. “Bug, Bugsy, wake up.”

“Hmmm, hmmm.” It was her Mommy calling.

“Come on Bug. It’s time for dinner. Then we shall go to the museum.” Bug woke up to find she was in her own home, and the year was 2003 AD. She didn’t really care much about going to the museum to see some old Egyptian things, but the prospect of dinner sounded wonderful, so she jumped up and went to eat.

Then her Mommy put on her leash, and off to the museum they went. Bug looked at all the old artifacts in their glass display cases. Then suddenly she stopped. There before her eyes was the robe! It was now very, very old, and had yellowed with age. And pieces of it were missing. But Bug would have known the robe anywhere, with its blaze of red and yellow sun. The sign said that the robe was one of the earliest weavings of plant material known to men. She was so excited to find that her dream was true, and that she had witnessed history in the making. Little did the humans know it was the very first, and if it hadn’t been for two cats, it might never have happened.

by Sage Lucinda BugBug Milliken
Catuary by the Sea