The Secret of the Egyptian Mummy

Lena and Petya stood in the hot Egyptian sun, curiously studying the ancient stone inscriptions carved into the walls of the pyramid. They were joined by their friends, Misha and Olya, and all of them were part of a summer archaeological expedition. But despite the fact that the excavations had begun long ago, they still hadn't found the crucial artifact — the mummy that the senior archaeologists had been talking about. Everyone hoped that here, in the Valley of the Kings, they would finally uncover the ancient secret.

No one knew that a real adventure awaited them. It all started when Petya, digging one of the pits, suddenly encountered something hard. He was the first to notice that the ground around him had become unusually dense, prompting him to look up. "What is that?" he exclaimed. The other archaeologists, busy with their tasks, turned their attention to his voice. Lena quickly jumped up and hurried over to him.

"Look, Petya, it's... a mummy!" she exclaimed, stunned by the discovery. Everyone stepped back, and she and Petya carefully continued clearing the area. It was an old sarcophagus, sealed by deep antiquity.

"That's strange, it's unlike other mummies," said Misha, watching as the kids carefully opened the sarcophagus. Olya leaned in closer, her eyes widening in surprise. Carved into the body of the mummy was a strange symbol — a giant eye surrounded by stars. Lena carefully brushed off the dust from the surface and noticed that this eye was clearly something unusual. But what exactly? Inside the mummy, among the fabric and gold, was a hidden scroll.

"This is a message," said Professor Skvortsov, who had approached the group observing the discovery. "There is a scroll hidden inside the mummy. It must contain some important information. We immediately realized that we hadn’t just found the remains of a great pharaoh, but something far more valuable — a message for future generations. This might not be just a burial, but a kind of secret archive."

The children, with bated breath, unrolled the scroll. It was made of some ancient material that seemed impervious to decay. Fine lines, sharp angles, and ancient symbols were inscribed on it. But even with the help of the professor's books and reference guides, they couldn’t fully decipher the text.

"This is some kind of code," said Lena. "I know that the Egyptians often hid their messages this way, using symbols that could only be deciphered by their descendants. Perhaps the pharaoh left this message so that his people would be able to understand his thoughts when the right moment arrived."

"I see it!" Professor Skvortsov suddenly said. "This might not just be a message, but a map! See these lines... they point to a location, and it looks like it's connected to ancient temples."

Like magic, the children began to unravel the ancient text, and as they progressed further, they started to understand that the message was not only about geographic location but also about important historical events. Perhaps the answers to many of the mysteries of Egyptian civilization were hidden here.

Petya, running his finger over the map, realized that they weren't just uncovering a location — they were becoming part of a huge riddle that had remained unsolved for thousands of years. Where could this map lead? Why was it them, of all people, who had the chance to find this message? These were questions they would have to answer, and they began to study the clues left in the text.

"Could we have found the trail of the great pharaohs?" Misha asked. "Could these ancient treasures still exist? What do you think?"

"We must be careful," said the professor. "Every step we take could lead to an incredible discovery. And we must remember that not all secrets should be uncovered. But this adventure could become the greatest archaeological find if we manage to solve all the puzzles."

The next morning, the children began preparing for the next part of their expedition. They were going to travel to the valley marked on the map and find out what lay behind the ancient symbols and signs. At that moment, Lena suddenly felt that they had all become part of something much bigger — not just an archaeological job, but a real journey through time. The history of Egypt seemed to have wrapped them in its mysteries, and they were ready to solve them.