The Egypt Game

Back in Egypt, Melanie, April, and Elizabeth, with the help of Ken and Toby, come up with a ceremony for Petey (whose new Egyptian name is Prince Pete-ho-tep). It's decided that Petey had fallen in battle and was the son of Great Queen Neferbeth. The new ceremony, a procession to the temple of Anubis, god of the dead, will be called the Ceremony for the Dead.

It is decided that the procession needs to have flowers and palms, and so the kids take a break to find armloads of slightly wilted flowers, just perfect for the ceremony, behind a local florist's shop. Toby suggests that part of the ceremony should be to march around the altar sprinkling ashes over each other's heads. They do so, wailing in mourning for the dead Prince Pete-ho-tep.

The Ceremony of the Dead, it is also decided, will last five or six days. Toby's assigned the duty of giving everyone something to bring for the next day's ceremony. Prince Pete-ho-tep is to be mummified and Toby reads books that night on how to do it. The next day, the Egyptians prepare the parakeet by soaking it in brine, rinsing it off, and rearranging its feathers. They wrap the parakeet in thin strips of oil-soaked cloth and lay it to rest with a supply of seed and favorite toys.