The first real couple, Nut and Geb,
Were hopelessly tangled in love's soft web.
They were separated by Shu's (air's) birth,
So Nut became sky and Geb became earth.
Nut was the mother of four brethren:
The two first women and the two first men.
Isis, Nepthys, Osiris, and Set,
Disputed the kingship, as soon as they met.
Osiris, the victor, took Isis as queen.
Set ran off with Nepthys, though she wasn't keen.

Osiris ruled well, and the people rejoiced.
Sacrifices were made, and Ra's praises were voiced.
Set schemed for the throne, and hatching a plan,
Invited his brother to a feast on his land.
A beautiful casket lay open to the air;
Osiris asked his evil brother why it was there.
Set outlined a contest, of the most macabre hue:
If you fit into the coffin, it could belong to you.
Osiris played along, jumping in with a smile,
Then Set slammed down the lid, and threw him in the Nile!

Isis was distraught, and with her sister she searched
Far and wide for Osiris; on a tree he was perched.
He was lodged there by a flood; after what had seemed years,
Isis sought to hide his body, but she could not hide her tears.
Set stole away the corpse, and in an act of pure spite,
Cut apart the body and hid the pieces in the night.
Again Isis and Nepthys searched valley and knoll,
And, piece by piece, the body once again became a whole.
Isis called for Thoth, ibis-headed god of words.
He gave to her the power of life, and also wings of birds.
Nepthys's son Anubis, jackal-headed god of souls,
Was summoned to bandage the body with the finest linen rolls.
Isis used the magic words uttered first by godly Thoth;
She waved her wings, looking like a pale and shining moth.
Osiris stirred, miraculously drawing in a breath;
Now divine, he had escaped the very hand of death!
He could no longer rule the living, that much at least he said,
Yet he would reign as pharaoh in the kingdom of the dead.

Isis chose to stay with Nepthys, quite content with mother earth,
For she believed that this would be the best place to give birth.
Secretly, in fear of Set, she raised a handsome son,
A falcon-headed godly youth whose eyes outshone the sun.
Horus grew up quickly, left to see the world, but met
The dreary, desert land that flourished in the reign of Set!
Isis told of Set's dark treachery, and Horus vowed right then,
To place the throne of Egypt back into good hands again.
He demanded Set give him the throne; he was the rightful heir.
Set refused, but fearfully, withdrew into his lair.

Horus would not soon give up what was his by right,
So he demanded Set's return, and for the crown they'd fight.
They jabbed with spear and dagger, the fight becoming thick,
Set realized he'd only win if he employed magic!
In his first deceitful trick, Set turned into a bear.
In fact, he almost won the fight with ploys that were unfair,
But Isis came to aid her son, and with a magic letter,
Changed Horus to another bear, one who could fight much better.

Set hid from Horus in a pig; as his nephew passed him by,
He struck out with an evil spear, aimed at Horus's left eye!
Horus had his mother's help, and so the eye healed soon,
But, even though it caused him pain, the eye became the moon!
Horus rowed out on the river in his father's royal barque,
Searching for his uncle Set from early morn 'till dark.
A monstrous hippopotamus attacked his boat, and then,
Was joined by evil creatures from Set's most repulsive den.

Horus fought on bravely through the chaotic battle.
His trusty sword was broken, so he used a wooden paddle!
Horus brought the oar down hard on Set's treacherous head,
The uncle who had nearly killed him at last had fallen, dead.
The sweet west wind filled Horus's sail as he turned towards his home;
Osiris's son from the underworld could now assume the throne!