Tale of the Doomed Prince
A fate pronounced at birth, that a prince will die by crocodile, snake, or dog, can be delayed by flight and vigilance but perhaps never fully escaped.
- a fate pronounced at birth by the seven Hathors
- flight and vigilance as strategies against a foretold death
- a strength contest to win a foreign bride
- the ending lost, leaving the fate's fulfillment unresolved
An incomplete New Kingdom fairy tale, preserved on Papyrus Harris 500, about a prince whose birth fate, delivered by the seven Hathors, dooms him to die by one of three beasts. Raised in isolation to evade his fate, he wins a foreign princess through a strength contest and survives an attempted attack by his own faithful dog and a serpent killed while he slept. The papyrus breaks off before revealing whether the crocodile eventually claims him, leaving the tale's resolution permanently lost.
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