A long time ago, Ra, the chief of all the gods, still reigned on the Earth as a living pharaoh. He lived in a huge palace on the banks of the Nile and all the people of Egypt came to bow down to him. Everyone did exactly as he asked and he spent his days hunting, playing games and feasting. Ra loved his wonderful life and all of his power!

One day, his vizier came to him and told him about a conversation he had overheard. Thoth, the god of wisdom and magic, told Nut (Ra's wife) that one day her son would be pharaoh of Egypt.

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Ra was FURIOUS! How could anyone but he possibly be pharaoh? He did not ever intend to give up the throne! Ra loved his life and all of his power. He raged about his chambers, like a panther, shouting at the top of his voice, "How dare they suggest such a thing? Why Nut and Thoth are probably plotting to get rid of me at this very moment! However, NO CHILD OF MINE WILL EVER DE-THRONE ME!"

Ra thought and thought of a way to protect his throne. Eventually summoning ALL of the magic powers he possessed, he spoke these words: "I LAY THIS CURSE UPON NUT; NO CHILD OF NUT WILL BE BORN ON ANY DAY OR ANY NIGHT OF ANY YEAR."

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News travelled quickly amongst the gods. Nut soon heard of her husband's curse. She was heart-broken, as she badly wanted a child. However, she knew Ra's magic was too strong. How could she break the curse? The only person who might be able to help was her good friend, Thoth, the wisest of all the gods. As soon as Thoth saw his friend's tears, he decided he needed to help.

"I cannot lift Ra's curse," said Thoth. "but I may be able to get round it. Just wait here."

Thoth knew that Khonsu, the moon god, was a great gambler. (maybe he hung out on Dusty's boat?) Thoth went to visit Khonsu and challenged him to a game of senet. (Senet was an Egyptian game similar to chess.) Khonsu did not stop to think for a moment. He could not resist a challenge to defeat the wisest of all the gods!

"Oh Thoth," he said. "You may be the wisest of all the gods, but I am the GREATEST senet player there has ever been! I have never lost a game. I will play you and crush you easily!

The two sat down to play. From the very start, Thoth won every game. Khonsu began to grow frustrated. "You have been very lucky up until now, Thoth." said Khonsu. "Let's make this game more interesting...I will wager an hour of my moonlight that I win the next game!"

Khonsu lost game after game and kept wagering his light!

Thoth won game, after game, after game.

Khonsu lost 120 games in a row!

Thoth now had 5 full days of light

Thoth stood up, thanked Khonsu for the games and took the 5 days of light with him.

"What a coward," muttered Khonsu. "My luck was just starting to change. I would have won the next game!"

Thoth fitted the five extra days in between the end of that year and the beginning of the next. Until that time, the year had been made up of 12 months, each with 30 days, making a total of 360 days. Those 5 extra days set the calendar right.

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Nut was overjoyed when Thoth told her what he had done. The 5 extra days were not days in any year. Nut's children could be born without breaking Ra's curse!

• On the first day, Nut gave birth to OSIRIS, who was to be pharaoh after Ra

• On the second day, to Haroeris, who died before he could accomplish any greatness

• On the third day, Set, who later killed Osiris and became pharaoh for a short time

• On the fourth day, Isis, who became the most powerful of all the Egyptian gods

• On the fifth day, Nephthys

As for Khonsu, the moon god, he was so weakened after the game with Thoth that he lost much of his strength forever. He could no longer shine brightly all the time. Even today the Moon only shines brightly on a few days of the month and has to spend the rest of the time gathering its strength together.