The Sons of Ham

The sons of Ham departed from the tents of their father and kissed their mothers and left to build cities in the land of the sons of Canine.

And the first son of Ham built a city in the fields of the sons of Canine.

With walls of straw he built it;

With barley and wheat he established it.

And the sons of Canine came to him and asked to trade but the firstborn son of Ham swore by his beard and by the beard of his father Ham that he would not trade or even allow the sons of Canine to enter his city. And so the sons of Canine cursed the son of Ham, saying,

“Though your settlement be strong in your eyes,

With our voices we will shout,

With the breath of our lungs we will cry out,

And your city will be utterly destroyed!”

At nightfall there was a violent wind and the city of the firstborn son of Ham was swept away, so that not even one bundle of straw remained on another.

And the second son of Ham built a city for himself in the forests of the sons of Canine.

With walls of wood he built it;

With cedar and oak he established it.

And the sons of Canine came to him and asked to trade but the son of Ham swore by his beard and by the beard of his father Ham that he would not trade or even allow the sons of Canine to enter his city. And so the sons of Canine cursed the son of Ham, saying,

“Though your settlement be strong in your eyes,

With our voices we will shout,

With the breath of our lungs we will cry out,

And your city will be utterly destroyed!”

At nightfall there was a great fire and a violent wind and the city of the son of Ham was utterly destroyed, so that not even one stick remained in place.

And the youngest son of Ham, seeing the destruction, wept for his brothers for three days and three nights. And he built a city in the mountains of the sons of Canine.

With walls of stone he built it;

With dressed stone he established it.

And the sons of Canine came to him and asked to trade but the son of Ham swore by his beard and by the beard of his father Ham that he would not trade or even allow the sons of Canine to enter his city. And so the sons of Canine cursed the son of Ham, saying,

“Though your settlement be strong in your eyes,

With our voices we will shout,

With the breath of our lungs we will cry out,

And your city will be utterly destroyed!”

At nightfall there was a mighty earthquake and a great fire and a violent wind and a storm of storms. But the city of the son of Ham remained.

And so the sons of Canine planned together, saying, “we will not let this son of Ham dwell on our mountain” and they built ladders and scaled the walls of the city and crept into the kitchens. But the youngest son of Ham was preparing stew, and the sons of Canine fell in to the stew pot and were destroyed. And the stew was ruined.

But the city of the son of Ham was saved, and there was rejoicing throughout the land.

(c) Lucy Marfleet 2015