WEBVTT 00:00:16.409 --> 00:00:19.201 Fears of a slave revolt are sweeping across Egypt 00:00:19.263 --> 00:00:22.714 after census figures revealed that the Hebrew population 00:00:22.739 --> 00:00:24.780 is growing at an alarming rate. 00:00:24.930 --> 00:00:26.727 'They breed like rabbits', 00:00:26.839 --> 00:00:29.134 said Mrs Imhotep in Thebes. 00:00:29.181 --> 00:00:32.880 'Coming over here, doing our jobs for us. Something needs to be done'. 00:00:33.922 --> 00:00:38.089 Pharaoh has unveiled radical plans to deal with the slave problem. 00:00:38.270 --> 00:00:41.323 'We can't have our country overrun by foreigners, 00:00:41.365 --> 00:00:44.532 even if we did enslave them and bring them here in the first place. 00:00:44.563 --> 00:00:49.857 Until further notice, all male babies born to Hebrew slaves will be killed.' 00:00:51.086 --> 00:00:52.721 Surprise greeted the announcement 00:00:52.735 --> 00:00:56.097 that Pharaoh's daughter is celebrating the arrival of a baby boy. 00:00:56.191 --> 00:00:58.280 The Princess has named the child Moses, 00:00:58.299 --> 00:01:02.251 and firmly denies rumours that she found him floating in a basket on the Nile. 00:01:02.304 --> 00:01:07.984 However, some members of the palace have noted that the baby looks a bit Hebrew. 00:01:08.785 --> 00:01:10.631 Prince Moses wowed the crowds 00:01:10.663 --> 00:01:13.138 when he arrived to see the completion of a new pyramid 00:01:13.296 --> 00:01:16.377 destined to become Pharaoh's final resting place. 00:01:16.479 --> 00:01:19.503 'I'm sure my grandfather will be very happy here, 00:01:19.525 --> 00:01:22.319 although hopefully not for many years yet.' 00:01:22.422 --> 00:01:25.724 Moses has shrugged off gossip about his true parentage 00:01:25.764 --> 00:01:28.757 to top the polls as Most Popular Royal Ever. 00:01:35.021 --> 00:01:39.226 Prince Moses is wanted for questioning in relation to the murder of Mr Merefnebef, 00:01:39.276 --> 00:01:41.388 a slave driver from Thebes. 00:01:41.401 --> 00:01:44.401 The victim's wife made an emotional appeal for witnesses, 00:01:44.496 --> 00:01:46.383 'He was only doing his job, 00:01:46.463 --> 00:01:49.017 but they are saying he was done away with by that Moses 00:01:49.040 --> 00:01:52.605 standing up for his Hebrew brothers, 'cos it's all come out, 00:01:52.636 --> 00:01:54.569 he was a Hebrew all along, 00:01:54.601 --> 00:01:58.650 and if his real mother had done the decent thing and had killed him at birth, 00:01:58.721 --> 00:02:01.899 my hubby would still be whipping slaves'. 00:02:03.097 --> 00:02:05.469 It is believed that Moses has fled the country 00:02:05.581 --> 00:02:07.219 and is heading for Midian. 00:02:07.309 --> 00:02:11.082 Moses, 40, was recently revealed to be of Hebrew descent. 00:02:11.251 --> 00:02:14.868 As a baby he escaped the slave cull when his mother hid him in a basket 00:02:14.896 --> 00:02:16.778 and sent him drifting down the Nile 00:02:16.810 --> 00:02:19.032 in a desperate attempt to save his life. 00:02:19.083 --> 00:02:21.352 He was found and adopted by the Princess, 00:02:21.358 --> 00:02:24.108 who unwittingly employed Moses' mother to nurse him. 00:02:24.225 --> 00:02:27.097 'I feel such a fool', said the Princess. 00:02:28.128 --> 00:02:30.557 Today's Top of the Odd comes from Midian, 00:02:30.576 --> 00:02:33.066 where a shepherd has returned from Mount Sinai 00:02:33.089 --> 00:02:35.921 with reports of an ever- burning bush in the desert. 00:02:36.046 --> 00:02:39.025 'It was on fire, but it wasn't burning up, 00:02:39.079 --> 00:02:41.434 and I heard God talking to me from the flames. 00:02:41.442 --> 00:02:44.230 He gave me a mission to free all the slaves in Egypt!' 00:02:44.410 --> 00:02:46.245 Good luck with that! 00:02:47.395 --> 00:02:50.613 Moses, 80, the disgraced Prince, who left Egypt 00:02:50.644 --> 00:02:52.707 following the murder of a slave driver, 00:02:52.739 --> 00:02:55.676 has been sighted in the Hebrew settlement at Goshen. 00:02:55.778 --> 00:02:57.968 'It's unlikely we'll be pressing charges', 00:02:58.080 --> 00:03:00.219 said Inspector Ankhesenpepi, 00:03:00.248 --> 00:03:04.108 'it was 40 years ago and our only witness is long dead'. 00:03:04.116 --> 00:03:07.082 Rumours suggest that Moses is trying to gain support 00:03:07.105 --> 00:03:09.640 for a Free the Slaves campaign. 00:03:10.695 --> 00:03:14.417 Moses met with Pharaoh yesterday for talks about Hebrew Rights. 00:03:14.449 --> 00:03:16.652 However, negotiations quickly broke down 00:03:16.662 --> 00:03:20.477 after Pharaoh refused to consider even a short holiday for the slaves. 00:03:20.626 --> 00:03:22.813 The Palace issued the following statement, 00:03:22.875 --> 00:03:26.692 'The economy just will not stand any slackening in production at present. 00:03:26.708 --> 00:03:30.596 In fact, the slaves' work quotas are due to rise in the coming weeks'. 00:03:32.222 --> 00:03:35.764 A palace insider revealed weird goings-on in government. 00:03:35.928 --> 00:03:38.955 Moses proved his claim to be on a mission from the Hebrew God 00:03:39.035 --> 00:03:41.085 by turning his staff into a snake, 00:03:41.116 --> 00:03:45.459 but Pharaoh just ordered his court magicians to perform the same trick! 00:03:45.646 --> 00:03:50.026 'The floor was alive with snakes, but Moses' snake ate all the others, 00:03:50.042 --> 00:03:53.469 and then turned back into a staff! Wild'. 00:03:53.560 --> 00:03:57.411 Moses warned that if Pharaoh refuses to free the slaves, 00:03:57.426 --> 00:03:59.984 there'll be horrible consequences for Egypt. 00:04:06.395 --> 00:04:10.176 The river Nile has turned blood red, baffling the boffins. 00:04:10.285 --> 00:04:13.784 'In fact, all bodies of water have turned red, and smelly', 00:04:13.895 --> 00:04:15.541 said a health official. 00:04:16.162 --> 00:04:18.217 'We are advising people to dig new wells 00:04:18.256 --> 00:04:20.665 and drink only from them until further notice'. 00:04:21.895 --> 00:04:24.557 A plague of frogs has infested Egypt. 00:04:24.668 --> 00:04:28.040 Millions of the foul amphibians have oozed out of the Nile 00:04:28.048 --> 00:04:30.865 to fill the streets and invade people's homes. 00:04:32.246 --> 00:04:35.622 Lice are on the loose and the whole country is scratching. 00:04:35.638 --> 00:04:38.447 Doctors advise a daily bath in ass's milk. 00:04:38.492 --> 00:04:42.294 It stops the itching, but you might smell a bit cheesy. 00:04:42.716 --> 00:04:46.503 As flies buzz all over Egypt, hygiene inspectors are warning people 00:04:46.535 --> 00:04:48.462 to check their food for maggots. 00:04:48.470 --> 00:04:51.757 Only the Hebrew quarter in Goshen has escaped the recent plagues, 00:04:51.772 --> 00:04:55.027 fuelling rumours that they are signs from the God of Moses. 00:04:55.687 --> 00:04:58.495 Following the unexplained death of all livestock, 00:04:58.518 --> 00:05:00.892 farmers have appealed to Pharaoh for help. 00:05:00.916 --> 00:05:02.682 'It's time he listened to us', 00:05:02.712 --> 00:05:04.358 said Mr Menkheperraseneb, 00:05:04.535 --> 00:05:06.590 'You go down to Goshen where the Hebrews live. 00:05:06.669 --> 00:05:09.713 Have their cows died? No. Have their sheep died? No. 00:05:09.733 --> 00:05:13.100 That Hebrew God is punishing us because Pharaoh won't free the slaves. 00:05:13.100 --> 00:05:14.309 Well we've had enough!' 00:05:14.337 --> 00:05:16.921 The Palace declined to make a statement. 00:05:18.291 --> 00:05:20.570 Health officials have issued the following advice 00:05:20.601 --> 00:05:22.587 to deal with the present epidemic, 00:05:22.649 --> 00:05:25.592 'Don't squeeze your boils, you'll only make them worse, 00:05:25.626 --> 00:05:28.238 just dab them with crocodile dung and when they burst, 00:05:28.261 --> 00:05:30.183 try not to pick the scabs.' 00:05:31.731 --> 00:05:33.935 In the worst weather since records began, 00:05:33.926 --> 00:05:37.952 a violent hailstorm has flattened all the crops that were due to be harvested, 00:05:37.983 --> 00:05:40.062 but farmers are remaining upbeat, 00:05:40.087 --> 00:05:42.337 'That's all the barley and flax gone, 00:05:42.433 --> 00:05:45.242 but we've still got the wheat harvest to come'. 00:05:46.303 --> 00:05:49.625 The wheat harvest has been destroyed by a swarm of locusts. 00:05:49.651 --> 00:05:52.273 Only Goshen remains unaffected by current events, 00:05:52.286 --> 00:05:54.441 leading to further calls that Pharaoh 00:05:54.456 --> 00:05:57.479 should free the slaves before Egypt starves. 00:05:58.420 --> 00:06:00.850 The Royal Astronomers were at a complete loss to explain 00:06:00.878 --> 00:06:03.595 why it has been dark for the last 3 days. 00:06:03.646 --> 00:06:08.662 'We're at a complete loss to explain why it has been dark for the last 3 days'. 00:06:09.665 --> 00:06:12.934 Moses emerged from another unsuccessful meeting with Pharaoh today 00:06:12.934 --> 00:06:14.289 and went straight to Goshen. 00:06:14.289 --> 00:06:16.058 There he joined the slave community 00:06:16.097 --> 00:06:18.917 who have all returned to their homes for a religious ritual. 00:06:18.964 --> 00:06:21.204 A Mrs Benjamin described what will happen, 00:06:21.233 --> 00:06:24.670 'Moses told us that every family should kill and cook a lamb. 00:06:24.782 --> 00:06:28.537 The blood's got to be painted around our front door, my husband can do that. 00:06:28.654 --> 00:06:32.391 Then we eat the meal together and stay indoors until after midnight, 00:06:32.407 --> 00:06:34.621 very strict about that he was'. 00:06:35.484 --> 00:06:37.550 Grief consumes Egypt. 00:06:37.620 --> 00:06:39.498 Every household awoke to discover 00:06:39.506 --> 00:06:43.633 that their first-born son had died during the night from an unknown cause. 00:06:43.879 --> 00:06:47.642 Only Hebrew homes, identified by lambs' blood around the doors, 00:06:47.665 --> 00:06:49.798 were untouched by the tragedy. 00:06:50.658 --> 00:06:53.983 Bowing to increasing pressure, Pharaoh decreed yesterday 00:06:54.007 --> 00:06:56.480 that the Hebrew slaves were free to leave Egypt. 00:06:56.671 --> 00:07:00.979 However, more recent reports indicate that Pharaoh now regrets this decision. 00:07:01.034 --> 00:07:05.532 He is mustering an army to pursue the Hebrews and wreak a terrible revenge. 00:07:06.614 --> 00:07:09.144 Pharaoh has died in a freak drowning accident, 00:07:09.175 --> 00:07:12.486 along with hundreds of charioteers, horsemen and foot soldiers. 00:07:12.972 --> 00:07:16.084 He led his army across the desert towards the Hebrew encampment 00:07:16.084 --> 00:07:17.725 on the shores of the Red Sea. 00:07:17.757 --> 00:07:21.679 'I saw the dust rising in the distance', said Mr Levi, 00:07:21.697 --> 00:07:23.539 'Pharaoh's army was coming right at us 00:07:23.543 --> 00:07:24.898 and we had nowhere to run, 00:07:24.911 --> 00:07:27.032 but Moses gets up and waves his staff 00:07:27.036 --> 00:07:29.263 and the sea just parts 00:07:29.271 --> 00:07:31.849 and there was this corridor between walls of water 00:07:31.873 --> 00:07:33.496 straight through to the other side.' 00:07:33.504 --> 00:07:35.424 The Hebrews made it across, 00:07:35.456 --> 00:07:38.030 but the pursuing Egyptians were still in the danger zone 00:07:38.038 --> 00:07:42.455 when the sea came crashing down, drowning every single one of them. 00:07:42.541 --> 00:07:44.222 'We're free at last! 00:07:44.317 --> 00:07:48.362 Just need to find this Promised Land Moses keeps on about'.