That Other Egypt

First they found the mummy of the daddy. Then they found the mummies of the brothers and sisters, uncles and aunts. Finally they found mummies of the little ones, the brats and sprats.

They never found the mummy of the mummy, because her little ones had already had brats and sprats of their own, changing the mummy into a grandmummy, also called a sarcophagus gran, which isn't like a mummy at all, being distinctly more shrivelled.

In fact the brats and sprats of the little ones had also had little ones at some point, further transmuting the mummy into a great-grandmummy, a thing so withered, delicate and crispy that it crunches and crackles like an autumn leaf when a shadow falls on it.

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